The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began their 2025 draft with a somewhat surprising focus on offense, nabbing Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who proved to be a smash hit as a rookie. That didn't mean, however, that the Buccaneers were ignoring a pretty clear need at cornerback. Thatissue was addressed the next night, with the selections of Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison and Kansas State's Jacob Parrish.
At the time, the Buccaneers had veterans Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum ready to hold down the outside cornerback spots and they had multiple options for the slot with the likes of Tykee Smith and Christian Izien. A year later, both young corners look to be critical to how the secondary is arranged to start the season. Dean is now in Pittsburgh and Izien is in Detroit. After a year in the slot, Smith took so well to the strong safety role that the Buccaneers are definitely planning to keep him in that role. That leaves McCollum, Morrison and Parrish as the front-liners for the three cornerback spots, though the arrival of versatile rookie Keionte Scott will open up some other possible combinations.
For the two 2025 draft-mates, their rookie seasons unfolded in very different ways, but in both cases they prepared them to take a big step forward in 2026.
Morrison, who lost much of his final season at Notre Dame to a hip injury that required surgery, was still finishing his recovery when he arrived in Tampa. The Buccaneers knew that process and possible related injuries could impact his rookie season but viewed him as a very valuable asset in the long run. Morrison did end up sitting out seven games and wasn't immediately inserted in the starting lineup but he did open the final three games of the season and showed notable progress late in the campaign.
"Ben is elite with his skill set, with what he has," said Cornerbacks Coach Rashad Johnson. "He's a long body, he's twitchy, can play man-to-man. We kind of thought that things may be how they were his first year, understanding the significance of the injury, how it was an ongoing thing. So we kind of knew that first year was going to be some ups and downs, some lower-extremity things that we were going to have to deal with. But he's healthy, he looks great out there now working in the offseason program, but also the individual drills. I'm getting a chance to work with him and he's taking those next steps mentally in the room and those different things he wanted to learn as the season [progressed]."
Morrison is primarily an outside corner who boasts very quick feet and fluid movements along with good instincts and a detail-oriented approach to the position. In the early stages of the Bucs' offseason program – OTA practices with actual competition against receivers don't start until next week – Johnson sees a second-year player moving with confidence and without restrictions.
"It's kind of – I wouldn't say 'redshirt season' – but it was kind of an opportunity to learn, to get some bumps and bruises but also take some steps," said Johnson of Morrison's rookie year. "He made some plays in games, he got a chance to get that wetness behind his ears gone. So now he's ready and confident to step into that role and compete in whatever magnitude we asking him to compete in."
Parrish, in contrast, was inserted into the defensive mix right away, winning the nickel job vacated by Smith and eventually playing 72% of the team's defensive snaps for the season. He didn't miss any games but his versatility became very valuable when McCollum and Dean didmiss a combined seven games, along with the time Morrison was out. Parrish saw some stints playing on the outside and even was called on a couple times to play a Rondé Barber-type of role that had him on the outside in base packages and in the slot in nickel. Johnson said Parrish is well-suited to take on that difficult dual assignment.
"It's an interesting challenge, but Jacob's skill set is elite," said Johnson. "He's a guy that can play inside, he's a guy that can play outside. Number one would be just his mental capacity. This defense isn't like, 'Hey, open up a book and it's A-B-C-D.' It's got some complexities to it, and this guy can manage those complexities, he can play inside, he can play outside, he's very versatile. He's very talkative in the [meeting] room and out on the field. He just loves the game."
Parrish finished the season with 70 tackles, 2.0 sacks, three QB hits, two interceptions, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery. His second interception came at a critical time when he was lined up as an outside corner. In a Week 18 showdown with the Carolina Panthers that the Buccaneers had to win to keep their division title hopes alive, Parrish lined up across from eventual Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan, giving him about eight yards of cushion. The Bucs had a 10-7 lead in the final two minutes of the first half, but the Panthers had driven to midfield and were threatening to either tie the game or take the lead heading into halftime.
When McMillan started on what looked like a vertical route, Parrish backpedaled smoothly in front of him, but when the receiver made a sudden cut to the right sideline, the rookie corner planted his foot instantly and drove on the ball, jumping in front of the target for an interception.Not only was the scoring threat thwarted, but the Bucs took that bonus possession down the field for a field goal on their way to what would be an a two-point victory.
Buccaneer coaches have repeatedly insisted that they are fully confident in Parrish playing outside corner, even though his relative lack of size is likely what made him last into the third round of the draft. The play on McMillan illustrates why. However, they were also very pleased with how he performed in the slot as a rookie.
"I think it is a challenge for certain guys, but for Jacob I don't think that's a challenge," said Johnson of preparing for dual roles. "I think it's honestly going to unleash his skill set even more. As you watched him play inside, he played well as a nickel, but you look at the Carolina game, the big pick in the home game playing outside in that position. He just understands scenarios, he understands how offenses are trying to attack you. I'm just thankful that we've got a guy that's super-versatile like that."
The aforementioned Scott is also a player the Bucs believe can thrive in multiple positions, and it will be months before the Bucs have to decide where to line up all their young corners. That said, there is confidence in the building that last year's two draft picks are going to have a big impact in 2026.
