During Day Two of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rookie minicamp, first-year cornerback Jacob Parrish nabbed his second interception of the offseason workout program. He maintained solid leverage down the boundary in press and effectively tracked the football, plucking the ball out of the air. This play came a day after he posted a pick-six during the first day of minicamp practice, providing a spark on defense.
Head Coach Todd Bowles dubbed Parrish the fastest player on the field of the 2025 rookie class and praised his outside-inside versatility. Bowles also took exception with the notion that the 5-10 Parrish is primarily a slot player who would only be used outside "in a pinch."
"He can't play outside "in a pinch" – he can play outside," said Bowles. "He can play outside corner. We've got him learning nickel; I'm very comfortable with him outside. He can start at corner in this league probably for anybody and he can play inside, as well. That's the beauty of him. He's not just a nickel; I think he's an outside corner first and then a nickel second. The fact that he plays inside is just a bonus for us when we have a few guys that play inside. It helps us from a matchup standpoint, from a gameplan standpoint, which one could play nickel at which time. It keeps a lot of people guessing."
Parrish played inside and outside at Kansas State, playing primarily as the left cornerback and moving inside on third-down packages. He has a knack for getting his hands on the football and led the program in passes defensed as a sophomore and as a junior. Parrish closes on the ball quickly and showcases his speed versus vertical threats. He pairs change-of-direction skills with physicality as an open-field tackler. Parrish uses his hands on the perimeter to disrupt the timing of routes and is adept at shadowing releases with balanced footwork and technique-variation.
He plays larger than his size and made his mark in rookie minicamp with two interceptions in two days. Bowles emphasized during the pre-draft process that he was looking for "ballhawks at every level of the defense," and it certainly seems like Tampa Bay found one at the cornerback position on Day Two of the Draft.
"My whole life I have been a smaller guy, but I feel like it is my mindset," described Parrish. "I feel like I am the best player on the field and that is how I approach each and every day."
