The message has been very clear from Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles to the returning members of his secondary — adapt or be gone.
In that spirit, Bowles is already tinkering with several position switches for cornerbacks off last year’s team in OTAs, with nickel cornerback Tykee Smith possibly moving to safety and starting cornerback Zyon McCollum possibly sliding over to nickel and maybe even getting time at safety, where he’s played before.
Those moves would essentially create a 3-man rotation at cover cornerback between veteran Jamel Dean and rookies Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish, with Parrish also in the running to get reps at nickel.
The moves are a direct result of the Buccaneers’ defense almost costing them the playoffs in 2024 until a late season surge that was more the result of the elevated play of linebacker Lavonte David and interior defensive linemen Calijah Kancey and Pro Bowler Vita Vea than anything else.
“All of them,” Bowles told Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times on May 30. “You’ve got Tykee, you got Parrish, you got J.J. (Roberts), you got Zyon. Depending on how the team shakes out and what kind of mix we have, they’re all different types of players. You got Izzy (Christian Izien). We’ve got a bunch of nickels right now. We need safeties and corners. We’ve got about four or five guys that can fill that nickel role.”
Parrish Could Be Breakout Star for Buccaneers
The player who has generated the most excitement so far has been Parrish, a third round pick (No. 84 overall) out of Kansas State. Morrison was projected as a first round pick, but injuries held him to just 6 games at Notre Dame in 2024 and he dropped to Tampa Bay in the second round (No. 54 overall).
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine singled Parrish out as the “Top Breakout Candidate” for Tampa Bay this summer.
“Of the two rookies, it’s Parrish who has already generated some buzz,” Ballentine wrote on June 2. “He had a few interceptions in rookie minicamp and has reportedly continued to shine in OTAs. He could wind up being a useful nickel sooner than later.”
It was the first time the Buccaneers drafted players at the same position with consecutive picks since the 2019 NFL draft, when they drafted cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting in the second round (No. 39 overall) and cornerback Jamel Dean in the third round (No. 94 overall).
“I am a big, big fan of Jacob Parrish,” NFL reporter Devin Jackson wrote on his official X account on April 25. “Tampa Bay added another dawg to their secondary.”
Wild Card for Tampa Bay is $84 Million All-Pro
Bowles’ shell game with the secondary is a direct result of injury concerns over NFL All-Pro free safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who missed a career high 7 games in 2024 after establishing himself as arguably the NFL’s best safety in 2023.
Winfield’s down year came after he signed a 4-year, $84.1 million contract extension before the 2024 season that made him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history at the time. If Winfield can stay healthy, he’s good enough that where the other players wind up landing might not be as much of a concern.
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