Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense may have dominated last season, but there was an ugly mark on the organization that kept them from truly achieving greatness.
The Buccaneers had a really bad pass defense last season. A big part of that were the amount of injuries they suffered midway through the year, but with a defensive minded head coach in Todd Bowles, the results were still inexcusable.
It's why the Buccaneers drafted not one but two cornerbacks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft in April.
While it's always unclear how rookie cornerbacks will do, Field Yates of ESPN believes the Buccaneers may have struck gold with one of their prospects.
Benjamin Morrison may get more of the spotlight, but Jacob Parrish is the one who will provide the bigger impact according to Yates.
"Tampa Bay doubled-dipped at cornerback on Day 2, selecting Parrish in Round 3 after taking Benjamin Morrison in Round 2," Yates wrote. "Parrish finished 64th on my final board, and I believe he can translate his versatile game to the pro level. He played 395 snaps as an outside corner and 201 snaps as a slot corner in 2024. Parrish has premier speed and capable ball skills, and he is a very skilled blitzer. That should shine on a Todd Bowles-coached team."
Joining a team that was very bad in the passing game last year won't be easy, but Parrish did well during his career with Kansas State.
If he can provide as big of an impact as Yates is predicting, then the Buccaneers should get their defense back to being among the elites in the game.