Rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish.
The flow of hit-the-ground running rookies at One Buc Palace has been so impressive over the past three seasons.
Tampa Bay got plenty of key contributors from the 2022 draft class, too. They just needed more time to develop: guys like Luke Goedeke, Zyon McCollum, Rachaad White and Cade Otton. (Yeah, Joe will be sweet and include Logan Hall, too.).
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has been crushing the draft compared to the vast majority of his colleagues.
Rookie third-round pick cornerback Jacob Parrish has been one of those instant hits.
Coaches and players tend to speak of Parrish with reverent tones, much like they use for rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka. No-nonsense cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross was doing just that on the Buccaneers Radio Network this week.
“He’s a great tackler,” Ross said of Parrish. “He breaks on the ball really well. He reads really well. He reacts very, very well. He’s playing beyond his years right now.”
The Bucs have had a lot of young defensive backs flow through their building during this golden era of Buccaneers football, but they didn’t get love and respect so quickly like Parrish has. Antoine Winfield’s situation in 2020 was different because The Sickness canceled spring practices and preseason.
Todd Bowles is so enamored with Parrish that he was selling his height yesterday. Known for preferring and adoring long cornerbacks, Bowles said 5-10 Parrish doesn’t qualify as short.
“He’s tall enough – he doesn’t seem like he’s tall in the program, but when you look at him, he’s tall and he’s strong,” Bowles said. “He has very quick feet. He understands the game, and he knows how to play it whether he’s inside or outside.”