Buccaneers Clearly Trust These 3 Players More Than They Did Last Year

It's quite clear the Bucs coaching staff is feeling more confident in these players.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison (21) celebrates a play with outside linebacker Lavonte David (54) | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of new faces in the building this year after free agency and the NFL Draft. They'll expect those players to make a big impact, but they'll also be looking for some of their players to make a big step in Year 2.

The Bucs are likely satisfied with how most of their 2024 draftees' rookie seasons went, but those same players are expected to play better with the entire offseason to prepare. With that comes more trust, and some of that trust has already been showing itself during team periods at OTAs and rookie minicamp.

Tampa Bay will expect everyone to step up after an 8-9 season last year, but there are three players the team appears to trust more this season after what we've seen during the offseason so far, and all of them are rookies from the 2024 draft class.

CB Benjamin Morrison

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison (21) tackles Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Bucs showcased the ultimate trust in Morrison before offseason work even started — they didn't sign a starting veteran cornerback among a slew of free agents.

That means that Tampa Bay will be relying heavily on Morrison after the departure of Jamel Dean, and it certainly looks like it so far. Morrison is (once again) dealing with an injury, but when he was participating, he was a starting cornerback on the outside and even got a nice pick on Baker Mayfield during OTAs.

Morrison will be competing with Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish (more on him in a second) to stake his claim in the outside cornerback room. But early reviews have been very positive, and if Morrison stays healthy, he's set to play a big role on this Buccaneers defense after rotating in and out last season.

WR Tez Johnson

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers' receivers room is loaded with talent, and as a result, it's hard to pinpoint exactly where Tez Johnson will fit in it. But based on the work he's been getting in the offseason, it might be more than most think.

Johnson put up five touchdowns last year as injuries struck the receiver room, and he's caught multiple touchdowns so far in camp during 11v11 and 7v7 work. He's played quite well so far in his second year, and he's still getting reps while players like Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan are healthy.

Johnson played outside sparingly last year, and without a true X wide receiver, he could find himself playing on the perimeter again. The Bucs drafted Georgia State wideout Ted Hurst this year to be a bigger-bodied option there, but the team still clearly believes in Johnson based on the work he's gotten so far in camp.

His goal this offseason was to stand out against players like Hurst and David Sills, and so far, he certainly has.

CB Jacob Parrish

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Chris Braswell (43) high-fives cornerback Jacob Parrish (25) after sacking New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Bucs trusted Parrish plenty last year by making him a nickel cornerback during his rookie year. This year, they trust him even more by changing his position.

Parrish is set to move from the nickel to the outside this year to put some pressure on Morrison and McCollum. That being said, he's also been playing nickel in practice so far, showing just how much the Bucs are willing to lean on him in 2026.

Parrish had an excellent year last year, netting two interceptions and seven passes deflected at the nickel position. The Bucs are very high on what he can do on the outside, too, and moving him to a new position in Year 2 shows just how versatile the Bucs think he is.

Even if Parrish doesn't win a starting job on the outside, expect him to rotate in and out constantly on Todd Bowles' defense. Very few defensive backs get free rein to play in so many spots, but the Bucs think Parrish can and are seemingly looking to use him as such.

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