Buccaneers' Hall of Fame Cornerback Loves New Tampa Bay Draft Pick Keionte Scott

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the NFL Draft needing an outside cornerback to join the room alongside Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison. They did draft a cornerback, but not the type that most thought they would.

The Bucs took Miami Hurricanes cornerback Keionte Scott in the fourth round, a prospect many thought would already be gone by then. Scott, a gifted blitzer and thumper in the run game, had 13 tackles for loss and five sacks last year for the Hurricanes, and instead of playing outside corner, he's set to play nickel cornerback for the Buccaneers next year.

That would move incumbent nickel Jacob Parrish outside, which would indeed add to the outside cornerbacks' room after all. This will be the fourth different nickel that the Buccaneers have used in as many years, with Christian Izien, Tykee Smith and Parrish holding the role the last three seasons.

Not many expected the Bucs to have a new nickel cornerback in 2026. But Buccaneers legend Ronde Barber recently spoke on all of Tampa Bay's draft picks on the Ronde Barber Show, and he seems to be a big fan of Scott and his ability to play nickel at the next level.

Ronde Barber praises new Buccaneers cornerback Keionte Scott

Rond Barber delivers his speech during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement | Kevln Whitlock / USA TODAY NETWORK

"He's a total Todd Bowles-type nickel back, and that's exactly who he should be," Barber said. “I know for a fact Todd Bowles likes Keionte Scott’s body type and production from a safety spot to play the nickel, just because of the way they like to play the run and the way they like to blitz this player. I mean, this dude was Agent Zero at Miami. Like, the guy did everything — blitz, tackle for loss, he was a cover guy of sorts. I don’t know that we could have found a better player to kind of do everything for us in the draft.”

Those are strong words from Barber, as he knows what a great nickel corner looks like. Barber revolutionized the nickel position with the Buccaneers, and he had plenty of sacks and tackles for loss on his own while playing in the slot. If Scott is as well-rounded as Barber believes he is, the Bucs will be in very good shape on defense come the start of the season.

Scott will get his first shot at impressing his coaching staff when he shows up for rookie minicamp, which starts on May 8 and runs through May 11. Parrish impressed early on last year when he was set to play nickel, so it will be interesting to see if Scott's camp goes that well this offseason.

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