The Buccaneers OTA Breakout That is Too Good to Be True (For Now)

This Tampa Bay Buccaneers player had a great OTAs, but he needs to do more to solidify himself as a starter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for a number of players to step up in 2026. That includes second-year wideout Emeka Egbuka, for example, who is looking to fill the void left by Mike Evans, and center Graham Barton is looking to have a big year in year three while anchoring the line at center.

Perhaps none of those players are more important, though, than everyone in Tampa Bay's outside cornerbacks room The Bucs didn't add any starters to compete for the job in free agency or the draft, but they did haphazardly do so from their own roster by drafting defensive back Keionte Scott — Scott is set to plau nickel, and that move will very likely take Jacob Parrish and make him an outside corner in 2025.

As a result, a breakout year from any of Tampa Bay's three outside corners — (likely) Parrish, Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison — would be a welcome event for Tampa Bay. And while one of those players showed out at OTAs in 2026, they still have a long way to go to stake their claim as a reliable starter for the Bucs.

Benjamin Morrison Has More to Prove in Tampa Bay

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

Cornerback Benjamin Morrison turned heads during the second week of OTAs. He nabbed a nice pick off of Baker Mayfield on a route intended for Chris Godwin, and he took it back for what would have been six points had it been in a game scenario. The play was encouraging, especially for a player like Morrison who could be primed to have a big year in 2026.

That being said, a lot still has to happen for Morrison to be the player the Bucs are hoping he is. The most important thing for him is staying healthy, as Morrison missed quite a few games due to injury last season and was coming off a hip surgery heading into 2025. Morrison is now a year removed from that surgery, but he was plagued by hamstring injuries last year and needs to stay healthy to contribute this upcoming season. It's early, but Morrison is already missing some time, as head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Thursday that he was held out of OTAs for a leg injury — he's expected back for mandatory minicamp.

Additionally, Morrison must make a big jump in coverage next season. He gave up three touchdowns in 2025 and allowed a passer rating of 112.2 when targeted, and if he wants to be a starting cornerback for Tampa Bay, he'll have to improve in a big way this offseason before hitting the field.

Morrison has the entire offseason to prepare in his second year and is coming back healthy, so he could be poised to break out in 2026. But he has a long way to go, and he'll need to have a great training camp in addition to OTAs to convince many that he's on the rise.

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