I am very happy with these two picks right here. I think it’s a little funny that now the Buccaneers want to pick a sub 6ft corner, but I guess Jahdae Barron wasn’t good enough for them. But despite my bitterness, I am happy the Bucs are selecting guys to improve a really porous secondary.
If you were to watch my initial reaction on stream with the krewe over at Bucs Report, you would think I wasn’t very impressed. Which is kinda correct. Benjamin Morrison is not a bad pick. I will however admit to wanting Trey Amos more. I liked him quite a bit and thought he should’ve went to the Bills in the first round. With that said, Morrison is still really good. He did suffer a torn labrum in his hip causing him to miss the last ten games of last season, but seems to be recovering from it. He is 6 ft, lanky, and played a lot of zone.
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So that makes him the perfect Bowles corner. If not for the injury history, he would’ve been a top ten selection. While he isn’t a great tackler and has some stiffness in coverage, he excels at tracking the ball and has nine interceptions over his collegiate career. If he stays healthy, it’s a massive get for the Buccaneers.
Now Jacob Parrish is more of a nickel corner, but he does have experience on the outside. Some people actually have Parrish graded higher than Morrison, so using that, it’s actually a bit of steal. He has two years of starting experience and while he doesn’t have the same production, he has still flashed plenty of skill. At the Combine, he ran a 4.35 in the forty, which was fifth fastest. His biggest knock against him is that he is not very big, which is a weird choice for a Bucs corner, but that can be mitigated by moving to the slot.
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The Buccaneers know exactly what their weakness was last year. Jamel Dean cannot be relied upon even when he is on the field. At some point Morrison will almost definitely be taking meaningful snaps at outside corner. Parrish I assume will be playing nickel, but they might play him outside in certain packages since he does have the ability (if not the size). For the first time in a couple seasons, I hopefully will not feel dread when I watch this secondary come onto the field.
Expect the Bucs to address LB in round four. As of right now Chris Paul has not been taken, nor has Jeffrey Bassa. Although I wouldn’t be super happy with that last one. I think they might also address edge with both Kyle Kennard and Bradyn Swinson still available (against as of right now with the third round still ongoing).
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