Rondé Barber: Film Reveals Jordan Whitehead Is Best Bucs Defensive Player
January 19th, 2022
Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead
Yeah, he said it.
And Jordan Whitehead’s agent is probably pulling an Antonio Brown, tearing off his shirt and doing happy jumping jacks.
Legendary Bucs cornerback Rondé Barber made a firm and bold claim this week. And not only is Barber a guy paid by the Bucs to break down game film every week, Barber has said publicly that he’s watched film of every Bucs game since he retired after the 2012 season.
Barber’s claim?
“[Jordan Whitehead], to me, is the best player on the defense. I hate to say that, but with the film on he looks like the best player on defense a lot of the time,” Barber told the Buccaneers Radio Network.
“And last week’s Philly game, he looked just like I expected him to look because he was hyper focused, made a bunch of splash plays early in the game. And when the playoffs start, those plays have to happen. They have to be consistently there or you don’t win.”
Powerful stuff there from Barber about the pending free agent safety.
Barber went on to talk about how the Bucs have seasoned playoff playmakers on defense, so he suspects the Bucs will get enough special moments from those guys to keep this Super Bowl run going.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:39 am
Did someone say shirtless jumping jacks?
January 19th, 2022 at 11:41 am
Whitehead has gotten better every year. His improvement this season has allowed them to use both him and Winfield in many ways. We have an outstanding group of safeties and Whitehead has become a leader on this defense. Hopefully these guys are ready to tackle on Sunday because Kupp is as dangerous as they come. Go Bucs!
January 19th, 2022 at 11:43 am
Licht needs to resign him BEFORE he hits the market! He’s a huge asset and it shows every week. Our safety play went from league joke to elite and fun to watch in a couple years
January 19th, 2022 at 11:44 am
So he is looking in “above” 10 mil range per year
Now bowles system is suited for him so lets hope he wants to be a buc for life
One of my favorite playerS cause he aint scurred to throw his body into a brick wall
January 19th, 2022 at 11:52 am
There isn’t much better than hearing a Jordan Whitehead skull-cracking echo in Buccaneer Bay!
January 19th, 2022 at 11:59 am
Joes I told you guys this a while ago. You guys said he was just a run stuffer I said no way.
First, nobody said he was just a run-stuffer. And this doesn’t mean Barber is correct. Care to read what Barber said about Chris Conte? Here you go: https://www.joebucsfan.com/2015/09/best-movement-i-have-ever-seen-at-safety/ Joe –Joe
January 19th, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Hope we keep him
January 19th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
Derwin Who?
For those too lazy to do the research Whitehead is ahead of or equal to him in almost every single stat.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
WAIT, WHAT??!!!!
Yesterday, Barber said LVD was better than Derrik Brooks (11xPro Bowl, 5xAll Pro, Defensive POTY). Now, Whitehead is even better than the-guy-better-than-DPOTY.
We’re hitting God mode in video game world.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
Derwin who? Like in…
‘Gone in der-win’?
I luv that movie. Its a classic:)
I know, I know, I wont quit my day job.
Its a good thing for self employment.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Ok stone crab, you made me guffaw.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Well an old DB, saying JW is the best player on Defense, lol not surprising.
J Whitehead is definitely a stud, but best player well……
BTW that stiff arm Conte took in the Monday night Steelers game a couple of years was an ugly sight to behold, he will never live that down.
GO BUCS
January 19th, 2022 at 12:18 pm
Best player can be argued, different guys have different jobs. What Whitehead is, the best tackler on this defense, he is the one that makes this run defense good because he erases mistakes. He makes players because he explodes to the ball and takes great angles. What he isn’t, is our best safety in coverage.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:20 pm
Perhaps the off season move will be to franchise tag Whitehead and sign Carlton Davis to a long term deal that will be salary cap friendly in 2022 and push large signing bonus money into 2023 and beyond…
Whitehead definitely deserves a big payday.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:21 pm
He’s a dawg! Love the intensity he plays with and hope he continues to improve. He’s got Pro Bowl talent for sure.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
Have to agree. Whitehead is essential to having an outstanding D.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Every good or great defense has a thumper in the back end and we have ours. He’s a must keep in my opinion. Dude brings it every week and is a sure tackler, which is a rarity in the game today.. Great skill set to offset Winfield and Edwards ball skills. Since he’s been here all he’s done is develop and produce
January 19th, 2022 at 12:48 pm
Marine Buc … I agree with you 100%; Whitehead ‘definitely deserves a big payday’ starting in 2022. And for a premier Safety, that’d be in the range of around $10 mil per year.
Unfortunately Jordan’s only 1 of 26 free agents we’ll either need to either re-sign or find replacements for. Some of them (like Chris Godwin & Carlton Davis) have Market Values in the $18-$20 mil range. Like I’ve said before, I don’t envy JL his job. Last year was a cakewalk compared to what he’s facing in 2022. He’ll earn every penny of his salary this year.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:53 pm
Joe one of you guys definitely where just calling him just a run stuffer. It was even said on Ira podcast before. No beef joe I love this site been here since day one lol.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:54 pm
last year and the year before occasionally i’d wonder why he sort of got no credit back there…or people acted like he was just sufficient…
i always thought he was pretty good…
then he became pretty darn good…
now he’s really on his game and he’s really good…
as i mentioned a couple weeks back, our safety group is super solid all the way down to adams…
we are definitely going to need the safetys and corners to raise it up if we want another superbowl…
#GoGravediggers
January 19th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
When you have Darelle Revis as your cousin, Mentor and Teacher, good things are bound to happen.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
All of our DBs, even the backups, have grown into their roles. They are also getting healthy at the right time.
There has been more film on Whitehead, but I would say Mike Edwards is better, because he is much more versatile.
It doesn’t matter who is best if they play as a team and lead us past the Rams, then further.
The Rams should be easy; Stafford falls apart when playing from behind.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Dean playing like an ALL Pro helped too.
Like I said Stafford is not gonna be comfortable.
1 playoff win vs 36 playoff wins.
January 19th, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Conte Piscatelli … ‘What he (Whitehead) isn’t, is our best safety in coverage.’
Actually, he is. Comparing he & Winfield for 2021:
o Whitehead … 14 Games – 2 INT – 8 PD – 63.2% Completion Percentage (36 completions in 57 targets) – 73 Combined Tackles – 796 def snaps.
o Winfield … 13 Games – 2 INT – 6 PD – 73.3% Completion Percentage (33 completions in 45 targets) – 88 Combined Tackles – 876 def snaps.
Looks to me like Whitehead has about a 10% lower completion percentage than Winfield. His 63% is actually quite good even compared to some of our CBs (not as good as Dean, Davis, SMB or Edwards, but better than Cockrell, Desir & Delaney).
January 19th, 2022 at 7:02 pm
Love J Whiteheads play , the completion % on Winfield is about how I feel about him on the back end ……. A lil overrated by the avg Bucs Fan
January 19th, 2022 at 7:39 pm
I totally agree!
January 19th, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Joe I love the confidence you have in us beating the rams. I think this will be a close one. I hope I wrong