Todd Bowles Talks Importance Of Rookies Jacob Parrish And Benjamin Morrison
April 28th, 2025
Rookie Bucs cornerback Benjamin Morrison.
Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator/head coach Todd Bowles weighed publicly today on his newly drafted cornerbacks.
Those are Benjamin Morrison out of Notre Dame (Round 2) and third-round pick Jacob Parrish out of Kansas State. Each just turned 21 years old and is known for athleticism and ballhawk ways.
Morrison is also known for his injury history, which likely kept him from being a first-round draft pick.
“It was important for us to get some corners,” Bowles said of the draft on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “We had a lot of injuries the last two years at that position. We were banged up and we needed more production, ball production that way. And we think we found two corners that can come in and play and help us right away with [Jacob] Parrish and with [Benjamin] Morrison. So that speaks a lot because we didn’t have a lot of depth to begin with.”
Bowles added that he’s fired up for competition across his defense. Joe is, too.
It would be something special if Morrison can outshine a healthy Jamel Dean, who has a habit of looking very good and healthy through August. Dean has answered the bell for Week 1 in all of his six Bucs seasons.
April 28th, 2025 at 4:07 pm
Davis & Dean were 2nd & 3rd round picks and turned out pretty well….I actually think this duo is better….
April 28th, 2025 at 4:16 pm
Davis and Dean both missed 25 % of games over their careers.
Not stellar.
April 28th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
Heard there are two players that will be playing both ways in the NFL this season: Travis Hunter WR/CB and Baker Mayfield QB/ILB
April 28th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
“It was important for us to get some corners,” Bowles said of the draft
If it was that important to them, they would’ve taken Barron in round 1.
Instead they chose to go WR and neglect the weakest area of the defense.
Now we’re stuck with an often injured CB and a smaller CB.
Remember this when the pass defense fritters away games in 2025.
Insanity is doing the same thing while expecting different results.
April 28th, 2025 at 4:40 pm
Man i swear it feels so good to a Bucs fan! Jason Licht and staff are among the best in the league, it’s not really much more we can ask for outside of another superbowl and some new threads. It’s the GOLDEN years for the team Glazers, let’s see us in some new swag please lol
April 28th, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Joe: Have they said whether or not Morrison will be ready by OTA?
April 28th, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Todd Bowles … ‘“It was important for us to get some corners. And we think we found two corners that can come in and play and help us right away with [Jacob] Parrish and with [Benjamin] Morrison. So that speaks a lot because we didn’t have a lot of depth to begin with.”
Todd’s right there. Look at our def snaps from last season:
o McCollum – 1056 def snaps (17 games)
o Dean – 697 def snaps (12 games)
o Hayes – 265 def snaps (15 games)
o Funderburk – 162 def snaps (13 games)
o Thomas – 45 def snaps (17 games)
o Bryce Hall – 17 def snaps (1 game)
o Izien (Nickel & Safety) – 697 def snaps (14 games)
o Tykee Smith (Nickel & Safety) – 612 def snaps (13 games)
o Hill, Isaac & Flowers (all CBs) got zero def snaps each, but did each get some S/Ts snaps last season.
Looking at the Bucs’ team roster as of right now, Thomas, Hill, Isaac & Flowers are no longer with us, but Funderburk & Hayes still are (for now). So yes, Bucs added some much-needed depth by drafting Morrison & Parrish (and the 2 of them certainly improve on the 4 we’re no longer carrying).
We now have Dean, McCollum, Bryce Hall, Morrison & Funderburk to play outside, plus Izien & Parrish to focus on Nickel (assuming Tykee Smith gets moved to Safety). Got a hunch TB will carry 6 of those 7 on the final roster, plus 3 or 4 Safeties (Winfield, Tykee Smith, Merriweather, maybe 1 more). If we have mega-injuries again, wouldn’t be surprised to see Hayes & Funderburk back on the roster. It’ll also be interesting to see if Shilo Sanders has was it takes to make the Final-53.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:03 pm
Well SwissCheeseD, way to bring optimism to the preseason! Why don’t we just let training camp unfold and see what we actually have. If it doesn’t pan out then bring your gloom and doom analysis back.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:05 pm
Swiss cheese, I wouldn’t call having corrective surgery on a birth defect in his hips being hurt offen. He missed 1 game in 23. Dean misses how many games a season? Buccaneers didn’t neglect the defense as 5 out of the 6 picks were defense. They chose a WR as it was the best player available at that pick and we did have a need at that position. Morrison was considered first round talent and a excellent value pick. Parrish is also a great pick that we needed.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:11 pm
I am with DR.
The defensive backs (if no injuries) are mostly decided.
McCollum, Dean, Morrison, and Hall as 4 primary outside to start training camp.
Izien starting Nickle with Parish there. 2 DBs.
Then
Winfield and Smith as starting safeties. 2 there.
Total 8 guys as primary.
I tend to think we will keep 9 or 10 and that Merriweather has the inside track over anyone else.
Obviously depending on camp reps and understanding guys may get moved around a little. We also know that Izien plays safety so not locking him into nickle and nothing else.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:12 pm
How can anyone justify going offense in the first round when clearly the defense has held this team back for three years in a row?
And the exact type of defensive back needed was right there for the taking.
If you were really serious about upgrading at CB, you take Barron at 19 and trade up in round two a few spots and grab Will Johnson as well.
Then if you need a WR in round 3 go for it. Even though it still isn’t the biggest need.
You really should have gone defense in the first four then go WR in round five, or wait till 7th and get the guy you picked anyway.
Reality is not gloom and doom or negativity. It’s the real world facts in front of your face.
But some of you just prefer your soothing comfortable lies over reality.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:13 pm
SwissCheeseDefense Says:
April 28th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
Insanity is doing the same thing while expecting different results.
^^^^^^^
Like you complaining all of the time when the Bucs have made the playoffs how many years in a row? That kind of insanity? Complaining about something you have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how it will turn out, that’s insanity, or just being a weak minded sissy. Either way, not good.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:15 pm
If Evan’s (who is in a contract year) retires next February after the boat parade, fans would be screaming at Licht if he hadn’t drafted a replacement this season.
Yes, we have needs on defense, but ignoring potential needs in the future on the offense can come back and bite you in a big way.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:17 pm
SwissCheeseDefense Says:
April 28th, 2025 at 5:12 pm
How can anyone justify going offense in the first round when clearly the defense has held this team back for three years in a row?
^^^^^^^^
You probably wouldn’t have taken Mike Evans or Chris Godwin in the draft either, but those guys worked out. Think about the leadership Mike Evans has brought to the Bucs. That’s what the Bucs think Egbuka will bring, also (while also being a Cooper Kupp-type).
April 28th, 2025 at 5:20 pm
@Robertg We drafted 2 WRs, 2 CBs, 1 edge, and 1 DL.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:23 pm
Nice snap breakdown posted.. Good corners should be able to step right in and contribute I think. Excited to see Tykee play safety if that happens. Parrish played 470 snaps out wide and 90 in the slot this year.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:23 pm
As for the “smaller CB” comment, I remember some Bucs “fans” questioning the draft pick of Antoine Winfield Jr. because he’s “a shrimp”. More recently, I remember people questioning the Bucky Irving pick because he’s too small and too slow, supposedly. There are hundreds of examples of NFL CB’s being 5′-10″ or shorter that balled out.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:23 pm
Joe in Michigan
I’m not saying EE isn’t talented, nor am I saying WR wasn’t a need.
Defense wins championships and we missed a golden opportunity to try and fix it.
Yeah we go to the playoffs three years but mostly just lose. Except against a severely hurt and floundering Eagles team.
Winning the NFC South is the Superbowl, when TB zero is the HC.
28-27
April 28th, 2025 at 5:24 pm
Defense Rules:
The only thing I’ll add—I’m not convinced Parrish *can’t* play on the outside yet. And clearly, the team thinks he can, based on the corners they left on the board. Just my opinion, or I think they would have drafted someone else.
Short *Successful* Corners
You don’t need to be 6’2″ to lock down NFL receivers. Some of the best cornerbacks in league history stood under 6 feet and still dominated:
– **Ronde Barber (5’10”)** – Hall of Famer, Bucs legend, 47 INTs
– **Darrell Green (5’9″)** – Speed icon, 7× Pro Bowler
– **Chris Harris Jr. (5’10”)** – Super Bowl champ, All-Decade team
– **Asante Samuel (5’10”)** – 51 INTs, 2× Super Bowl winner
– **Trent McDuffie (5’11”)** – All-Pro, cornerstone of the Chiefs’ defense
– **Tyrann Mathieu (5’9″)** – Hybrid DB, 3× All-Pro, Super Bowl champ
– **Cortland Finnegan (5’10”)** – Pro Bowler, physical and aggressive playstyle
– **Brent Grimes (5’10”)** – 4× Pro Bowler, 33 INTs, incredible leaping ability and ball skills
Height isn’t everything. With the right traits—instincts, footwork, and competitiveness—undersized corners can still dominate.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:34 pm
Josh … I don’t disagree with you at all that some shorter CBs can play outside. At Safety too, where they have to be able to deal with matchups like with monster TEs or tall WRs like ME13. biut my bet would be that Todd Bowles will give preference to taller CBs IF everything else be even.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:37 pm
SwissCheese.
How a defense plays at during the playoffs matter. Not as much their statistical rankings during the season.
FYI —
in 2023 bucs offense was 20th ranked points and the defense was 7th ranked.
in 2022 bucs offense was 25th ranked points and the defense was 13th ranked.
But again playoffs matter more. Lets remember the Bucs defense in the 2020 playoffs. They did its job against Brees, Rodgers, and Mahomes.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:38 pm
I wonder if Bryce Hall is looking healthy enough to compete for a chance to contribute this season as well.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:41 pm
SwissCheeseDefense … ‘Defense wins championships and we missed a golden opportunity to try and fix it.’
I was admittedly very disappointed that the Bucs didn’t grab a monster DT/NT in Rnd 1 or 2 because I happen to believe that lack of a CONSISTENT pass rush in the interior DLine is our biggest weakness on defense (our other problems IMO stem from that). But I’ll be the first to admit that we picked up a heck of a player in Emeka Egbuka who’ll benefit us for years into the future. That’s what JL gets paid the big bucks for, not us.
April 28th, 2025 at 5:52 pm
Josh…
I bet that height isn’t even accurate for Grimes. That dude might be 5′ 10″ if he’s standing in combat boots or Prince/Kiss style platforms. 😜
He played here when he was on the older side of prime and was a really solid corner. That dude could hop!!
April 28th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
Also, teams rarely have two primary receivers up over 6′ 2″.
As long as you have a mix of height and some good athleticism in your secondary, you can always matchup is needed needed. Dean, McCollum and now Morrison have proven track records of matching up well against taller receivers.
April 28th, 2025 at 6:04 pm
You guys keep changing names but you can’t avoid saying the same shlt.
@swisscheese, let me guess…. You think Mike McCarthy should be our coach. Lol
April 28th, 2025 at 6:16 pm
If healthy may be steal of the draft.
April 28th, 2025 at 6:25 pm
SwissCheeseDefense Says:
April 28th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
“It was important for us to get some corners,” Bowles said of the draft
If it was that important to them, they would’ve taken Barron in round 1.
—————————-
Been there done that! No more Barrons at safety in the first round!!
April 28th, 2025 at 6:33 pm
I’ve been banging the Morrison drum for months. If he’s anything like 2022 and 2023, he is a much better football player than Dean and he WILL be starting. I understand this is SEC and Gator country and all but this isn’t early 2000’s Notre Dame anymore, they get some real dudes now. Everyone was a little pissed about the Antoine Winfield pick too because he isn’t big, dealt with some injuries – and it took all of a game for people to love the guy. Same thing will happen with Morrison
April 28th, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Everyone is knocking Morrison for being injury prone like Dean, but also saying he won’t see the field with Dean starting. These are contradictory complaints. If he’s not on the field much, he won’t get injured. Seems to me he is there to start a few games while Dean is inevitably injured at some point.
April 28th, 2025 at 6:37 pm
Offense sputtered most of the playoff game versus Washington back in January. It’ll be different next January with a healthy wr arsenal
April 28th, 2025 at 6:47 pm
Didn’t hear. He may. It’s underwear football.
April 28th, 2025 at 6:49 pm
Cheezehead, there are lots of holes in your theory and judgement! You sound like a 20 or 30 something that thinks they know it all, Like Mel K. (who is retarded). I’ve followed the Bucs from day 1! I have seen it all. Remember Why-Not-Minot? The Bucs did a fabulous job of drafting this year. Get over yourself like Kiper needs to do! GO BUCS!!!
April 28th, 2025 at 6:54 pm
just a thought… dean is a pretty big corner and a solid tackler. could we move him inside to slot? that way he won’t be playing 100% of the snaps. and he’d be better suited for the matchup if he ends up on a tight end. he’s a few inches taller and weighs more than parrish or morrison.
morrison could be cb2 and parrish could be depth inside or out. I know bowles likes tall guys outside but parrish is fast so in man coverage, cover 3, or cover 4, he can keep up on deep balls.
April 28th, 2025 at 7:04 pm
All things considered, I’m good with the draft.
I’ve been a fan since 1979. We have it good here now. isn’t much to Cringe about like years gone by, No bitching please!
April 28th, 2025 at 7:08 pm
GoneGator Says:
“@swisscheese, let me guess…. You think Mike McCarthy should be our coach. Lol”
Yes, I do in fact think he would be better. He did more with lesser talent in a vastly better division than Bowles ever could.
We need an actual HC. Not an imposter that was forced on us.
April 28th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
BassCrazy Says:
“The Bucs did a fabulous job of drafting this year. Get over yourself like Kiper needs to do! GO BUCS!!!”
You have no idea how they drafted, if I also have no idea.
All I’m saying is they should have focused on the issue at hand.
Which is by far the freaking defense.
I’m sure the next HC will love the pick of EE after Bowles is shown the door.
28-27
April 28th, 2025 at 7:36 pm
Swiss just changed his name. He has never been happy with anything the team does. By the way. Licht has to justify nothing to anyone but the owners. Any of our opinions or b!itching mean nothing.
April 28th, 2025 at 7:49 pm
KA
Grimes had hops, no doubt.
When Mika said jump, he asked how high?
April 28th, 2025 at 8:04 pm
Bowles Sucks do you think we don’t know who you are? Every name You use you end with the coaches record. And yes you have hated Bowles all along.
April 28th, 2025 at 8:04 pm
I was totally thrown in R1 but I loved the draft by the end lol. Most mocks I did myself for fun always had a WR at some point, just not R1.
It feels like we got good value just looking at each round. There was a run on edge/DT/OL end of R1-R2, to where there had only been 4 corners picked before we chose one at 53.
The corner we got at 53 was one of the top 2 corners with elite outside shut down upside (the other being Will Johnson IMO. Barron/Hairston are better off as nickles according to most of what i read). That’s rare to get at 53.
THEN 4 corners went, but 3/4 were outside types (Trey Amos, Darien Porter, Azah Thomas), and Justin Walley. So at pick 84 we were getting a pretty good shot at the available top nickle CB’s still. Parrish was such a perfect compliment to Morris for what we needed.
Then from where we picked in R3, to R4, only 2 edge players were taken. So it’s very possible they would have picked a guy like David Walker in R3 depending on how this draft played out. That’s probably why they freaked out so much when they got him since the drafting of edge players like stopped right when we needed lol.
April 28th, 2025 at 8:18 pm
So reading this thread creates a very tough decision for me.
Who do I believe. Swiss Cheese and Toodumbtospellsucks?
Or Jason Licht and Todd Bowles?
TOUGH call eh? LMAO Cheese and too dumb to spell have ZERO seasons of NFL front office or coaching experience.
Jason Licht – In 28 NFL seasons, including one as a coach, the clubs that Licht has worked for have amassed a 240-214 (. 529) record, 13 playoff appearances, 11 division championships, five conference championships and two Super Bowl titles.
Todd Bowles – He was previously the head coach of the New York Jets from 2015 to 2018. Bowles has also been the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals and Buccaneers as well as the secondary coach for the Jets, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Philadelphia Eagles. He played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety, primarily with the Washington Redskins, and was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XXII.
Let’s see Todd has been a DC or defensive coach for SEVEN NFL teams.
Yeah that’s the ticket believe keyboard losers like Swiss and can’tspellSucks OR
at least SEVEN NFL teams management!!! NFL pros can’t possibly know as much.
So two guys WITH ZERO experience know more? You be the judge.
April 28th, 2025 at 8:34 pm
Bowles has accomplished more than people give him credit for. Year 1 was rough, but I pin that on Brady’s retirement waffling and divorce drama, the team’s WTF reaction to what was unfolding, and absolutely completely incompetent offensive coordinator. Since then, while overseeing a transition in QB and transition of 2 different coordinators, and a MAJOR transition to one of the youngest teams in the league from one of the oldest, and under pretty dramatic cap constraints in 2023, he managed to hold things together well enough to still win the NFCS each year. I don’t care if the division is weak. Doing it under the circumstances he has dealt with has been a pretty impressive accomplishment. I’m not even a Todd Bowles lover. I’ve openly expressed a desire to get rid of him a few times… but, in the end, a balanced critical opinion of him has to include the accomplishment above… and not just the W-L record in a vacuum.
April 28th, 2025 at 9:11 pm
Watched 5’9″ Pat Fischer beat the crap out of 6’8″ Harold Carmichael through most of the 70’s, was glorious
April 28th, 2025 at 9:39 pm
FilthyAnimal… Might as well throw in coaching Bucs to 10 wins with all of the injuries we had to major starters and even a few backups in ’24. I thought that was big. Licht keeps crediting him for the culture he’s s created, making Bucs able to keep our good veterans, who could go and chase money somewhere else, and snag FAs like Reddick when we still don’t have a lot of cap space.
April 28th, 2025 at 9:47 pm
Great thing about football is that a season is always about how you finish. Never been about how you start. These last 2 years we’ve lost against very good teams in the playoffs and fought down to the wire. That’s a good sign about how we finished those seasons. After the bye weeks both years we were on runs into the playoffs. Another good sign. Bowles and Licht put together a record of 25-9 or so these next 2 years and sprinkle a Super Bowl in the mix they’ll be thought of as one of the best GM Coach tandems in football. And they are. They’ll finish this decade strong and Tampa Bay may just be the team of the 20’s. And the 2 corners this article is about may just be leading a championship defense into the 30’s. You heard it here. You’re welcome.
April 28th, 2025 at 9:59 pm
@swisscheese how many games in a row did we lose when we lost Mike and Chris in the same game? I’m curious why you don’t think WR is a need. Mike is Mike, Father Time not on his side. Godwin you hope returns to form but can’t be counted on. Jmac is developing looks to be a good player.. then what? Palmer? Is he a real person? I vaguely remember someone named Palmer in 2023… who’s next Sterling shepherd? Rakim Jarrett? Yeah, WR was a big need. Not downplaying corner need mind you just saying.
April 28th, 2025 at 10:04 pm
DefenseRules – I never said your analysis was off—actually, you pretty much covered exactly what I was going to say. I just wanted to add that I think the Bucs might see him as someone who can play outside. If you watch his tape, he looks comfortable out there. Plus visit some short corner history. Was an excuse to go watch some old highlights with my son lol….
KABucs – That’s hilarious!