football

The secondary remains the biggest issue for the Bucs

Yahoo Sports

The Bucs secondary was an issue in 2025 and it could be a bigger one in 2026.

The Bucs had a lot of issues to address coming into the year, and free agency and the draft are the times to do that. General manager Jason Licht has shown he can craft his way into having a Super Bowl roster, but recent years have had more skids than climbs. One of their prime issues, in the eyes of ESPN's Bill Barnwell , is the cornerback position.

He recently wrote that the team has several issues due to the departures of Mike Evans and Jamel Dean, as well as Lavonte David's uncertainty about whether he will play in 2026. Barnwell focused on the cornerback issue in this piece, noting the talent drop-off after losing Dean in free agency. Barnwell explains the need, writing, "The Bucs have Zyon McCollum locked in at one starting cornerback role, and Jacob Parrish was solid in his rookie year operating out of the slot.

Dean's departure, though, will elevate 2025 second-round pick Benjamin Morrison to the starting lineup. And while plenty of cornerbacks have rough rookie seasons before maturing in subsequent years, Morrison had a  very  rough debut campaign. He allowed a 112.

2 passer rating in coverage on 359 snaps, including a 72-yard touchdown to Patriots wideout Kyle Williams. Morrison also had two pass interference penalties and a holding call declined. The Panthers repeatedly went after the rookie in their home-and-home with Tampa Bay down the stretch, and I'd expect more of that if Morrison's in the starting lineup.