Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish took first-team reps in the slot during spring practices, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, giving the third-round pick a chance at a starting role as a rookie.
Parrish played the vast majority of his college snaps at Kansas State on the boundary, but his 5-foot-10 height led some draft experts to predict a move to the slot in the pros. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles pushed back on those projections during rookie minicamp, saying (via Auman) that Parrish is “an outside corner first and then a nickel second.”
But as the team’s secondary has taken shape this spring, Parrish has emerged as a potential starting nickelback. Tampa Bay largely used safeties in the slot last season, led by 2024 third-rounder Tykee Smith with 2023 UDFA Christian Izien and veteran Jordan Whitehead in a rotational role. Smith is expected to play a more traditional safety role this season, and the Buccaneers allowed Whitehead to hit free agency in March.
That leaves Izien as the primary candidate to compete with Parrish to start in the slot, a job he won out of training camp as an undrafted rookie in 2023. Izien played a more versatile role last year, but struggled in his 205 snaps at nickel, allowing 1.75 yards per coverage snap, the fourth-highest among all defenders with at least 100 snaps in the slot, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The Buccaneers are returning both of their starting outside cornerbacks from last season, so Parrish will not be needed on the boundary (barring an injury). With the slot open, Tampa Bay could get him on the field as a rookie and keep Izien as a multi-positional backup at safety and nickel.