What Jacob Parrish Does for the Buccaneers

The Bucs double up at cornerback for their future nickel back.

The Buccaneers double-dipped at cornerback for the fourth time under Jason Licht as they selected Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish at 84th overall.

You may be familiar with Parrish, who I selected in our final 7-round mock (albeit a round earlier because I’m a big fan) and outlined in our Day 2 targets. Someone small but impressively athletic, Parrish is an ascending player who profiles neatly in the slot.

Between him and second-rounder Benjamin Morrison, but the Bucs have seriously revamped their secondary. Let’s talk more about Parrish and his profile.

Jacob Parrish Career Stats

Parrish played as a reserve in his true freshman season before becoming a full-time starter in 2023 and 2024, earning consecutive all-Big 12 honorable mentions. He led the Wildcats in interceptions and passes defensed both years, totaling 5 of the former and 21 of the latter.

He decided to declare for the draft as a true junior and participated in the Senior Bowl, where he had a strong week of practice.

Athletic Testing

Parrish, a Kansas sprinting champion in high school, tested very well in the pre-draft process. Despite being smaller (5-foot-10, 191 pounds with 30 7/8” arms), Parrish carries a well-built, evenly proportioned frame.

He tested in the upper echelon of speed and explosiveness, per Relative Athletic Score, and that’s readily apparent on the field. He moves around effortlessly with balanced footwork and quick twitch, and he’ll transition in that aspect of the game flawlessly in the NFL.

What Type of Player is Jacob Parrish?

Parrish is still refining the finer points of the position due to only three years playing it, but it’s exciting how quickly he’s picked up on it overall.

He’s fused his infectious competitive streak with more measured hand usage and tackling to take noticeably large steps in quality from Year 1 to Year 2 of starting (cut his missed tackle rate in half in 2024). Seeing major improvement year over year is so important for most positions, but especially at corner.

He did that playing outside and inside for KSU while handling a variety of difficult assignments (tons of reps in Cover 1 for example), so that added versatility should give Todd Bowles some good options in a corner room that simply lacked that versatility last year. That said, he’s nearly the same size as Tykee Smith and Christian Izien, so his primary place will be in the slot.

Parrish has a lot to like, but he’s still a little too aggressive sometimes, which will lead to burns and penalties in the NFL where the margins of error are smaller. The tackling still has some room to grow too, which is obviously important as a nickel, but the demeanor and effort aren’t questionable at all.

You’d also like to see him convert more interception opportunities, as he put himself in good positions the last two seasons but didn’t always convert. We’re used to seeing that in Tampa, but the Bucs seem hopeful they can continue working on him with that.

Conclusion

Tampa came into the draft sorely hurting for secondary depth, but that is no longer the case. They’ve added to high-upside corners on Day 2 who should immediately compete for major playing time, and that should be considered a big win.

Parrish is a steal whose best football is ahead of him. If Smith is indeed moving to safety, Parrish will have a great chance to take over nickel duties right away.

Bucs Nation, let us know how you feel about this pick by voting in the poll and commenting below.