Table of Contents

About the Author: Jon Ledyard

Avatar Of Jon Ledyard
Jon Ledyard is PewterReport.com's newest Bucs beat writer and has experience covering the Pittsburgh Steelers as a beat writer and analyzing the NFL Draft for several draft websites, including The Draft Network. Follow Ledyard on Twitter at @LedyardNFLDraft

[adrotate group=”1″]

When the Bucs drafted Jamel Dean in the third round, the general consensus was that the big, long cornerback would help them transition to more of a man-coverage heavy defense. However, in three years under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, that hasn’t happened. The Bucs have been predominantly a zone coverage defense, which has presented its challenges for Dean. The third-year corner was honest about his process of growth on Wednesday.

“Yeah, I always feel more comfortable in man-to-man,” Dean said. “That’s how I grew up playing. Grew up playing [man-to-man] in high school all the way until now, I’ve always been a man corner. So zone was just something that I have to continue working on.”

The comfort level is evident throughout Dean’s career. This season, Dean has an 86.1 Pro Football Focus grade in man coverage, and a 65.5 grade in zone. Both numbers are strong, but the Auburn product’s man coverage grade is among the best in the NFL. Yet Dean has only played 31 snaps in man coverage this season, compared to 138 in zone. All of these numbers come from PFF’s data.

In two-plus seasons, Dean has had ups-and-downs in both coverage schemes. But his length and speed are big assets in man coverage, especially when his ball skills are present. Dean has been a seesaw when it comes to making plays on the ball, but is riding a high right now. After committing a 45-yard defensive pass interference on an Eagles receiver in the first quarter last Thursday, Dean made sure he found the ball on his next opportunity. When Jalen Hurts tested him a handful of plays later, the 6-1 corner was ready.

“The difference between those two plays was I panicked on one and the second one I didn’t,” Dean said. “The second one, I got my head around it earlier. So I was able to track the ball, and at the last minute I saw he was looking for the ball. By the time I looked, it already came down.”

Dean has interceptions in back-to-back games for the first time in his football career, even dating back to high school. He’s set a goal for five interceptions on the season, with two already in hand. He hopes to make it a third against rookie quarterback Justin Fields on Sunday. Through five games, Dean has 18 tackles, seven pass breakups and two picks.

In the absence of starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting, Dean has been a steadying force for the Bucs secondary. A few weeks ago, it looked like Dean would join his fellow “GraveDiggers” on injured reserve after a knee injury against the Rams. But the 25-year old missed just one game before returning in Week 5. Now that he’s back to 100 percent, his confidence is sky high.

“Yeah, I feel like I’m back to myself now,” Dean said. “I have my confidence back up and I have more confidence in my knee after being able to run with the Eagles receivers.”

Bucs G Aaron Stinnie And C John MolchonBucs Release WR, Sign OG To Practice Squad
Bucs Lg Ali MarpetBucs WR Evans: Marpet "Well Overdue" For Pro Bowl Honors
Subscribe
Notify of
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments