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About the Author: Joshua Queipo

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Josh Queipo joined the Pewter Report team in 2022, specializing in salary cap analysis and film study. In addition to his official role with the website and podcast, he has an unofficial role as the Pewter Report team’s beaming light of positivity and jokes. A staunch proponent of the forward pass, he is a father to two amazing children and loves sushi, brisket, steak and bacon, though the order changes depending on the day. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2008 with a degree in finance.
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In a throwback to 2018, when the Bucs selected both M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis III on day two of the draft, Tampa Bay doubled up at cornerback in the second and third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. After taking Notre Dame corner Benjamin Morrison, the team selected Jacob Parrish out of Kansas State in the third round.

Parrish is a small, yet athletic player with just three years of experience at the position. He profiles as a nickel, which the Bucs have alluded to him playing in Tampa Bay, but they have also noted they think he can play outside if need be.

Measurables

As a nickelback, Parrish fits the bill for what Todd Bowles looks for physically. His height and arm length are almost the exact mean of the last four starters Tampa Bay has employed at the position since Bowles came to town. But he is on the lighter side, weighing in almost 10 pounds lighter than that mean.

Yet what he lacks in size, Parrish makes up for in pure athleticism. When comparing him to Tykee Smith, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Christian Izien and Antoine Winfield Jr., he ran the fastest 40-yard dash and 10-yard split, and also had the longest broad jump. And only Izien and Murphy-Bunting had higher verticals.

Using Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score system, Parrish scored an 8.81 out of 10. If not for his size, he would have easily cleared a 9.0.

Advanced Stats

Jacob Parrish was targeted on almost 20% of his coverage snaps over his three years in Manhattan. He allowed 85 catches on those 165 targets, yielding a catch rate allowed of 51.5% while giving up 1,018 yards and 1.12 yards per coverage rep. With 13 career pass breakups and five interceptions his ball production shows up on 11% of the times he was targeted.

Kansas State Cb Jacob Parrish Bucs

Kansas State CB Jacob Parrish – Photo by: USA Today

Isolating for just 2024, his target rate was 19%, allowing 40 catches on 72 targets for a 55.6% catch rate allowed. Parrish leveraged his yards per route run allowed to just 0.97 but his ball production shrank to just 5.6%.

When Jacob Parrish Wins

Despite his size, Jacob Parrish’s tape is littered with evidence that he likes to get physical and dictate terms to receivers, no matter how big they are.

Parrish is comfortable in press man where he can immediately dictate terms. His quick feet and fluid hips allow him to turn and burn with the fleetest of foot receivers. In press he will play both mirror as well as with a jab/punch to disrupt timing. Varying his techniques keep receivers off balance and reduce the effectiveness of their release packages.

He has experience both inside as a nickel as well as on the perimeter. In the modern NFL where offenses are working so much from condensed splits, he should feel comfortable no matter where or how he is asked to line up as he is twitchy enough to work against two-way go’s. But, most importantly for Bucs fans…he will be able to carry the seam.

Additionally, Parrish can hold up in the support functions that are so important for nickels in today’s NFL. He is explosive in triggering to the ball and fearless taking on blockers and dragging ball carriers down. With perimeter screens and wide zone/pulling run games increasing, Parrish doesn’t lack any skill necessary for success.

While Parrish was not used much as a pass rusher – he had just 24 attempts in three years in college – he showed a surprisingly high proclivity for it, generating a 33% pressure rate. He fires into the backfield without much hesitation.

Parrish gets publicity for his press man work, but I think he plays his best ball in zone. He gets to proper depth quickly, carrying and passing verticals before getting his eyes in the backfield to find where the play is going. From there he is quick to trigger to routes developing around him. As a tackler he played well last year and improved his missed tackle rate from 16.7% in 2023 to 8.3% in 2024.

When Jacob Parrish Struggles

It’s going to sound simple, but it really comes down to Jacob Parrish’s size. If receivers can dictate physicality to him, he can get knocked off routes and allow plenty of separation. And if he misses with his punch at the line, Parrish can panic, leading to more issues.

He is still figuring out how routes develop, and he can be caught guessing or reacting more than anticipating. That leaves him susceptible to late breaks and double moves.

This leads him to using his hands actively throughout the route and especially at the stem. In college he got away with this quite a bit. But in the NFL, it will lead to yellow laundry on a regular basis. He’s going to have to work on improving his footwork to keep balance and become less reliant on feeling to keep connected on routes.

Parrish will need to stay on his P’s and Q’s against NFL speed. Despite the track speed he has a slight tendency to let receivers get behind him by sleeping on their second gears.

What’s The Vision?

Bucs Cb Jacob Parrish

Bucs CB Jacob Parrish – Photo courtesy of KSU

With starters already in place on the perimeter in Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean, and Tykee Smith and Christian Izien both capable of playing in the slot and safety, there isn’t an immediate pressure for Parrish to get on the field immediately. That’s not to say that he can’t be the opening day starting nickel. Bucs assistant general manager Rob McCartney referred to him as such in his post-draft press conference.

Tampa Bay suffered in 2024 due to a lack of athleticism in their depth corners. Parrish, along with Benjamin Morrison bring that much needed athleticism to the depth chart. He has the explosive traits and demeanor to play with the same aggressiveness and tenacity that Tykee Smith brought to the position last year as a run defender and against screens and flats.

While the addition of Parrish and Morrison signifies a potential change in scheme to more press man coverage, the team will still play a predominantly Cover 3 base defense. Within that system Parrish will be asked to leverage his quick twitch traits to get into the backfield as a pressure player, leverage his speed to carry seams to 8-12 yards before passing them off, stay sticky with backs in the flats and two-man vertical route concepts to the sidelines.

He has all the base traits to accomplish these tasks, but each comes with a potential caveat. His size will present problems at times in defending the run. Expect Bijan Robinson to make him miss at least once next season, provided Parrish makes it into the starting lineup. He will have to learn the nuance of timing his blitzes to get the most out of them. And he’s going to have to learn and instinctively feel for route combinations to get less grabby and make more plays on the ball in zone.

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