The Bucs revamped their cornerback room in a number of ways during free agency. First, the team traded starter Carlton Davis III and a sixth-round pick to the Lions for a third-round pick, thus catapulting Zyon McCollum into a starting role opposite of Jamel Dean for the time being.

Questions about depth at the cornerback position immediately arose, but the Bucs took care of it soon after.

Tampa Bay signed former Jets corner Bryce Hall and former Texans corner Tavierre Thomas each to one-year deals. It helps fill out a couple of different areas on the roster while ensuring that the Bucs have a plan in place should anything happen to Dean, who has missed ample time over his career due to various injuries.

Todd Bowles Comments On Latest Bucs Additions At Cornerback

Bucs CB Tavierre Thomas – Photo by: USA Today

How exactly do the team’s new cornerbacks fit into the plans for the Bucs’ defense? Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles discussed that topic at the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando on Tuesday. He began by talking about Hall’s usage.

“Bryce Hall is a very good football player,” Bowles said. “He’s an outside corner, highly intelligent, he’s very long just like Zyon [McCollum] and [Jamel] Dean are. Plays great man-to-man, has a good feel for zone, he had some injury issues in the past but if we can keep him healthy, I’ll think he’ll be a good addition for us.”

Next Bowles went into detail about Thomas.

“Tavierre plays nickel as well as special teams,” Bowles said. “He’s a fierce tackler, he’s a tough competitor and he can play some safety for us as well. He’s a really good utility piece to use and he’s a chess piece going forward to see how much he learns that we can use to help us during the season.”

Bucs Bring In Competition

Bucs general manager Jason Licht looks at the arrival of Bryce Hall and Tavierre Thomas in Tampa Bay as an open competition with a couple of spots available for each of these players to contend for.

“If anything, great depth, if not competing for a starting job,” Licht said. “Tavierre is a really tough, instinctive player. Can run, extremely aggressive. I like him in the nickel spot. Can also play a little on the outside and really good on (special) teams. Bryce can compete for time outside, playing in nickel, playing on third down while competing for a job regardless. I felt those were two really good depth pieces that we were able to get.”

It sounds like each player has a bit of different skill sets in the Bucs’ cornerback room. Hall, who has experience as a starter, may very well compete with McCollum for that other starting corner position, although Zyon McCollum should get the first shot at it due to his time logged in Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme. Regardless, because of Jamel Dean’s injury history, these players should prepare to become the starter anyway.

Bucs DB Christian Izien – Photo by: USA Today

Christian Izien was the Bucs’ starting nickel cornerback last season as a rookie, but it’s not guaranteed he’ll have it again this year with the addition of Thomas. More than anything, Bowles will have the versatility that he looks for in a player with Thomas. This should make for an interesting competition in the slot during training camp while also questioning if either could move to safety as well.

The Bucs have a great duo with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead, but lack depth at safety. Ryan Neal, who was last year’s starter, isn’t coming back, and Kaevon Merriweather isn’t ready to start to just yet after a promising rookie season where he got playing time at the end of the year. This opens up another option for Bowles with Izien and Thomas.

Of course with the draft coming up in late April, the Bucs could select another corner or safety and really fill out the roster with more talent and competitive depth. Yet with Hall and Thomas in the fold via free agency, the Bucs are already in much better shape and won’t feel compelled to force a pick on a defensive back just to fill holes on the roster.