The Bucs defense is playing out of their minds right now. Coming off of a 16-0 shellacking of the Falcons where they picked off Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. four times, they now lay claim to the best defense in the NFL as measured by expected points added.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense currently ranks 1st in EPA/play allowed on the season, per @SumerSports

The Buccaneers started 0-4 but are now 3-5 and competitive in the NFC South

— Shawn Syed (@SyedSchemes) November 1, 2026

What makes this especially impressive is that their pass rush is only starting to come around. Rueben Bain Jr. just put up his best performance of the season, generating three pressures. Yaya Diaby left the Falcons game after his fantastic three-sack performance in week 7. David Walker has cooled off a bit after leading the team as a pass rusher through the first six weeks. Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, A’Shawn Robinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad are all contributing as the defensive front is making opposing quarterbacks more uncomfortable with each progressive week.

But throughout the season it has been the defensive backfield that has performed consistently well. The Bucs have two outside corners playing extremely well, including one who is playing out of his mind.

Jacob Parrish

According to Sumer Sports, Parrish leads the NFL in pass breakups (13), is tied for 3rd in impact plays (14), and tied for 2nd in run stops (8) according to Sumer Sports. Opposing quarterbacks continue to throw his way, leading to some boom-or-bust plays. Parrish is the Minnesota Vikings defense of cornerbacks. He’s big game hunting. In addition to the pass breakups, he recorded his second interception of the season against the Falcons.

Parrish plays fast and physical as both a coverage defender, where he can press and run as well as a run defender. Screen passes to his side often get destroyed behind the line of scrimmage and he contests almost every throw that comes his way.

Across 75 qualified cornerbacks with at least 250 snaps this season, he ranks 17th in catch rate allowed (54.8%) 15th in passer rating when targeted (69.5), and 16th in EPA/target (-0.075).

Bucs CB Jacob Parrish – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was asked about the best part of Parrish’s game last week and whether it was how he attacks the ball in the air. Bowles went a level deeper in his response, detailing what puts him in position to attack that way. “No, I think the best part of his game is actually press coverage and vision in zone. I think he does some very good things that way, which gets him jumps on balls. Yes, he’s very quick and athletic, and he can do all those things, but he has a very smart football mind.”

All of those things are contributing to his ascension. He understands how offenses are trying to attack him and the rest of the defense. From there he puts himself in position to make plays by controlling his vision, looking for keys and breaks so he can be in position to make highlight reel plays.

His first interception of the season, a late-game grab against the Packers that kept the Bucs in the game was a ball he had no business being even close to. Parrish jumped inside from an outside third position in Cover-3 where he undercut a seam route from Matthew Golden that should have been a walk-in touchdown.

Some of Parrish’s numbers aren’t pretty. He’s allowed 340 yards and 1.43 per coverage snap. That’s partly due to his size and his playstyle. Parrish is a heavyweight fighter trapped in the body of a middleweight. He is the Minnesota Vikings of cornerbacks. He is big play hunting and forces opposing wide receivers to make incredible plays themselves.

To their credit some of them have. He’s allowed some big plays, but on almost every one of them, Parrish has been right there with fantastic coverage. But almost like clockwork the next time he is targeted he comes back with a drive ending forced incompletion or a touchdown saving pass break up. Parrish is a superstar in the making.

Zyon McCollum

McCollum has come back from a disappointing 2025, playing at a much higher level this year. He is certainly proving Bucs general manager Jason Licht right for signing him to a three-year, $48 million extension last year. He has rewarded Licht’s faith with some high level play this year. McCollum is top 10 in completion rate when targeted (53.1%), yards per coverage rep (0.6), pass breakups (9), passer rating when targeted (30.5), and EPA/target (-0.536) and impact plays (14).

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Quite simply, if there is a coverage metric out there Zyon is towards the top of the list.

McCollum is playing with an abundance of confidence compared with last year. He’s using his eyes more and trusting what he sees. His interception against the Falcons was an incredibly heady play to read through the eye candy Atlanta tried to throw at him with a fake perimeter screen to pick up the outside vertical from tight end Charlie Woerner. Then the athleticism required as he adjusted his body mid-air to make the grab.

Zyon McCollum with the @Buccaneers’ 4th INT of the game!

ATLvsTB on FOX/FOX One
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— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

As the stakes get higher and the assignments get tougher — the Bears next week may be the toughest challenge yet for the Bucs — McCollum and Parrish will continue to give the team hope that they can stop even the best passing attacks in the NFL. And keep the Bucs in the hunt for the playoffs.