One of the clear goals the Bucs had this offseason was improving the depth of their secondary. Last year, as a result of injury to starting cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis III and ineffectiveness from safety Ryan Neal the team was stretched very thin on the back end. Dee Delaney was forced to played safety. Zyon McCollum was used as both a nickel and safety after largely training on the perimeter. Josh Hayes played outside (after training at nickel all camp) and Kaevon Merriweather was thrown onto the field for some significant snaps at safety down the stretch.

Bucs SS Jordan Whitehead and ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Some of those players proved up to the task that the Bucs felt comfortable giving them increased roles this offseason. McCollum is entrenched as a starter while Merriweather looks like a lock to make the roster as the team’s third safety. But there was perhaps no other position group that received as much attention from the Bucs front office than the secondary.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht started free agency with three veteran additions in safety Jordan Whitehead, slot corner Tavierre Thomas, and cornerback Bryce Hall. The team continued to add to the room in the draft by taking defensive back Tykee Smith in the third round.

The unit is not without question marks but there is no denying that the group is deeper with a higher floor than last year. Especially when you factor in the undrafted free agents from last year who proved they can be key contributors (Merriweather and Christian Izien).

Similarly, this year the team is seeing strong performances from more undrafted free agents this year. And with those strong performances, combined with the investments Licht and company made in free agency and the draft, the Bucs will be faced with some champagne problems come cut day. After the first preseason game of the season here are my thoughts on the secondary and who I would have make the team.

Please note these are still subject to change with additional preseason games.

Locks To Make The Bucs Roster – 8

There is no question that cornerbacks Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum and Bryce Hall along with defensive backs Christian Izien and Tykee Smith and safeties Jordan Whitehead, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Kaevon Merriweather should all have secured spots at this point. Izien and Merriweather have had solid camps, and both played well against the Bengals last week making them, in my mind, virtual locks.

In most years the Bucs have carried nine defensive backs, but 10 is not unprecedented. Last year the team surprised many when they kept Derrek Pitts as a 10th defensive back. So, the precedent is there, and I think the team should reward the group overall by operating in kind this year. As such which two players should lock up the last two spots?

Not Likely To Make Roster

There are four players facing uphill battles. They are cornerbacks Andrew Hayes and Chris McDonald and safeties Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks. The reasons for each vary a bit. Hayes has not had a strong camp and was repeatedly victimized in the Bengals game. In 14 coverage snaps he was targeted four times, allowing three catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. He was credited for a forced incompletion on a target in the end zone, but he still had poor positioning on the play and came dangerously close to a pass interference penalty. He also showed a lack of physicality, getting bodied by Jermaine Burton when trying to press him on a quick hitch.

Bucs CB Andrew Hayes and Bengals WR Jermaine Burton – Photo by: USA Today

McDonald did not have as poor of a showing as Hayes, but he didn’t stand out positively either. He allowed 1.5 yards per coverage snap while giving up one catch on three targets. He got beat on another play deep, but the receiver was not targeted. That, paired with a relatively quiet camp, keeps him on the outside looking in.

Wisdom and Banks are another story. Both have had good camps, and both played well on Friday. Banks earned the third highest grade from any Bucs defensive player on the night from Pro Football Focus – 79.4.

Watching each of them play, Banks stood out to me. He showed a strong awareness for route combinations and was able to put himself in position to dissuade opposing quarterbacks from making throws. Banks played well as a hole defender and added a rep where he was able to identify a dig route and trigger quickly on it, nearly breaking up the play and recording a tackle. Factor in strong tackling and he had himself a really good game.

Wisdom played well in his own right, but didn’t have any standout plays. The problem for both players is there are too many players ahead of them on the safety pecking order. Of the eight players listed above as locks, four are on the safety depth chart and a fifth, Smith, was technically drafted as a safety, although the Bucs are primarily using him a slot defender.

Adding either player to the 53-man roster would leave the depth at outside corner a bit light and there are very few scenarios where either would be called upon to play defense. But both, especially Banks, have great cases for the practice squad.

The Real Competition

That leaves four players competing for two spots. Tavierre Thomas, Josh Hayes, Keenan Isaac and Tyrek Funderburk. Thomas has the most glowing pro resume. With almost 1,500 snaps in the slot over five seasons, he has been a plus defender for the last three.

Since 2021 Thomas has allowed just 0.73 yards per coverage snap. That is an impressive number for any coverage player, but especially so for a slot corner in today’s NFL. The Bucs have been attempting to cross-train Thomas at safety to give him some positional versatility, which bodes well for him making the roster. He would also be helpful as a veteran presence in a room that will may feature up to five players with two years of experience or less.

Bucs CB Keenan Isaac – Photo by: USA Today

Isaac stood out in the Bengals game with an interception. Beyond the pick, which allowed him to display solid closing speed (after initially getting beat) and a good sense to get his head around and track the ball in the air, Isaac had a solid game in coverage, playing best in deep thirds or as the flat defender in Cover 2. I worry about his athleticism and how he holds up in man coverage against a diverse route tree, but overall, his play was good in the game, and by all accounts he has had a good, but not great camp.

Josh Hayes probably has an inside track on one of the final roster spots. He was a sixth-round draft pick in 2023 and played significant snaps on special teams as one of the best gunners in the league. He appeared on defense in two games last year, tallying 13 coverage snaps.

Hayes had an up and down game against the Bengals, giving up a touchdown to Tee Higgins due to some hip stiffness, but also had an impressive play later in the game where he capped a fade route well. Ultimately, I would leave him off the roster as I see a limited athlete who struggles to smoothly break out of his stance and change direction. Hayes would have a good chance to be stashed on the practice squad as he was an overdraft last year according to the public consensus boards and hasn’t produced enough tape that many teams would have changed their draft opinion of him.

That leaves Funderburk. He has had a strong camp with some very encouraging reps against Mike Evans. He was targeted just one time on Friday and did not allow a catch. Watching the game back I had three notes on him.

Small negatives include him being late to pinch a dig route from a Cover 3 deep zone and later working a little slow to pass off a shallow cross from a press jam leading to a completion on an out route over his head in Cover 2. But he also had two back-to-back impressive plays in man coverage. And this is where I am most impressed with him. If given a choice I’d rather take a good man corner and teach him zone than the other way around. It’s just so much easier working in that direction. Just ask Jamel Dean.

Of the four I’d roll with Thomas and Funderburk to make the team with Isaac, Hayes and Banks on the practice squad.