Let’s talk about Jamel Dean, shall we?

The more exciting periods of the Bucs offseason are over with, as pre-draft scouting, free agency, the NFL Draft, OTAs and mini-camps are well in the past. hat is exciting, though, is that this Bucs Storylines series began when training camp was still weeks and weeks away, and now we’re just days away from Tampa Bay’s first practice back together at the AdventHealth Training Center.

There’s still plenty of time to talk storylines for the upcoming season, though, as the regular season doesn’t kick off for another month-plus. So, with that in mind, this series rolls on as we narrow in on some of the Bucs’ biggest stars and go player-by-player to dive into the big storylines that are in store for the 2024 season.

After taking a look at six players on offense (quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, running back Rachaad White, tight end Cade Otton and left tackle Tristan Wirfs), we flipped over to the defense with nose tackle Vita Vea, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, inside linebacker Lavonte David and free safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Today, we continue the series with cornerback Jamel Dean.

Bucs Storylines: Jamel Dean

Here are three big storylines surrounding Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean in 2024:

Can Jamel Dean Stay Healthy In 2024?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

Unfortunately for Jamel Dean, most conversations about his potential include an “if he can stay healthy” qualifier. That’s something he has struggled to do over the first five years of his career, as he has yet to play a full season for the Bucs. He played in 13 games and started five as a rookie in 2019, then played in 14 (with seven starts) in 2020.

When the regular season went to 17 games in 2021, Dean played 15 games and started 11. He then played and started 15 games in 2022, but the 2023 season was one of his most injury-riddled campaigns to date. He was limited to 13 games, missing one with a shoulder/neck injury early in the season before missing three later in the year with an ankle issue. The talented cornerback also suffered a concussion in the first quarter of the Bucs’ loss to the Texans in Week 9.

So, as good as Dean has been over the course of his career in Tampa Bay, there’s always the question of his health. Can that change in 2024? Of course, there are always points in an NFL season when players are banged-up, but the hope is that the soon-to-be 28-year-old can finally endure and play a full 17 games in his sixth season in the league. “Injury-prone” can be a difficult label to shake considering injuries are largely out of a player’s control, but you can bet that Dean is the one putting the most pressure on himself to stay healthy this season.

Dean said earlier this offseason that he’s put extra focus on working some muscles that he may have been neglecting before. His goal is to be more balanced throughout his body in hopes of avoiding those shoulder, quad, hamstring and ankle injuries that could threaten to impact his season. Whether he can maintain his availability (the best ability, they say) may end up playing a role in his future with Tampa Bay. If he has another injury-plagued season in 2024, he could be in danger of going the way of Carlton Davis III, whom the Bucs traded this offseason.

Davis had his own problems staying healthy, and Tampa Bay ultimately moved him for a third-round pick despite his overall strong play as the team’s CB1. Given that Dean just signed a four-year deal to stay with Todd Bowles and Tampa Bay in 2023, he certainly won’t want to be in a spot where he’s on the trading block next offseason. And the team surely won’t want to be in the position where it has to deal its former third-round draft pick and core member of its secondary. So hopefully for all involved, Dean has his healthiest season yet in 2024.

Will Jamel Dean Live Up To His Status As The Bucs’ New CB1?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Carlton Davis III gone, Dean is now the No. 1 cornerback on the Tampa Bay roster. While health will go a long way in determining his suitability for that role, his play will need to do its part, too. That feels like less of a question mark for the former Auburn Tiger, as he has quietly been one of the better cover corners in the league for the last few years.

Dean was actually Pro Football Focus’ second-highest-graded cornerback in press coverage last season, earning an 82.5. Opposing quarterbacks had just a 34.8% completion rate when targeting him in press coverage, and they only targeted him on 23 of his 111 press coverage snaps. Dean forced incompletions on 30.4% of those targets, which was one of the best rates in the NFL.

It’s more than just press coverage that Dean excels at, of course. He has actually graded out pretty well across the board throughout his career, but especially in the last two seasons. His PFF grades have actually been better than Davis’:

2023 Dean: 74.3 Overall, 82.7 Run Defense, 83.4 Tackling, 72.5 Coverage
2023 Davis: 63.1 Overall, 66.7 Run Defense, 50.9 Tackling, 63.3 Coverage
2022 Dean: 77.9 Overall, 82.5 Run Defense, 88.7 Tackling, 75.6 Coverage
2022 Davis: 65.1 Overall, 59.0 Run Defense, 61.4 Tackling, 65.4 Coverage

Having the duo of Davis and Dean was a luxury for the Bucs over the last few years, but the team decided it was time to move on from Davis. Now, it’ll be Dean as the CB1 and Zyon McCollum slotting in as the CB2. Todd Bowles and the Buccaneer defense will need Dean to be better than ever in 2024, and there’s certainly reason to be confident in his ability to handle that CB1 status.

Will Jamel Dean Get His Hands On More Footballs?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

One area where Dean has fallen consistently short on the field is getting his hands on the ball. Bucs cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross has been on him nonstop with a simple message: “Catch the ball.”

“If [he picks off passes] he’s an All-Pro, he’s a Pro Bowler,” Ross said earlier this offseason. “All he has to do is catch the ball. We’ve been emphasizing that in that room. And it really starts with me. I’ve got to increase more ball drills with those guys, I’ve requested these guys to catch 50 balls a day during this training camp right here. We’ll see, we’ve got to catch the ball. We could’ve led the league last year in takeaways had we caught the ball the way we needed to.”

There have been far too many instances where Dean or another Tampa Bay defender was in position to make a big play but failed to capitalize. As if you needed any reminding, the picture you see under this subheading shockingly did not result in an interception. It was a chance for Dean to make a massive, momentum-shifting play in the end zone early in the Bucs’ NFC Divisional Round loss to the Lions. Instead, he dropped the ball and gave Detroit new life. The Tampa Bay defense did force a field goal, but an interception in that spot could’ve been huge.

#Bucs CB Jamel Dean talks about holding onto the ball for INTs this season.

CB Coach Kevin Ross would text him in the offseason: “You need to start catching balls”

Dean replied: “I know I dropped 5 interceptions last year. I’m sorry.” pic.twitter.com/2JtTS8u7GJ

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) May 28, 2024

As Ross hammered home, the Tampa Bay secondary has been downright terrible when it comes to picking off passes. That’s been the case for years, and it’s another similarity Dean shared with Davis for a long time. Davis had nine interceptions in six seasons with the Bucs, while Dean has seven in his first five seasons with a career-high of two (2019, 2021, 2022). He had zero in 2023, and he had a career-low four passes defensed. He has to be better in that department this season.

Dean really has been a very good cornerback for the Buccaneer defense over the years. But as Ross says so often, what’s keeping him from reaching that next level — the Pro Bowl and All-Pro level — is interceptions. Health is playing a role as well, but a healthy Jamel Dean finally getting his hands on the football and hauling in 3-5 interceptions could make a major difference in 2024 both for the Bucs and for Dean’s perception throughout the league.