It is little secret that the Bucs’ defense needs to set a turnover precedent this season. After ranking 24th in interceptions last season, the Bucs’ defense has adopted the mindset of getting after the ball. Time will tell if they can do so as proficiently as Ronde Barber did in his time donning red and pewter.

There is no better example of a ballhawk in Bucs’ history than Barber, who finished his illustrious, 16-year career with 47 interceptions. Barber recently discussed on the Pewter Report Podcast how Bucs cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean have the talent to come down with more interceptions and make a name for themselves with more production.

Ronde Barber Discusses How Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean Can Make A Name For Themselves

When asked about the star duo in Tampa Bay for the long haul, Ronde Barber quickly pointed out that while they are technically sound, they have yet to separate themselves into elite status truly. Increased popularity and accolades only come with more interceptions.

Legendary Bucs CB Ronde Barber: Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Those two guys – turnovers tell the story in this game,” Barber said. “Your ability to take the ball away is what separates Trevon Diggs – who might not be the best technical corner in football – from guys who are really technically sound like Carlton Davis in assuming All-Pro honors, getting Pro Bowl nods, and finding that popularity outside of your market. It is; it really is.

“My first – I can only relate this to me. In my first three years playing in the NFL – 1998, 1999, and 2000 – I had two interceptions a year. That’s six interceptions in four years in my NFL career. That is yawning, right? Who the hell is that guy? I know he’s Tiki Barber’s brother. Is he any good? I don’t know. And then 10 and leading the league in interceptions, it changed the trajectory of the way people perceived me.”

Through four seasons, Jamel Dean has seven interceptions, or 1.75 a year. Davis has the same amount of interceptions spread across five seasons, amounting to 1.4 a year.

Although they have yet to pick off opposing quarterbacks with regularity, they have the ability to do so. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles wants to see them come down with them, and the talk of turnovers is something long emphasized by the coaches in Barber’s playing days.

Bucs CBs Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Carlton Davis had four interceptions a couple of years ago,” Barber added. “You want that to be his benchmark because he’s in position enough to make those types of plays. You just got to cash in on them. It’s got to be important to him to take the ball away. One of the emphases when I was playing, obviously, was turnovers. It was the only thing Monte [Kiffin] talked about. The only thing Tony Dungy talked about. Quarterbacks can hit you in the face – are you going to catch it? Can you take the ball away? It’s the only thing that matters.

“These two dudes have that ability. First of all, they look nothing like me. They’re four inches taller and have arms that can touch their knees, and they are both 4.3 guys. The skillset – you talk about metrics, their metrics jump off the page. There’s a reason why Jamel Dean was such a highly coveted free agent this year, regardless he doesn’t have the numbers to say that he was the top one. You just look at what he’s working with, and he should be very, very productive. I think when that production starts to follow what they look like, everybody will know who they are, and this defense will be better for it.”

Bucs CBs Carlton Davis And Jamel Dean Are Tied Together Even Closer

Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean are both good corners, but are they great? Ronde Barber has put them up to the challenge to manufacture and mass-produce takeaways.

“There are a lot of good players in this league that just don’t have the production, so they kind of hide in the background on rosters,” Barber said. “But people who evaluating them – the Bucs scouts, John Spytek and Mike Biehl, who recruited both of these guys out of college. They know what these guys can do. They absolutely, 100% are assured of what they can do. They just need to do it. They need to produce, and once they do, there won’t be these questions any longer because they are good enough.”

Davis and Dean now lead the cornerback room, and each is being paid like a No. 1 cornerback. As the starters on the depth chart, it is their room. Raising the level of it comes with bettering each other on the gridiron every day.

Former Bucs CB Brian Kelly – Photo by: USA Today

“Both of those guys are good enough, and to be honest with you, not having Sean Murphy-Bunting here anymore probably helps them,” Barber added. “I don’t mean that as a slight against Sean, but it gives them – in my mind at least – that partnership. It’s us.

“If they take it as such, like Brian Kelly and I did, this is us. This is our room, and I remember it’s funny. In 1998, if you go back to that year, I remember when Brian was a rookie, I was a second-year guy. Anthony Parker got hurt, and they’re like – ‘Which one of these two guys can play? Neither one of them are good enough.’ We took that to mean something and used it for the betterment of both of us.”

Both Barber and Kelly stepped up on the dominant early 2000s Bucs’ defenses. After recording ten interceptions in 2001, more quarterbacks started targeting Brian Kelly instead. Kelly stepped up, and in 2002, it became his turn to lead the league in interceptions, recording eight.

In Barber’s eyes, Davis and Dean can do the same. Each possesses well-documented abilities that can easily turn into quantifiable results in the box score.

“I would love to see these guys do the same because they are so damn talented man. So talented.”

Watch Ronde Barber On The Pewter Report Podcast

Bucs legend Ronde Barber joined Scott Reynolds and Matt Matera to discuss his Hall of Fame career as well as the current 2023 Bucs on a recent episode of the Pewter Report Podcast.