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Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers understood what they had in cornerback Jacob Parrish by the end of his rookie season in 2025 — a player who could be part of their defense for the next decade.

Headed into his 2nd season, Parrish is still flying under the radar. That might not last long after Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put him on the list of the NFL’s “Best Kept Secrets” in 2026.

“When watching Jacob Parrish closely throughout the draft process, it became easy to see how fluid he is in his coverage,” Sobleski wrote. “His movement skills and explosive traits immediately translated to the NFL. Parrish played in 38 games at Kansas State, yet he wasn’t viewed as a top cornerback prospect because he lacked the size and length teams prefer among outside corners. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers benefited by selecting Parrish in last year’s third round. In turn, the then-21-year-old prospect immediately earned a starting role as the team’s nickel corner.”

Parrish played in all 17 games in 2025 with 5 starts, 50 tackles, 2 interceptions, 7 pass deflections, 7 TFL, 2.0 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery.

Jacob Parrish Made NFL History as Rookie

Parrish was one of 2 Buccaneers to make the NFL All-Rookie Team alongside wide receiver and 2025 1st-round pick (No. 19 overall) Emeka Egbuka and made NFL history in the process.

From the Bucs’ official X account: “CB Jacob Parrish in 2025: The fourth rookie DB since 2010 to record 75+ tackles and multiple INTs/sacks, joining Kansas City’s Eric Berry in 2010, L.A. Chargers‘ Derwin James in 2018 and Washington’s Kamren Curl in 2020.”

That’s an incredible group for Parrish to find himself in. Berry was a 5-time Pro Bowler and 3-time NFL All-Pro in just 9 NFL seasons. James is arguably the NFL’s elite safety, a 6-time NFL All-Pro and 5-time Pro Bowler in his first 8 seasons.

Curl, a 7th-round pick by the Washington Commanders in 2020, just signed a 3-year, $36 million contract extension with the Rams on March 6.

Bucs May Have Already Overhauled Secondary

If the last few drafts are any indication, the Bucs might be headed toward a complete overhaul in their secondary.

The Buccaneers drafted what could be their future outside cornerbacks in 2025 with 2nd round pick Benjamin Morrison (No. 52 overall) and Parrish, who played slot as a rookie, appears to be headed outside.

That’s also probably why the Buccaneers drafted Miami’s Keionte Scott in the 4th round (No. 116 overall), who many thought was the top slot cornerback in the draft.

If the Buccaneers can figure out how to win with those 3 in the starting lineup sooner rather than later, it could represent an all-time savings bonanza for a few years.

In 2026, the value of the contracts for Parrish, Morrison, and Scott will come to a combined $20.05 million. That’s almost equal to the $19.5 million the Buccaneers will pay NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. this season on the 4-year, $84.1 million contract extension he signed before the 2024 season.

One player who might start to feel the heat from the younger players is veteran cornerback Zyon McCollum, who signed a 3-year, $48 million contract before the 2025 season and had arguably the worst season of his pro career after he missed 5 games and ended the season on injured reserve.