Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Pre-preseason 53-man roster projection

Buccaneers Cornerbacks (5): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Ross Cockrell, Jamel Dean, Cameron Kinley

Buccaneers Safeties (4): Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead, Mike Edwards, Javon Hagan

The front seven of the Buccaneers may get most of the love and attention, but that is surely to change in 2021.

Make no mistake about it, this group may not have the “big names” but they have big talent. At cornerback, Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting are a solid duo. Davis had four interceptions which lead the team in 2020, with Murphy-Bunting adding one of his own. Jamel Dean provides solid depth as a nickel corner, adding an interception in 2020 as well. Ross Cockrell provides a veteran presence in the cornerback room and and necessary depth.

As for the fifth corner, we mentioned there’s always some surprises, and Cameron Kinley can be that surprise for the defense. The Navy man’s newsworthy quest to get to camp aside, this man can flat out play football, and his surprise roster spot can lead to some surprise corner cuts.

For the safeties, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead are as solid of a one-two punch in the backend of a defense as they come. At 22 and 23 years old respectively, they both had almost identical stats in 2020. Winfield, a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, recorded three sacks, one interception, and recovered a fumble, while Whitehead had two sacks, two picks, and a fumble recovery. If this tandem can keep up their production, and keep their trajectory going up, then they just may find themselves at the top of the NFL when it comes to safety duos.

Mike Edwards is about as good of a third safety you can get in the NFL, and he is having an outstanding camp, as have Davis and Cockrell. The fourth safety spot is up in the air, as each candidate brings special teams experience, but we’ll go with Javon Hagan for now due to having the most impressive camp of the bunch thus far.