The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have put together a promising rookie class, as the franchise tries to continue its dominance over the NFC South. From first-round pick Emeka Egbuka, to undrafted signees like Shilo Sanders, the Bucs have a few first-year players who could emerge as immediate contributors. As training camp approaches, the rookies will start to carve out roles for themselves.
Of course, everyone will be locked in on Egbuka, as he’s the first-round pick, and people will also be intrigued by Sanders, considering his popularity. However, those aren’t the only rookies people will be excited to watch. In a recent ESPN piece, Ben Solak named five rookies throughout the league to watch, and Tampa Bay corner Benjamin Morrison was one of the names listed.
ESPN names Benjamin Morrison as a rookie to watch in training camp
The Buccaneers selected Morrison in the second round of the 2025 Draft, with the 53rd-overall pick, but Solak made sure to highlight how the corner would’ve been a first-round selection if not for injuries. With that in mind, the analyst argued a healthy Morrison could emerge out of training as one of Tampa Bay’s starting corners.
"A likely first-rounder if not for a series of hip injuries at Notre Dame, Morrison has the talent to beat out Jamel Dean for the CB2 job in Tampa Bay. He would have to stay healthier than Dean, who missed four and five games in each of the past two seasons, and tapped out mid-game in other contests, including the Buccaneers' playoff loss to the Commanders.Ben Solak (ESPN)
Dean became a bit of a mark for opposing quarterbacks as he played at less than 100% last season, so the Buccaneers double-dipped at corner with Morrison and third-rounder Jacob Parrish (Kansas State). With the length and ball skills to produce turnovers in the Buccaneers' blitz-heavy scheme, Morrison will have the first crack at winning the job from Dean in camp. I'd expect him to rotate in for first-team reps over the first couple of weeks."
As Solak highlighted, the Buccaneers obviously viewed corner as a position of need, taking two of them with back-to-back picks. Morrison was viewed as the better of the two entering the league, and he’ll have the opportunity to prove that in training camp. However, he won’t just be competing against Jacob Parrish and other first-year players, Morrison will have to show that he’s better than the veterans as well.
The penciled in starters at the two outside corner spots are Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum. Morrison is expected to push both of them if he’s healthy. However, before he can do that, he needs to get signed, as he’s one of the many rookies who still haven’t signed their contracts.