The start of free agency took a toll on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary. Their best bet to reload at defensive back is in the draft, where they have enjoyed no small amount of recent success.
A big reason for the Bucs’ defensive resurgence in recent years is general manager Jason Licht’s focus on drafting in the secondary since 2018 when the Bucs selected corner Carlton Davis and safety Jordan Whitehead in the second and fourth rounds. A year later, Licht took corners Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean and S Mike Edwards across the second and third rounds.
The selection of these five players correlates with significant improvement of the Bucs defense. In 2018, they were 32nd in the NFL in defensive DVOA. By 2020, they were fifth and have remained in the top half of the league since.
The Bucs re-signed Davis last season while losing Whitehead to the New York Jets. This offseason, they managed to lock up starting cornerback Jamel Dean, but have since lost safety Edwards and Murphy-Bunting.
The loss of Edwards and Murphy-Bunting leaves Tampa looking to replace 1244 defensive snaps and 171 special teams snaps. Edwards in particular is a major blow as he was effectively a starter at safety next to Antoine Winfield Jr.
In any case, the Bucs need multiple defensive backs, and it is likely that Jason Licht returns to the draft well to address their needs down the depth chart.
Here are five defensive backs the Bucs should target in this year’s draft: