Buccaneers ‘Second Round Steal’ Projected to Start Over $52 Million CB

Headed into the 2024 season, Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison seemed like the lock of all locks to be a first round pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Morrison, the son of former Washington Redskins safety Darryl Morrison, spent the first 2 seasons of his college career as the lockdown cornerback for the Irish and seemed to have everything NFL teams want out of a first round pick.

That was, until an injury derailed all those plans.

Morrison suffered a hip injury after 6 games that required surgery and watched from the sidelines as Notre Dame made a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game without him.

Morrison still declared for the NFL draft and, unable to work out for teams, watched his stock dip until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the second round (No. 53 overall).

Now, with Morrison seemingly on the mend, ESPN’s Ben Solak has him singled out as one of 5 “NFL Rookies to Watch” headed into training camp and a legitimate second round steal.

Solak also believes Morrison could be the player who finally boots embattled $52 million cornerback Jamel Dean out of the starting lineup.

“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,” Solak wrote on July 16. “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 … 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.”

Morrison Part of Second Round Holdout Group

Just days before the Buccaneers rookies were scheduled to report to training camp on July 21, Morrison was part of a group of 2025 second round picks who were yet to sign their rookie contracts.

Morrison is the only Tampa Bay Rookie yet to sign his contract and can’t report to camp until he does.

“The bulk of the second-round draft class is currently jockeying with their respective clubs to expand the guarantees they receive over their 2024 counterparts,” Pewter Report’s Joshua Quiepo wrote on July 13. “Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger, the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins, the 34th overall pick have both signed fully guaranteed deals. They are the first of their kind to do so.”

Buccaneers Drafted CBs With Consecutive Picks

The Buccaneers said all they had to say about how they view the current state of their cornerbacks room by drafting Morrison in the second round followed by Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish in the third round (No. 84 overall).

Parrish is also in the mix to start at slot cornerback.

“Third-round corner Jacob Parrish can be considered a winning pick for Tampa,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on May 7. “I talked to a few teams predraft that listed him as a sleeper for the end of the first or early second, though some obviously thought that was too rich … Head coach Todd Bowles wanted better depth (at cornerback) coming out of last year.”