The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need some upgrades at the cornerback and safety positions, despite those groups getting healthy this offseason. Jason Licht has shown he will invest in the area, which makes the latest picks for them in ESPN's mock draft one that is likely.
Field Yates published his latest mock draft and went two rounds deep. In the process, he gave the Bucs two playmakers in the secondary, Malaki Starks and Benjamin Morrison. Both had been slated to be top ten picks before positional value affected Starks and injury hampered Morrison.
Yates explains the Starks pick, writing, ". . .Starks was not as impactful this past season as he was in 2023 (one INT, down from three), but the high-end skill set is still there. Starks is a versatile, instinctive safety who is willing to help in any phase of the defense. He had plenty of snaps at Georgia covering the deep portion of the field, hovering over the slot and even walking down into the box."
For Morrison, Yates highlights, "Morrison -- who missed a large chunk of last season with a hip injury -- has very good size and great ball skills. . ." Had Morrison not been injured, he would have no business being available that late in the draft.
If the Bucs walk away from the draft with both Starks and Morrison, that will be a major win for the team and have set to be much better in pass coverage in 2025 and beyond.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs land two high profile defensive backs in latest mock draft
