The Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed they were serious about bolstering depth in their defensive secondary Friday when they chose cornerbacks in both the second and third rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft.
For Kansas State football’s Jacob Parrish, the No. 84 overall pick in the third round, that could be both good news and bad. Good in that the Bucs were serious enough to invest in a second pick so early at the position — they grabbed Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison at No. 53 in the second round — but also a concern with the number of corners competing for spots on the roster.
But Parrish, who passed up his senior season at K-State to enter the draft, seemed to welcome the challenge during a video news conference with Tampa-area media.
“I’m very blessed to go to Tampa and just ready to get to work,” said Parrish, the first of three Wildcats selected in the draft.
He will join a Tampa Bay secondary that brings back starting cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jared Dean, as well as backups Josh Hayes ― a fellow former K-Stater ― and Tyrek Funderburk. Then, of course, there is Morrison.
It’s a blessing just getting to work with those guys and learn a few things from the guys,” Parrish said. “Iron sharpens iron, so I’m excited.”
Parrish is listed at 5-foot-10, 191 pounds, which is on the small side for NFL corners, but that didn’t scare the Bucs scouts, who also saw him run a 4.35-second 40-yard dash a couple of months ago at the NFL Scouting Combine. He continued to get stronger physically through his three years at K-State, putting on nearly 20 pounds of muscle.
