Bucs Nation
More defensive excellence is highlighted with the team’s illustrious cornerback history.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have more awesome football players to talk about on defense. Spread the news!
The topic is now the cornerbacks, which have seen a lot of not-so-good (let’s throw Vernon Hargreaves and E.J. Biggers out there, for instance), but the good has been VERY good. Let’s break it down.
Much like Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber’s name is synonymous with Buccaneers excellence.
Spending his entire 16-year career with the Bucs and setting the record for most consecutive regular-season starts by a defensive back in NFL history (215 games), Barber revolutionized the nickelback position, played elite outside corner, and even excelled as a free safety in his final season.
The man truly did it all, and he did so with exemplary character and leadership that made him a beloved member of the Tampa community.
The list of records and accolades he achieved is almost too long to list. Almost.
He holds the Bucs’ records for most career interceptions (47), most passes defensed (197), most non-offensive touchdowns (14, and his 8 pick-sixes are top 10 all time), most games played and started (241 and 232, respectively), most sacks by a defensive back (28, which is also second-most all time), and most interceptions in a single season (10).
Barber is the only member of the 45/25 club (45 interceptions and 25 sacks) in NFL history, and he was a five-time All-Pro (three first-team, two second-team), five-time Pro Bowler, and a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team. He received his gold jacket from the Hall of Fame in 2023 and got inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor in 2019.
Truly one of the greatest of all time.
Now, Carlton Davis is not Ronde Barber. But that can be said of basically 98% of defensive backs in NFL history.
What Davis was, however, was a very good No. 1 corner who contributed a lot to the Buccaneers over six seasons. The trauma may’ve been blocked out of some fans’ minds, but it should be remembered that the Buccaneers, prior to Davis’s arrival, were horrendous on pass defense - like unwatchably bad. Between 2014-18, the Bucs finished bottom 5 in passing yards allowed and permitted the best completion percentage to opposing passers three times.
Jason Licht began pouring resources into the secondary like crazy, and 2018 yielded M.J. Stewart, Jordan Whitehead, and Davis. While it took a couple years to gel, with Davis often seeing a huge share of targets thrown his way, he eventually settled in as one of the NFL’s best zone defenders and consistently rose to the challenge of covering opposing No. 1s.
As long as their name wasn’t Tyreek Hill, Davis consistently put up excellent performances against the likes of Michael Thomas, CeeDee Lamb, Davante Adams, and Ja’Marr Chase. Aggressive and persistent, Davis logged some of the best passes defensed totals in football (73 total during his Bucs tenure)....
