Conversations surrounding new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady's arrival obviously dominate most offseason talk for Tampa Bay heading into the 2020 season.
Beyond the infusion of one of the greatest players in league history into the franchise, the Bucs are building the rest of their roster effectively, as well. And two Auburn alums are looking to lead the charge in one of the top young secondaries in football.
Both Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean have shown flashes of greatness at the cornerback position through their two years and one year in the league, respectively, giving Tampa Bay hope that the back end of its defense will complement an offensive resurgence with Brady at the helm.
A few numbers and grades on the defensive backs reveal their already impressive production for the Bucs secondary.
As Tampa Bay's top player at the ever-valuable position, Davis forced an incompletion on 22% of passes thrown his way per PFF, the best mark among corners in the NFL last season. His impact could have been larger had he not dropped four picks.
A second-round pick in 2018 after playing three seasons at Auburn, Davis took his lumps as a rookie, particularly with pass-interference troubles, but began to blossom into a true No. 1 cornerback in 2019.
Particularly in the latter part of the season — when the Bucs defense ranked No. 1 in the league in defensive efficiency and No. 2 in opposing quarterback ratings in Weeks 12-17 — Davis emerged as a big defensive leader who was counted on to lock up opposing teams' best receivers on a week-to-week basis.
Most notably, when Tampa Bay played the Texans and DeAndre Hopkins, arguably the best wideout in football, Bucs coach Bruce Arians said prior to the matchup that the game plan for Hopkins was "basically just Carlton Davis." Davis held the star receiver to a season-low 23 yards.
Davis finished out the year ranking fourth on the team in tackles and second in the entire league in pass breakups with 19.
Developing under Davis' wing is former Tigers teammate Jamel Dean, whom the Bucs selected in the third round in last year's draft after he took over the No. 1 cornerback slot from Davis at Auburn during the 2018 season.
Though not technically a starter at the beginning of the year, Dean turned in one of the best seasons for a rookie defensive player last year. Dean forced 14 incompletions on passes thrown his way, per PFF, which ranked first in the NFL among rookies.
He, too, grew his coverage skills as the year progressed, taking over as a starter following Tampa Bay's release of Vernon Hargreaves III. In only five starts, he was the only rookie in the NFL with 10 or more combined pass breakups and interceptions.
And that productivity for the pair of Auburn alums came under a first-year defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles.
Davis said throughout the season that the young secondary — whose oldest player in the main rotation was 26 — grew in comfort from week to week with Bowles' styles and playbook.
"We were young and getting used to a new system," Davis said this offseason. "I think with that season under our belt, it makes us a lot more comfortable to go out there and really play loose and make the plays instead of guessing and being unsure. The productivity me and (Jamel) Dean produced last year, we should improve as far as getting those interceptions and creating more turnovers."
Especially after the team cut Hargreaves and the keys were completely turned over to Davis in the secondary, Bowles' praises for Davis as a young, off-field leader and strong, on-field weapon were as consistent as the young cornerback's improving coverage skills.
“He’s done a great job growing as a player and understanding the things he can and can’t do,” Bowles said of Davis in the Tampa Bay Times in December.
As the Bucs look to contend for an NFC title, Brady will undoubtedly dominate the headlines, regardless of how he performs within Tampa Bay's offense.
But the franchise's sudden Super Bowl chase will only go as far as its defense and secondary — with two Auburn products in the driver's seat — will allow it to.
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