The Buccaneers may have found another undrafted free-agent answer in the secondary, and Ayden Garnes keeps making the case louder by the day.
Tampa Bay has built a reputation under Jason Licht for uncovering UDFAs who turn into real NFL pieces, the kind of players who start as camp bodies and end up carving out depth roles. Christian Izien, Ben Chukwuma and Kaevon Merriweather are part of that track record, and Garnes now looks like the next name in that line.
The rookie corner out of Arizona has been turning heads since camp opened, but the preseason is where he’s really forced his way into the conversation. In his pro debut against the Jets, Garnes delivered immediately: a tackle for loss on Breece Hall on the opening drive, then a pick-six that gave Tampa Bay its first points of the preseason.
He backed that up with another strong outing against the Chiefs, and Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the 10th-best rookie through two preseason games. Over 53 coverage snaps, he hasn’t allowed a touchdown and has posted a 42.3 passer rating when targeted. He’s also logged an interception and a pass broken up.
The momentum hasn’t slowed down in joint work either. This week against the Jaguars, Garnes added another interception, this time against Trevor Lawrence on Wednesday.
That kind of run makes his roster case hard to ignore. He’s been one of Tampa Bay’s most consistently impressive players in camp, and he brings needed depth to a cornerback room that looked thin entering training camp. Cornerback was widely viewed as the biggest remaining hole on the roster, with the expectation that the front office might need to dip into free agency for veteran help.
Instead, Garnes’ rise may have changed the math.
With Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish, Benjamin Morrison, Garnes and Damarion “Pepe” Williams, the Buccaneers suddenly have a young group that looks a lot more promising than it did a few weeks ago. And once again, Tampa Bay may have struck gold in undrafted free agency.
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Pompei went so far as to suggest the Bucs could clear an eight-win expectation, and the reasoning behind that outlook is becoming easier to follow. Rookie Rueben Bain Jr. adds another layer of intrigue, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson gives the offense a different feel, and Baker Mayfield enters the season with plenty of motivation after the way things unfolded a year ago. For a team that was being written off not long ago, that kind of quiet momentum has made Tampa Bay one of the more interesting debates in the league. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Buccaneers, though, it also nudged open a question they know well: what exactly did Coens arrival mean for Mayfields game, and how much of that success followed him out of Tampa Bay? Coen has since helped both Mayfield and Trevor Lawrence turn in strong performances in recent seasons, giving his rsum a broader reach and keeping his name in the same conversation whenever quarterback development comes up. For a team that has already moved on, the connection is still hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Rookie LB Is Forcing His Way Into A Bigger Role
Josiah Trotter has kept turning heads throughout Buccaneers training camp, and his play in the joint practices has only strengthened the case that he belongs in a much larger role right away. The rookie inside linebacker has flashed as a run stopper, as a blitzer and in coverage, giving Tampa Bay a look at a player who seems comfortable doing just about everything asked of him.
The buzz picked up even more after he intercepted a Trevor Lawrence pass during work against the Jaguars, the kind of play that tends to stick with a coaching staff. Todd Bowles has already praised Trotters instincts and football intelligence, and with injuries thinning the linebacker room, the path is opening for him to line up next to Alex Anzalone and handle an every-down workload sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]