The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up their 2025 draft efforts again on Friday night, nabbing Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison with the 21st pick of the second round, number 53 overall. Morrison played only six games in 2024 due to a hip injury that required surgery but the Buccaneers believe he would not have been available in the latter half of the second round otherwise.
“I would say he’s a first-round talent,” said Assistant General Manager Mike Biehl. “The injury certainly factored into it, I would think, for a lot of people this year. We’re just excited to get him. He brings a lot to the table as a player and, again, another high-character kid who will fit in really good in this class with [first-round pick] Emeka Egbuka. He can play inside, he can play outside, he’s got the versatility to play man and zone. He’s shown the ability to play a lot of different techniques and he should be really good.”
Cornerback was a clear area of need for the Buccaneers in this year’s draft, something Head Coach Todd Bowles stated plainly during the NFL Annual Meeting in March. The 6-0, 193-pound Morrison was a playmaker for the Irish, with nine interceptions and 23 passes defensed in the 2022-23 seasons combined, and he offers both scheme and position versatility to a Buccaneers’ defense that prizes those traits. The Bucs believe he will be ready to contribute immediately as a rookie.
“Yeah, we would never take somebody we weren’t comfortable with [medically], especially this high of a pick,” said Biehl. “He should be ready for training camp.