The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the tougher tasks in the NFL, facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers. Ja’Marr Chase is viewed as the best wide receiver in the NFL by many, and Tee Higgins would be viewed as a number-one receiver on most other teams.
Head coach Todd Bowles recognizes the matchup will be tough for starting cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish. However, his message has been to execute the scheme and not worry about the player.
“We have to play our game,” said Bowles. “We can’t get so caught up in who they are as opposed to worrying about executing our scheme.”
Bowles expressed confidence in his duo at cornerback
“Zyon and Parrish have strengths as well,” Bowles noted when highlighting the talent of Chase and Higgins.
Cincinnati Bengals WRs Provide Strong Test for Tampa Bay Buccaneers CBs
Chase is one of the toughest receivers in the NFL to defend. He had 1,412 yards last year, and that was a disappointing season considering he had 1,708 the year prior. What makes him even harder to defend is that the Bengals move him all around the formation.
Last year Chase had 390 snaps on the left side of the field, according to PFF. He had 270 snaps on the right side and 316 snaps in the slot.
The Bucs are not usually a team that will follow receivers around the formation. Bowles plays a lot of zone coverage, so the cornerbacks stick to their side.
This means that both McCollum and Parrish are going to see plenty of Chase on Sunday.
Buccaneers CBs Are Preparing for Ja’Marr Chase
When the Bucs signed McCollum to a three-year, $48M extension, the idea was for him to step up in moments like this. In the first year of his extension, he was not nearly as impactful and had injuries throughout the year.
The expectation is for McCollum to be healthier this year and prove to the Bucs why they bet on him with the deal.
On the other hand, Parrish has been excelling since being drafted in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, he played in the slot last year. This year, the team is asking him to move to the outside.
He played on the outside in college, so the transition was not out of line. However, Parrish moved to the slot in the NFL because most expected him to be too small to consistently line up on the biggest threats in the NFL.
That would mean players like Chase, or even more specifically, Tee Higgins, who stands at 6’4″ with 34″ arms. Parrish was just under 5’10” and had 30 7/8″ arms. Higgins has five inches more in height and over three inches more in arm length.
This will be a huge test to see if Parrish can hang on the outside or if this becomes a major disadvantage. Right now, Bowles is expressing confidence in his second-year player. We will see if Higgins and Chase make them pay.
Todd Bowles Sends Strong Message to Bucs CBs Before Ja’Marr Chase Test