The Tampa Bay Buccaneers recruited Jamel Dean during the third-round selection of the NFL draft. Admittedly, Dean remained relatively anonymous until his regular-season debut in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks.
During the 40-34 loss, he recorded six tackles and four pass breakups. Unfortunately, he also let slip over 150 receiving yards and three touchdowns. After that hiccup against the Seahawks, Jamel Dean played like one of the best NFL defensive backs.
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Last year, the rookie cornerback finished the season with five starts. He also posted 21 combined tackles, two interceptions, and 17 pass deflections. Over the final eight weeks, Dean’s 89.8 coverage grade was enough to rank him second among qualifying cornerbacks.
Although he was absent for half of the season, the rookie raised plenty of eyebrows. This included Pro Football Focus writer Sam Monson. Based on his 2019 production, Monson considers the cornerback as a breakout candidate for the 2020 NFL season.
Jamel Dean is going to be a dark horse this season
“Tampa Bay’s Jamel Dean was the highest-graded rookie cornerback in 2019, ending the season with an overall mark of 76.4,” said Monson. “Dean didn’t play nearly as much as some of the other rookies, but he was cooking by the end of the season. He still led all rookies in pass breakups (10). Dean allowed a 72.0 passer rating into his coverage and only 48.9% of targets to be caught.”
“A big, aggressive cornerback, Dean nevertheless showed the savvy to not stray over the line with that physicality. Parlaying it into consistently excellent coverage instead. The Bucs’ defense was rapidly improving last season and could be a real unit to reckon with in 2020.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers recruited Dean with the No. 94 overall pick in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL Draft. At the NFL Combine, he posted the fastest recorded 40-yard dash time (4.3 seconds) by an Auburn player since 1999.
