The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have one of the better secondary units in the NFL next season. After the team acquired All-Star cornerback Darrelle Revis from the New York Jets, their defense was instantly upgraded. The Buccaneers also grabbed safety Dashon Goldson in free agency. Pairing those two alongside second-year safety Mark Barron could be extremely productive and Barron is already reaping the benefits from having both players on the team.
Barron's rookie season was inconsistent. The safety out of the University of Alabama made a huge impact early in the season, but hit a wall later on. He showed strength in run support, but struggled in coverage, recording just one interception. That is all expected to change now as Goldson takes over at free safety, giving Barron the confidence to let loose.
After having spent a season learning under Ronde Barber, Barron is enjoying having both Goldson and Revis on the team to learn from. He first earned some nice extra pocket change after Revis gave him $50,000 to wear No. 24. No he is imparting lots of knowledge onto the young player.
"Knowledge. Just like with Ronde Barber," Barron said. There were certain things I wanted to learn from him as far as just studying the game. And I picked up some things from him and now I have two different players I can pick up more things from. I just feel like I am in a great situation where I can learn from different players and pick up a lot of things."
Tampa Bay is certainly hoping that is true. Even if Barron plays at the exact same level he did last season, the Buccaneers' defense is better just with Revis and Goldson. But, Barron is expected to have a more breakout season in 2013 with the additional players. With a full season of NFL play under his belt and an offseason to focus on areas of weakness, Barron should return much improved from 2012.
Revis is still recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL that happened in the first few weeks of the 2012 season. The cornerback has been rehabbing in both Arizona and Tampa. Head coach Greg Schiano told NFL Network that Revis has been looking very strong in his rehab and is still likely to start Week 1 of the season.
