Carlton Davis talks growth in 2020.

Bucs fans are just chomping at the bit for the 2020 season to get here. With all the new editions, and solid play last year, the excitement is understandable.

And it seems Bucs corner Carlton Davis is looking forward to it, too. Yes, to play football but to also see how he and his younger teammates in the secondary play.

Davis thought the secondary was close to demonstrating its capabilities last year. Now, not being burdened with learning a new defense, this season will just be the next logical step in the progression, Davis said.

“The DBs got their hands on a lot of balls,” Davis said of last year’s play. “A lot of them should have been interceptions.

“It is just about making the plays. We’re still young. And we were understanding a new system. With a year under our belt, it makes us a lot more focused under the [same] system.”

What Davis didn’t mention is the Bucs return the same assistants along with defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. No adjustments for new coaches.

“We should have improvement,” Davis said. “Take that next step and get those interceptions and create more turnovers.”

Look, there is no question the secondary got better late in the season. Was that because Vernon Hargreaves got run out of the building for serial loafing? Was that because Jason Pierre-Paul came back and when he got in shape he was hounding quarterbacks? Probably a little of both.

Jenna Laine of ESPN had an interesting nugget to highlight how the secondary improved in the final five games of the season.

In Weeks 1-11 last year, the Bucs had 15 turnovers, which tied for 10th in the NFL, but only six of those were interceptions, 22nd in the league. In Weeks 12-17 last year, their 13 takeaways were tied with the Seahawks for second most in the NFL.

The secondary will be critical to this team’s success. And Joe firmly believes keeping old man JPP fresh later in the season will help out the secondary.