8 Position battles to watch out for heading into NFL training camps

#4 Buccaneers' cornerbacks – Vernon Hargreaves III, Brent Grimes, Ryan Smith, Robert McClain, Carlton Davis and M.J. Stewart

Alright, what do we do with this mess? The Bucs made it a priority to become a more physical team up front and invested heavily in both their offensive and defensive line. Their defensive backfield has been a mess for the last couple of years as well, however, finishing the most recent season dead-last in passing yards allowed.

Vernon Hargreaves was the 11th overall pick two years ago, but he has looked way too passive in Tampa’s scheme as an outside corner. I actually liked him much better after moving into the slot a few weeks into last season, when he was allowed to get handsy with his opponents.

Brent Grimes has been their best corner by far since coming over from Miami, but he just turned 35 years old and I’m sure the Bucs didn’t envision him to be their number one guy at that age, even though he still has the athleticism of somebody in their mid-twenties.

Ryan Smith saw a lot of playing time last season and played tough against the run, but he was exposed quite a bit. He just doesn’t have the speed to survive on the outside as a starter and routinely saw his stack-technique defeated by curl and comeback routes because he was so scared of being beaten over the top.

Robert McClain actually played the second-most snaps at cornerback for the Bucs only behind Grimes, but that was more due to a lack of adequate options and some guys missing time with injuries. I like both those guys just mentioned as solid back-ups, but they are just no quality starter material.

Tampa Bay selected two more DBs in the draft with North Carolina’s M.J. Stewart and Auburn’s Carlton Davis. Stewart was my favorite nickelback in the entire class, due to his crazy competitiveness and the aggressive attitude he plays with. That brings up a little bit of a conflict with the idea of moving Hargreaves inside though.

Davis is a no-nonsense, get-in-your-face press-corner. He is nothing like those smaller guys the Bucs have on their roster. He is physical with his man through the echo of the whistle and won’t back down from anybody. I just hope the Buccaneers use him in the right fashion, as he can be one of those goes to disrupt receivers from getting into their route, and don’t ask him to play in space like they usually do.

I have a huge problem overall with Tampa Bay’s mindset in coverage. I think they are not nearly aggressive enough and instead of matching the physicality of some of the receivers they go up against, they let guys like Julio Jones have a free release and burn them underneath as well as on routes over the middle.

I still believe in Vernon Hargreaves, because I watched him become a top ten prospect for me back in 2016, with the football IQ and instincts combined with the flashy change-of-direction ability to break on routes. I think the Bucs just need to give him the freedom to cover guys one-on-one and even though that will bring some growing pains, he has the confidence to be able to shake the last playoff and think he will win the next rep.