FAB 2. Is Tampa Bay Targeting A CB In Round 2?

In last week’s SR’s Fab 5, I mentioned the prospects of Tampa Bay possibly taking Penn State running back Saquon Barkley if he were to fall to the Bucs at No. 7 in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. With just Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers, both former undrafted free agents, on the roster at the position, running back is a huge need for the Bucs, and the team would be justified in selecting Barkley, the top-ranked running back, with its first-round pick.

By getting the need at running back addressed, the Bucs could then move on to fill the glaring need at cornerback. Veteran Brent Grimes was re-signed to a one-year deal, but at age 35, this could be last season not only in Tampa Bay, but also the NFL. The Bucs have two young cornerbacks in Vernon Hargreaves III, who was the team’s first-round pick in 2016, and Ryan Smith, the fourth-round pick in ’16, but both struggled in extensive playing time last year.

Bucs CB Vernon Hargreaves – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Hargreaves fared better in the slot at nickel cornerback, but considering the team invested the 11th overall pick in a player it thought would be a starter at outside cornerback, the fact that Hargreaves may be relegated to playing just in nickel situations, which only amounts to roughly 65 percent of the snaps, is disappointing. What’s troubling is that in 25 NFL games Hargreaves has just 14 pass breakups and one interception.

Smith had 10 starts due to injuries to Grimes and Hargreaves and faced a trial-by-fire indoctrination into playing cornerback in the NFL. Smith gave up a lot of catches and a lot of yards, and only broke up five passes and did not have an interception. While the Bucs are far from giving up on either Smith or Hargreaves, it would be foolish for the team to think that either has shown what it takes to be a quality NFL starter at this juncture of their careers.

Considering that Grimes likely won’t be around in 2019, the cupboard isn’t exactly bare at the cornerback position, but it definitely needs re-stocking, especially in a pass-happy division like the NFC South, which features Pro Bowl quarterbacks in Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton.

After passing on the cornerback position in free agency outside of re-signing Grimes, the Bucs are now forced to turn to the draft to find a starting-caliber cornerback or two. I have Tampa Bay drafting two small-school cornerbacks on Day 3 in Southern’s Danny Johnson and Dubuque’s Michael Joseph in PewterReport.com latest 2018 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft. I like both of those small-school corners, who showed well at the Senior Bowl.

But I would feel better if Tampa Bay took a cornerback who was more accomplished and faced better competition earlier in the draft. If that doesn’t happen in the first round, then the Bucs will be forced to grab a cornerback in the second round, and that could prove problematic if Tampa Bay doesn’t – or can’t – draft Barkley in the first round because the team still needs a running back and doesn’t have a third-round pick due to the trade for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

So if the Bucs draft Florida State strong safety Derwin James in the first round or Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea – both visited One Buccaneer Place this week – and then draft a cornerback in the second round, would Tampa Bay have to wait until the fourth round to secure its running back? The Bucs waited until the fifth round last year and had to settle for Jeremy McNichols, which was a disastrous pick, as he didn’t even make the 53-man roster.

But let’s assume the Bucs want to snag an elite cornerback in the second round. There are three junior cornerbacks that Tampa Bay scouted intently at their respective pro days – Colorado’s Isaiah Oliver, UCF’s Mike Hughes and Louisville’s Jaire Alexander, who visited One Buc Place on Thursday, April 5.

Let’s start with Oliver, whose game I have really grown to admire. At 6-foot, 201 pounds, the Colorado star has the size that is lacking among other Tampa Bay cornerbacks. His 33.5-inch arms and his wingspan, which is nearly 81 inches, are in the top 97 percentile of all cornerbacks in this draft.

Considering that the NFC South has some giant receivers, such as Atlanta’s Julio Jones (6-3, 220) and Mohamed Sanu (6-2, 210), New Orleans’ Michael Thomas (6-3, 212) and Brandon Coleman (6-6, 225) and Carolina’s Devin Funchess (6-4, 225), having a cornerback with some length might help Tampa Bay slow down or stop some of these monsters.

Oliver ran a 4.5 at the NFL Scouting Combine, which is a very good time for a bigger corner. He would present the Bucs with a different element, as the next tallest cornerback is the 5-foot-11, 189-pound Smith, who has 30.5-inch arms.

Oliver has experience going up against some quality receivers in Colorado State’s Michael Gallup, helping hold him to five catches for 67 yards this year, in addition to Oklahoma State’s James Washington. In his two years as a starter for the Buffaloes, Oliver has faced some top quarterbacks too, with the likes of USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph – all of whom could be first-round picks in this year’s draft.

Where Oliver struggles is making plays on the ball. He had 25 passes defensed for the Buffaloes in his three years in Boulder, Colo., including a career-high 12 this past season, but only three interceptions. His first one came as a sophomore and then he logged two more last year. Oliver’s three career picks is one of the lowest totals among cornerbacks in this year’s draft. Do the Bucs want to have three cornerbacks on the team with limited playmaking ability in Hargreaves, Smith and Oliver?

Hughes is the opposite of Oliver in several ways. First, he’s smaller at 5-foot-10, 189 pounds, and has shorter arms at nearly 31 inches with a 73-inch wingspan. He even tested a little slower, running a 4.53 at the NFL Scouting Combine despite the fact that his game film shows him to be faster. He also has smaller hands like Hargreaves at 8.75 inches, whereas Oliver’s hands were nearly 10 inches wide.

But Hughes was quite the playmaker for the Knights despite only playing there one season as a JUCO transfer. Hughes stepped in as a Day 1 starter and made 49 tackles, had 11 pass breakups and four interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.

Like Oliver, he faced some NFL-caliber receivers in Memphis’ Anthony Miller and Maryland’s D.J. Moore and more then held his own. Hughes also proved to be a weapon on special teams, averaging 34.1 yards per kick return with one touchdown, and averaging 16.6 yards per punt return with one touchdown. His 95-yard kickoff return touchdown against USF came late in the fourth quarter and proved to be the game-winner.

Hughes started his college career at North Carolina but lasted only one year, in part because of his involvement in a fight at a fraternity that led to a misdemeanor assault charge and a suspension. He transferred to Garden City Community College a year later where he had 47 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions, in addition to returning three kicks for touchdowns as a sophomore.

Hughes presents some good value in the second round because there may not be much separating him and Ohio State’s Denzel Ward, who is regarded as the best cornerback in the draft and a top 15 pick. But do the Bucs want to have three 5-foot-10 cornerbacks with Grimes, Hargreaves and Hughes?

Alexander is an intriguing player because he was a part-time starter as a freshman, a full-time starter as a sophomore, and only played in six games as a junior due to a knee injury and a broken hand. The Cardinals’ top cornerback had 19 tackles, two passes defensed and an interception in 2015, then had a breakout season with 39 tackles, nine pass breakups, five interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery the next year. He picked off Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson twice in a 42-36 loss.

Last year, Alexander had just 19 tackles, four pass breakups and one pick, and scouts believe he’s entering the draft after such a lackluster year because he fears he may get injured during his senior year, which could cause his stock to drop even more. When healthy, Alexander has first-round talent. But durability questions and concerns about his 5-foot-10, 196-pound frame may cause him to slip to the top part of the second round.

Alexander has great ball skills whether it’s picking off passes or going around the waist of a receiver to punch the ball out and cause an incompletion. He has great anticipation and tremendously quick feet to throttle down and attack comeback routes and curl routes with speed and ferocity.

The Bucs could use help in their return game and Alexander had success returning punts at Louisville. He averaged 9.9 yards per return in his career and took one back 69 yards for a touchdown against Florida State in 2016. With 4.38 speed, there’s a lot to like about Alexander’s game – if he can stay healthy.

In this year’s draft there are a lot of options for the Bucs at cornerback due to the depth at the position. But can Tampa Bay wait until Day 3 to address such a position of need? Instead of drafting a running back in the second round, the Bucs may be better off drafting a cover corner – and it could be Oliver, Hughes, Alexander or perhaps LSU’s Donte Jackson, whose pre-draft visit was just announced prior to the release of this column.

While I don’t have time to analyze his game and skill set in this edition of SR’s Fab 5, the 5-foot-10, 178-pound Jackson is one of the fastest players in this draft, running a 4.32 in teh 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Here is Jackson’s highlight film.