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Buccaneers CBs Projected To Be One Of NFL’s Most Improved Units

By Dustin Lewis

Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the number eleven overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the number eleven overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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From one of the weakest positions to now a position of considerable depth, the Buccaneers have gone out of their way to ensure that the secondary won’t be the weak link in 2016 and beyond.

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The Buccaneers came into the offseason with multiple holes to fill on a defense that struggled in 2015 under the guidance of Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier. The need for pass rushers was addressed with the additions of DE Robert Ayers and DE Noah Spence, and the secondary looks like it will take a step forward after the signing of CB Brent Grimes and the selection of CB Vernon Hargreaves in the draft.

Sep 28, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Miami Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes (21) returns an interception against the Oakland Raiders in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. The Dolphins defeated the Raiders 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Miami Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes (21) returns an interception against the Oakland Raiders in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. The Dolphins defeated the Raiders 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Pro Football Focus recently named Tampa Bay’s cornerbacks as the 5th most improved position group in the NFL. The full article can be viewed here, check out what they had to say on the Bucs.

"Throughout the 2015 season, Tampa Bay had players rotating in and out of the starting lineup at their outside cornerback spots, with no combination of players working well for them. That should change in 2016 after adding two new outside CBs this offseason. First they brought in former Dolphin Brent Grimes, who was one of seven cornerbacks in 2015 with both four or more interceptions and seven or more passes defended. In the draft they added Vernon Hargreaves to play opposite of Grimes. For Florida in 2014, Hargreaves allowed an NFL passer rating of 41.6 when targeted, and he played at roughly the same level in 2015, with a passer rating allowed of 49.0. The Buccaneers should have more consistency and better play out of their cornerbacks this upcoming season."

When you look at the stats, the Bucs defense actually doesn’t look like it performed too bad in 2015. They ranked 10th in yards allowed per game (340.4) which is in the upper echelon of the league however they allowed a 46% conversation rate on 3rd down which was the 3rd worst in the NFL. The defense allowed too many points in 2015 as they ranked 7th worst in both points allowed per game (26.1) and total points allowed (417).

Looking deeper, it’s obvious that subpar secondary play really hurt the overall defense in 2015. The Bucs allowed 240 passing yards per game, which was a pretty average 17th in the NFL. But the defense struggled with forcing turnovers as they allowed 31 TD passes while only recording 11 interceptions. Also, Tampa Bay ranked 2nd worst in the NFL as they allowed quarterbacks to record an average rating of 102.5 against them.

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It will be interesting to see how these stats change in 2016 as Mike Smith takes over the defense. With improvements at pass rusher and in the defensive backfield, the Bucs have to perform on the field and prove they can stop some of the top offenses in the NFL.

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