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Buccaneers: Five players to watch Friday night against the Bengals

By Alan Schechter

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 23: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stands on the sidelines during their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 23: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stands on the sidelines during their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 24: Vernon Hargreaves #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers breaks up a pass intended for Brandin Cooks #10 of the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 24, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 24: Vernon Hargreaves #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers breaks up a pass intended for Brandin Cooks #10 of the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 24, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

3. Vernon Hargreaves

The second-year cornerback will face his fair share of pressure in 2017. He was highly touted when he entered the league last season. Yes, he did clear his first interception, congratulations for that. However, he was burned a lot more often. Hargreaves had the distinction of being the only cornerback in the league that allowed more than 1,000 receiving yards to his opponents. To any team, but especially a team that needed to improve in the secondary, this is very bad and needs to change.

Hargreaves will be picked on again in 2017. Brent Grimes is still in the building and playing well. He surprised some by being one of the top cornerbacks in the league last year, and despite being 34 years old, showing no signs of slowing down. Don’t doubt that he will play well again, as Bailey Adams talked about here. With his talent and reputation, Grimes will force the play to go in Hargreaves’ direction and he will have to respond.

Help is here in camp to make Hargreaves better. Vernon Hargreaves gets the privilege of practicing against Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson every day. These guys are here to terrorize opposing defenses. But at the same time, practicing against them just naturally makes Hargreaves better. Running with Jackson during the week is only going to help. We will see the beginning of the result on Friday night.

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