Does cornerback remain a concern for Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

After adding two new rookies to a young cornerback group, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shook up the position and it remains unsettled as camp approaches.

Training camp is officially right around the corner as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are ready to turn a new leaf after an offseason of massive change and overhaul. However, as the Buccaneers prepare for the 2019 season, does the cornerback position remain a problem in Tampa Bay?

Last April, the Buccaneers used not one, but two cornerbacks in both the second and third round in Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean. They still have rostered Vernon Hargreaves, Carlton Davis, and the recently suspended Ryan Smith at the cornerback position as well heading into training camp.

While the Buccaneers made definite upgrades to the position, Hargreaves remains the oldest and most experienced cornerback of the group, leaving the Tampa Bay defense a bit unsettled there. Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton believes the cornerback group remains a concern for the Buccaneers entering training camp as he identified each team’s biggest worry.

It could not get much worse for the Buccaneers, however, as the Tampa Bay secondary got absolutely torched last season in a combination of piling injuries and sub-par play. Murphy-Bunting and Dean hope to bring more size, speed, and strength to the position; that was why they were drafted in the first place.

It is not out of the question for the Buccaneers to add more depth to the room as the offseason progresses, as Morris Claiborne has been rumored to be in the sights of the Buccaneers before the draft. After drafting two cornerbacks, could he still be a potential veteran presence that general manager Jason Licht could bring into the room?

Hargreaves and Davis will have to put in the work to make sure the rookies do not sniff out their starting roles and steal snaps from them. Regardless, the status of the Buccaneers’ cornerback group remains unsettled and a concern until they prove otherwise.