Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Defensive backs trending up?
By Rob Leeds
As it seems most of the NFL is discussing Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey, the Buccaneers should take pride in their improved secondary.
The secondary for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one of the weakest units in the entire NFL last season. Another draft has passed with multiple picks focused on defensive backs despite already having several young and potentially talented second year players in the form of M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis. While many people expected the new players to get a lion’s share of the reps, the returners have stepped up to maintain their status on the depth chart other than rookie safety Mike Edwards.
CB1, Vernon Hargreaves, looks as though he has finally come into his own as a first round draft pick. Hargreaves, who has often underperformed and been injured, had a pick-six in the first game and 12 tackles (one of which was the game saving tackle) in the second game of the season. Hargreaves has stumbled from time to time in coverage, but he has inspired confidence in his role on the defense as the top corner and could become a top performer at the position in the NFL.
Sitting at second on the corner depth chart is Carlton Davis, who has definitely had his ups and downs since the beginning of training camp. Davis played like a stud for the duration of the preseason and has played mostly sound defense in coverage despite struggling with penalties.
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If Davis was able to be a little less handsy and keep his eye on the ball instead of the defender, the pass interference calls would slow down and his impressive defensive play would be able to better shine though. Davis starting was one of the bigger surprises after the regime change but has outperformed all of his counterparts at the position other than Hargreaves.
The final corner rounding out this group of starters is nickelback M.J. Stewart. Stewart has had many moments like Davis, flashes of sound defense mixed in with moments that are not nearly as glamorous (see the first game of the season).
Stewart has shown that he has the capacity to be a solid defender but will need to continue to improve his form and not get beaten in big game situations. He looks to still be in control of his position for the time being, but Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting are hot on his tail.