As I’ve stated many times before, Stewart and Davis are going to be something special for a long time. Both players offer a different skill set that helps make the defense more dynamic. With that being said, who would be the odd men out, if both of these players get slated as week 1 starters against New Orleans?
Obviously, the first odd man out would be Grimes: Grimes has never played in the slot his entire NFL career. Grimes has been covering receivers outside the numbers with all of his previous teams the Falcons,Dolphins,Buccaneers. This also would leave a lot of fans scratching their heads in confusion because of the money we dished out to keep him here one more season. If this happened Grimes would be a possible trade target for teams needing a veteran cornerback because of injury.
The next man up would be Vernon Hargreaves: Hargreaves hasn’t lived up to the 1st round title so far since we drafted him at 11 in the 2016 draft. Hargreaves has had moments, where he had some flash plays, but those were outweighed but the amount of yards racked up against him when playing premier receivers. Hargreaves will be pushed to the slot/nickel position, where he seems to be comfortable and confident at because of playing more man to man coverage.
Last, but not least, Ryan Smith: If Smith had any chance to start somewhere on the field, it would of been the second corner spot or the nickel position, but unfortunately for him those three spots are taken already, his only other chance would be the fourth corner spot in the dime formation but that would also be taken by Grimes. Smith started his career at safety his rookie season, where he wasn’t comfortable playing. Smith also sustained multiple injuries that season that didn’t help him learn the position at a quicker rate either. Smith was then placed back in a successful position at cornerback, where he is very familiar with. Smith had chances to show his ability to be a starter last season, but was unable to do so. Smith was constantly picked on and couldn’t seem to make the big play when needed.
