Welcome Bucs Nation to Bucs Report. The Bucs have been shuffling around corners and safeties, this preseason, to see which combination fits best before our week 1 match up against the Saints.
The Bucs depth chart, in the secondary, has been Grimes and Davis on the outside, with Hargreaves as the Nickel. I believe, Hargreaves will take his game to the next level, after watching him play in the nickel, last season. I watched Hargreaves’ tape in college and he was exceptional in Man to Man coverage. The Gators ran a lot of Zone Blitz schemes and Man Zone coverage, so Hargreaves had numerous chances to show his ball skills, which is why he was projected as the top corner in his draft class.
In the NFL, Zone coverage is only successful if your pass rush is consistent. Hargreaves will be tested in the Nickel in three ways: In Man, Zone, and Blitzing. Hargreaves is going to spend a lot of time playing in the box, stopping the run, and covering big tight ends.
My personal opinion: I think Hargreaves will do fine. He seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder from all of the backlash he has been taking from the angry Bucs fans. I think Hargreaves will come on strong in 2018.
