The Cornerback Conundrum
March 26th, 2018
Young corners and coaches.
Yeah, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has done an admirable job this offseason addressing holes in the roster.
But as Licht is known for saying himself, you cannot fill all the holes in one year. That’s true.
Defensive end is filled. Running back is still out there as a crater. So too is cornerback.
In fact, Jenna Laine of ESPN believes cornerback is a bigger need than running back for the Bucs.
If the Bucs stay put at No. 7, they’re in position to get arguably the top cornerback in the draft. But they could move down, let a quarterback-need team move in and still get one of the top players at the position. Last year’s top cornerback, Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore, didn’t come off the board until No. 11. Southern California’s Adoree Jackson, the second cornerback taken, didn’t go to the Tennessee Titans until No. 18. In 2016 though, the Jacksonville Jaguars made Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey the fifth-overall pick. It’s all about understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each draft.
Ohio State’s Denzel Ward, who clocked a 4.32 at the NFL combine, has generated a lot of buzz. He had 24 pass breakups and two interceptions during the past two years. His frame is a concern though — sometimes he loses battles against bigger receivers. Louisville’s Jaire Alexander, who ran a 4.38 at the combine but also gets knocked for his frame, is 12 pounds heavier than Ward and might be the better prospect on tape. He had an ACC-leading five interceptions in 2016, including two against Clemson. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed a 17.7 passer rating when targeted during the 2017 regular season, the best of any cornerback in college football. Ward allowed a 59.2 passer rating when targeted in 2017, surrendering 27 catches on 50 targets, according to PFF.
Joe is not going to take the PFF tribe bait here. What Joe is going to write is about a complete and total lack of confidence Joe has in the current defensive coaching staff to prepare and develop a rookie corner.
Since the troika of defensive coordinator Mike Smith, secondary coach Jon Hoke and defensive backs coach Brett Maxie joined forces in 2016, they have worked with three rookie corners: Vernon Hargreaves, Ryan Smith and Javien Elliott. Can anyone say with a straight face any of those three improved in two seasons under their tutelage?
This is why Joe is scared to death of the team drafting a corner at No. 7. What gives any Bucs fan confidence that valuable pick won’t be wasted if it is used on a corner?
Joe may be harsh but that is the reality as Joe sees it. Sample size? That’s 0-3 for Joe, not exactly reassuring that, if the Bucs draft, say, Denzel Ward, the new rookie won’t end up as a bit player like Hargreaves or Smith or Elliott.
March 26th, 2018 at 5:13 am
I couldn’t agree more. Corner is the biggest hole we have with RB a very close second. But If they draft a corner, they will ruin him!
March 26th, 2018 at 5:29 am
Joe, you keep beating the same drum (“complete and total lack of confidence … in the current defensive coaching staff to prepare and develop a rookie corner”) but basing that conclusion on VHIII & Ryan Smith is more an indictment of Jason Licht than of the coaching staff. VHIII doesn’t have the measurables for outside IMO, and they wasted a whole year trying to make Ryan a safety (which is what Licht drafted him as).
Agree with Jenna that (outside) CB is a bigger need for the Bucs than RB. But not by much … they’re BOTH critical needs at this point. And if we don’t use our top 2 picks to fill BOTH positions 2018 could be another very long losing season.
March 26th, 2018 at 5:30 am
Best player available regardless of position would be the best pick.
March 26th, 2018 at 5:38 am
Where is Rhonde? He could probably develop better than Bucs.
March 26th, 2018 at 6:25 am
Agree with Defense Rules…
There is no way you can make the determination that Bucs Coaches can’t develop CBs based on that sample size, those players and that amount of time in particular with Ryan Smith.
VH3 could be a bust…(could)
Ryan Smith is a 4th round pick tried at safety and is starting to improve
Elliott is an UDFA….who is also starting to play.
I see two coaches Hoke & Maxie who have a wealth of NFL experience with several teams….I’m not convinced the problem is with the coaches.
I am perfectly comfortable with us choosing a CB @ 7 if Chubb, Barkley & Nelson are off the board. I would be more comfortable trading down for extra picks and picking one later in round 1.
March 26th, 2018 at 6:28 am
I also question the scheme…..It lacks aggressiveness and gives too much space to receivers……we also have the worst sack total and poorest pass rush in the NFL….that has to affect CBs…..that and going against Brees, Ryan….
March 26th, 2018 at 6:29 am
I don’t think it’s the coaching. I think it’s the scouting. Two years ago, when we were on the board, I was screaming at the TV, “anybody but Hargreaves–anybody but Hargreaves.” Obviously, to no avail!
Nothing against the kid personally, but I watched him play at Florida and didn’t see what all the fuss was about. He was like burnt toast in the Gator’s bowl game that year and blamed it on protecting himself against injury. To me, that was one of his normal efforts.
He plays like a deer with his eyes in headlights. I don’t know if it’s possible to coach away fear. It’s like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Ever try to teach your dog to not be afraid of fireworks?
March 26th, 2018 at 6:32 am
“But as Licht is known for saying himself, you cannot fill all the holes in one year.”
Well Jason, after being named GM on January 21, 2014, exactly how many years is it going to take to fill all the holes?
March 26th, 2018 at 6:33 am
Lattimore and Ramsey are in a different stratosphere compared to Denzel Ward. You take a corner high only if you feel theyll be elite. You can find dynamic corners for high value later in the draft. Wevem seen it with Ronde Barber, Josh Norman, etc. Is Denzel Ward the best player on the board at #7….likely not.
March 26th, 2018 at 6:39 am
@JA
JPP “Fireworks!!! Did you say fireworks?!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 6:42 am
I think Ward from OSU is the sleeper pick if Nelson isn’t there
March 26th, 2018 at 6:46 am
@ TBbuc fan–
Didn’t think of it that way—good one!
March 26th, 2018 at 6:47 am
Joe reminds me of my EX-Wife that I haven’t met yet. She was always worried about going out without her lipstick and eye shadow…
She never met me because she never was happy with how she looked….
Nelson, Trade back if able, Best CB if we have no Choice. However, if I am JL, I probably grab Davenport over anyone.
JPP makes Davenport an EXCELLENT CHOICE!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 6:53 am
And why are fans so gung ho over Ward? Fitzpatrick has the size not pnly matchup with tightends BUT the hip fluidity and recovery soeed to play corner. Denzel Ward couldnt keep Mike Evans from catching the ball even with tight coverage as much as Minkah…………….Free safety is minkahs best fit but if we neee him to help lock down a corner he could. Thats why you take fitz over ward if both are available.
March 26th, 2018 at 6:54 am
Any Chance VHIII can play safety?
Would beinteresting. Dude has Ball Skills. Slow the game down for him. Keep the offense in front of him???
Just a though…The Red Barron is a better LB than Safety… Perhaps VHIII is a Free Safety in the NFL???
Dude has skill, just gotta tap it somehow…
March 26th, 2018 at 6:55 am
Hey…falling asleep last night I was thinking if the Bills wanted the next QB and didn’t want to trade with the Bucs….would the Bucs draft that QB….then deal with the Bills….probably not cool
March 26th, 2018 at 6:59 am
“t a complete and total lack of confidence Joe has in the current defensive coaching staff to prepare and develop a rookie corner”……develop ?….either you can play in the NFL or not….develop is for a UDFA or position conversion….high round draft picks …all they need to learn is the system
March 26th, 2018 at 7:03 am
Assuming the big 3 are gone…
Ward-Fitz-James—-
or the player the Buc do not “need”
but will probably have the greatest career impact on whatever team he plays for….Trumaine Edmunds !!!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 7:07 am
…and it’s the system that sucks, Altered!
March 26th, 2018 at 7:10 am
German…perhaps…but until we have the talent we’ll not know….I am a big “it’s the talent” guy…having coached before..there is only so much a coach can do against superior talent
March 26th, 2018 at 7:12 am
Yah The only true player that should be included about development is Hargreaves because he was drafted so high in the first around Eli Apple who is que terrible and his teammates hate him.
Joe’s – why did you put Elliot (undrafted) and Ryan smith (4th round). Gimme a break. Guys drafted that low and they tried Ryan smith at safety 1st?
I was on the Denzel ward train early . But read he is another 5’10 corner. We already have that market “cornered”. Need a bigger db for all the taller receivers in our own division.
Could you imagine Derwin James (true strong safety ) playing along side Justin Evans (true free safety). They could become best tandum in NFL.
March 26th, 2018 at 7:18 am
Altered
We are talking nfl players. Talent level is similar. In most cases teams who draft in the back half every year are better teams. I agree with you if its not the nfl. At this level its more coaching and system. Most games come down to one score. The good coaches find a way to score an extra one or make a key stop. Scheme, time management are huge.
March 26th, 2018 at 7:18 am
“Could you imagine Derwin James (true strong safety ) playing along side Justin Evans (true free safety). They could become best tandum in NFL.”
^^^^^
Bird is the word !
March 26th, 2018 at 7:20 am
darin….well then why are they always talking about
game planning around “talent mismatches” ?
March 26th, 2018 at 7:29 am
@Altered Ego
While that would fix the safety, would you not want one of those Beastly DT that are on the board that would help the whole secondary???? I don’t like a line being totally rebuilt in free agency!!!! would like to see some draft picks head that way!!!!!
And Joe is wrong on the “develepment” of a CB!!!!!! First, how can you tell what you have if there is nooo pass rush????? I think Joe and the sheep forget that Ryan Smith was a 4th round pick and was supposed to be 4th or 5th on the depth chart that was forced into a starters role due to injuries!!!!!!!! And from watching the kid from training camp to the preseason to what he became in the regular season, he did develop!!!!!!!!!
I think Joe needs to look at some other CB careers and “realize” that they were not stars in their first year or two!!!!!!!! It took Brent Grimes until season 4 when be broke thru!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 7:32 am
Real….we need both pass rush and DB help……….IMO Bucs DB talent needs the help first
March 26th, 2018 at 7:45 am
Altered – Last year VH3 played at least 10 yds off on the outside and got toasted on every play. If it was his decision to play as far away as he did he should’ve been benched immediately, but he wasn’t. So for me, it’s obvious he played the system the coaches wanted him to. And it sucked!
And when Julio Jones ran circles around Ryan Smith the coaches did nothing to help the poor young man. So he also played the system the coaches wanted him to. And it sucked!
In general, I miss adjustments from the coaches, trying to give the players a better shot to be successful – instead, they stuck to their system. And to me, that’s the definition of bad coaching.
March 26th, 2018 at 7:45 am
Derwin would regress under these coaches. Plus, when is the last time a team with a top ten drafted safety won a SB??
Focus on the trenches please!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 7:51 am
German….maybe Hargraves played that far off because of the lack of pass rush….which is exactly what I think….damn sure had to try and keep everything in front of the already weak DB unit
March 26th, 2018 at 7:54 am
Just like some “fans” wont develop… Nither will some players…
TRUST THE PROCESS….
Stop running off coaches!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 8:01 am
There was evidence before the drafting of Hargreaves,that he struggled to cover
big physical receivers like Amari Cooper. Smaller corners can have success in the the NFL but you have to close enough to knock the ball out as receiver is catching or coming down with the ball. VH3 isn’t close enough all too often. Its a talent problem IMO not a coaching failure.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:06 am
Guys. THEy just signed 4 dlineman. Can’t imagine they would take one high
They need to fill holes.
Running back , strong safety and 2 dbs are biggest needs.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:12 am
IMO….the corners will play better with the ability to press at the line now that there’s an actual pass rush. This is where i can see the Bucs going safety at #7 if Nelson, Chubb and Barkley are gone. The coaching change on the defensive line might also factor in. I remember the players weren’t happy with all the stunts and they were definitely ineffective at generating any pressure….maybe that in itself makes a noticeable difference. I also agree that Licht is to blame….Hargreaves was drafted on his “baller” abilities while the fact is, you have to be athletic enough to compete. He’s capable of being effective but he was never worthy of a 1st rd pick. To say Hargreaves was graded as a #9 potential pro, that tells you how much these guys are guessing. Smith was drafted to be converted to safety….then switched back to CB. This team does everything a$$ backwards then is puzzled when it backfires.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:18 am
IMO…still too soon to pass judgement of VH3….yeah he was humiliated on the field….but he played well against top talent in college…..lets see what he can do with a supporting cast and if he is still gun shy form last year…he certainly will be TESTED hard and often….he needs a pick or 2 to get his feet back under him
March 26th, 2018 at 8:19 am
@darin … “We are talking nfl players. Talent level is similar.” IF that were true Darin, Bucs wouldn’t have owned the NFC South cellar for the past 10 years. But to me it’s more about talent in specific position groups than talent across the board. Would you say that Detroit’s last-place 2017 RB group (1,221 yds total … 3.4 YPC) was as talented as say New Orleans #5 RB group (2,070 yds total … 4.7 YPC)? Could say the same thing about OLines, DLines, Secondaries, etc.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:22 am
VH3 is suffering from PTPDD
Post Traumatic Pass Defense Disorder
March 26th, 2018 at 8:23 am
@AlteredEgo … “still too soon to pass judgement of VH3.” Agree, but … he’ll make a very good nickel IMO, but as an outside CB still think that he lacks top-end speed to hang with the faster WRs & TEs, lacks height to leap with guys like ME13, and lacks the quickness to recover quickly (Brent Grimes is a master at that … VHIII, not so much). Still very valuable IMO, but not starting outside (except as a backup).
March 26th, 2018 at 8:29 am
DR agree with VH3 and speed…can’t used Ronde Barber has a comparison either…different rules these days and weaker surrounding talent along with scheme…
this morning I am in the James/Fitz pick state of mind…then Ward
or my greatest talent not able to be taken by the Bucs
Trumaine Edmunds
March 26th, 2018 at 8:34 am
NFL folks consider Fitzpatrick a safety and Ward a corner.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Well…if Jenna Laine believes it, then heck, Jason Licht must believe it, right? Then there’s the Buc faithful here, we must too, right?!
First of all, which position, RB or CB, affects the game individually more EVERY game? Which position touches the ball more often every single game? A starting 3-down RB that handles the ball 22-25 times a game at a minimum, 30 touches on the high side? Or a CB, on either side of the field, that might see a direct pass thrown to his side of the field (depending on the scheme the Bucs are playing at those times) MAYBE 7-8 times a game, if that. Just for benefit of the doubt, let’s give that CB 10 attempts. IN ADDITION, factor in the IMPROVED D-LINE.
So we have on one hand, a CB who has 10 valid attempts per game (hypothetically), and can create maybe 1 turnover in those 10 attempts on average, per NFL stats.
Versus…..a starting 3-down RB who handles the ball 25 times, can affect 4-5 crucial 3rd downs each game, 2-3 goal line carries, 1-2 breakaways possible per game, maybe 1 4th down conversion per game, plus provide all the frustration to opposing defensive coaches game planning leading up to the game, yada, yada….
Now which one makes more applicable sense Buc fans…..a Saquon Barkley, or a Denzel Ward (substitute any CB)?????????
(Re-read).
Go Bucs!
March 26th, 2018 at 8:48 am
James is a good tackler and hard hitter. He appears to be in the something licht seemed to be looking for in TJ WARD. Intimmidation is valuable thing.
But part of me wants to see Fitzpatick on the field making INT’s and making big plays once the ball is in his hands. Justin Evans still needs work on taking proper
angles in coverage and making tacckles. Its difficult to make plays when you have to circle back to make a second or attempt to make a play on a receiver
or runner.
March 26th, 2018 at 8:57 am
Smitty sucks!! He needs to mix his schemes up a bit. Bucs were way to predictable on Defense last season. Get out of the pressbox and on to the field with your troops Smitty!!
March 26th, 2018 at 9:10 am
I’m curious as to what games some of you are watching. What “play-making ability” has VHIII shown? It might be too early to call him a “bust” but he’s certainly a HUUUUGE disappointment. In retrospect, was he the right call? As it stands, we have a first round pick playing nickel because he’s too small and too slow to play the outside corner position. His only claim to fame right now is his ability to finger-wag at dropped and overthrown passes!
We absolutely NEED him to be the guy we drafted him for, and hopefully, he can become that guy. Right now though, we have a glaring need at corner.
March 26th, 2018 at 9:21 am
Despite the greater “need” at CB – if the Bucs are forced to pick at #7 with Barkley, Chubb and Nelson off the board and no trade down offers – I would take Derwin James.
Hate the idea of taking a safety at #7 (again) – but James is the BPA at that point and you HAVE to just pick the highest player on your board with the 7th overall pick – as long as he fills a relative need which James would do very nicely.
Pairing a supremely talented natural SS like James with the young, speedy and ball hawking FS Justin Evans creates a dynamic safety duo that will wreak havoc over the defensive backfield middle for many years to come.
James WILL be an impact player in the NFL IMO. (at the position he was drafted for this time – LOL) Can’t say that with the same degree of certainty about either Ward or Minkah.
Plus James brings the “tude” and Alpha male leadership qualities we need to help get this “culture change” thingy handled…
March 26th, 2018 at 9:28 am
@BetterBuccinBelieveIt … “which position, RB or CB, affects the game individually more EVERY game?” Sorry, but not a valid argument because of this little thing called POINTS SCORED. A RB with say 22-25 touches might score on average 1 TD per game. He might even be on the field for twice that many snaps (pass protection, decoy, etc). A good CB is on the field for EVERY defensive snap. But if he’s the ‘weak link’ in the Secondary, opponents will pick on him all day long (ask VHIII if that’s true). So let’s say that he adequately defends against 50% of those passes, but gets burned on 2 for TDs. By my tally, that’s RB 7, CB 14 … in a negative way. Reality tells me that we need BOTH however to be a winning TEAM.
March 26th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Good argument Pickgrin, but we can survive this year without using our 1st Rnd pick on a Safety (FA pickup? Rnd 4-5 draft pick?). Not so at outside CB. We lack the talent right now. Admittedly prefer Minkah due to his versatility, but either Minkah or Ward would suit me fine. Kind of a moot point however, because I don’t think Licht will draft a CB until Rnd 2.
March 26th, 2018 at 9:48 am
Lots of interesting perspectives here- let me try and offer another one…the vast majority of the league’s rules favoring offensive output, coupled with the way the game is called today, devalues the CB and S positions, to a degree. It’s very difficult to play a physical/ shutdown game right now. It’s also impossible to play the role of rangy headhunter, so why invest a top ten pick on either? Shockingly, I’m wondering if reaching for Davenport at 7 isn’t the smarter investment? Joes, help me make sense of positional value in this day and age!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 9:52 am
And no mention of Josh Jackson, the ACTUAL best corner in this draft.
March 26th, 2018 at 10:04 am
I can’t wait until I can stop typing Fire Mike Smith every day….but until then
FIRE MIKE SMITH
March 26th, 2018 at 10:16 am
lol…..I don’t get it……
if nelson or chubb are gone either select derwin james @ 7 or trade down…..
I agree with @joe…..I have “0” faith in this staff to develop a CB…..folks bast VHG measurable but want ward who is the same height as VHG but about 15pounds lighter…..sure he’s faster but it sure seems like he’ll have a tough time with big WR’s on the outside…..
I say draft james because JPP and curry will make our CB’s better…..round 2 DE….round 3 RB…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!…..GO BUCS!!!!!
March 26th, 2018 at 10:55 am
How can you judge our cbs development when qbs have 5 seconds to throw every drop back? Clean p pockets to throw from with zero pressure. Deion Sanders would be a scrub if qbs had that much time to throw every pass.
March 26th, 2018 at 11:00 am
Architek Says:
When is the last time a team with a top ten drafted safety won a SB??
Troy Polamalu, who won two Superbowls comes to mind because even though he was drafted 16th overall, he SHOULD have been drafted in the top ten. Definitely! He was an 8× Pro Bowler, a 4× First-team All-Pro and a 2× Second-team All-Pro. Oh yeah, he also was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year (like Brooks and Sapp) and was on the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
The Steelers believed so much that Polamalu could have a positive impact on their defense that they traded up from the twenty-seventh spot to the sixteenth spot to get him. Still, there were two Defensive Tackles taken @ #4 & #6 overall who never made it to even one Pro Bowl. I guess the teams who took them felt they were “shoring up the trenches.” You think that looking back they wouldn’t have rather taken the top Safety in that draft?
March 26th, 2018 at 11:12 am
Minkah is no Jalen Ramsey – he will not be able to transition to outside CB so successfully like Ramsey did. He’s more of a free safety type who you could also use at Nickle.
We’ve already got FS covered pretty well by young Justin Evans and if Hargreaves can’t cut it at outside CB (which would obviously be the best case scenario if he can become a reliable outside starter) – then VH3 showed even in a terrible year to be at least adequate as your Nickle DB.
Point being we need SS help and we need outside corner help. Minkah is neither. He’s more of a hybrid FS/Slot CB. He’ll likely be a pretty good player in the NFL but he’s not a good fit for our needs as our personnel currently sits.
If you need DB help and want the best pure safety in this draft – you draft Derwin James. If you want the best outside CB – you draft Ward.
Neither is really worthy of the #7 overall pick (James because of his position and Ward because of legit concerns about his height along with limited tape that did show height being a problem for him at times).
From my viewpoint – if Chubb, Nelson and Barkley are off the board and no trade down offers are available – you take the “safer” pick at #7 overall which is the best and most complete player on your board which is Derwin James.
The “leadership” intangible with James is legit btw and can’t be discounted as an important factor in the decision.
March 26th, 2018 at 11:25 am
When bucs drafted Hargreaves I asked a die hard gator friend about him when he wasn’t too crazy for him I had a feeling the pick was wasted
March 26th, 2018 at 11:36 am
We need someone to stop JJones. DJames could get physical at the los, we have to get more aggresive dbs.
March 26th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
Never liked the VHIII pick, but was hoping his ball skills or speed would make up for his physical lacking. So far it hasn’t, but our d line pressure was also non existent last year. He has played nicely in the slot, so if he ends being a nickel corner, so be it.
I’m really not sold on any of the CBs in this draft at #7 though. None of them seem to be prospects at the level of Jalen Ramsey or Lattimore.
The more I look at things the more I hope we can trade down a few spots. Unless one of our “big 3” hopefuls fall to us, I see us being able to get the same level of talent at #7 as we can at #12 or even #14, plus some extra picks that we could definitely use.
March 26th, 2018 at 12:11 pm
Yet more of this ludicrous nonsense about the coaches and developing CBs… The only real case worth considering is VH3, and yeah, he’s been a disappointment, but you can’t always drop that on the coach. Ryan Smith is a raw prospect who can’t really be used as an argument to support this perspective, as he was a raw prospect coming out, and he was in his first year at CB. We need to go beyond year one to draw conclusions on him. javien Elliot is nobody. He was not drafted and it’s unreasonable to use him as another datapoint to support D3Kemper’s idiotic horseshyte. We need to add more talent to draw conclusions about the coaches.
So, his conclusions about the coaches are reactionary and foolish… but then D3Kemper doubles down on stupid by claiming that this is a reason not to add talent at the position… Moronic.
March 26th, 2018 at 12:18 pm
Joe wrote: NFL folks consider Fitzpatrick a safety and Ward a corner.
————————
He shows on film anyway that he can be an elite defender at corner or safety. Ward hasn’t played. Ward might be faster but Fitzpatrick is still very fast and can run with anyone in the league. Fitz’s size plays against the taller receivers whereas ward might have some issues. If you can get a guy who can upgrade two spots, why not take him over just a pure corner?
Fitz is likely going to be an all pro free safey and safeties are a huge factor in todays nfl, but he can also shown solid corner akills, instincts, and ability to be physical in the box and knock out the run…….
March 26th, 2018 at 12:59 pm
Ugggggghh. PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO STOP TALKING ABOUT 40-TIMES!!! Every GM and scout (including Jason Licht), say it’s the least thing that’s really looked at at the combine unless you’re a deep threat receiver. Foot work and frame is what needs to be looked at for a CB. Not to say their speed is not looked at because they are covering receivers, but it’s not the most important and the 40 time is all people talk about when they’re talking about the combine. And it’s probably better for scouts watching games to understand how fast a secondary player is against receivers.
March 26th, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Best cornerback available with #7. Should be able to get one of the running backs from Georgia with our second pick.
March 26th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
I agree with Pickgrin above. Trade down. Years ago the Lions had a huge wide receiver who was All Pro and Tandy was covering him in the end zone because the starting Safety was out, and the game was on the line and Tandy still stripped him of the ball and we won. Any of you senior Buc Fans recall that? Well those were skills Tandy learned as a Star CB for WVa. We don’t need to waste a pick on a CB this coaching staff can’t develop. Just move Tandy to CB and take a Strong Safety who is a play maker in the Second Round after we trade with Buffalo and have our Utah Big LG and Penny in hand. The FSU Safety is definitely no playmaker with only two interceptions last year and he is a durability risk too missing all but two games in 2016 with an injury.
March 26th, 2018 at 2:09 pm
I would trade down rather than take Ward… I’d prefer a little bigger corner with upside… Late first, early second we could target Jaire Alexander or Isaiah Oliver. Trade down gives us the flexibility to get a RB in a premium round and perhaps a safety, a guard, or another DE.
March 26th, 2018 at 3:23 pm
“The FSU Safety is definitely no playmaker”
Did you really just say that Owlykat? How many FSU games did you watch last year?
March 26th, 2018 at 5:52 pm
Ward is just a smaller, faster Vh3. No thanks.
Derwin James will make a BIG difference along with the improved pass rush. I can’t stomach seeing Conte or Tandy on the field getting abused. Derwin can help the run (where Conte gets run over). He can help cover the big WRs with 4.4 speed and even come on the blitz. He’s a ferocious blitzer. Would love to send him after Cam. God knows our LBs can’t get home on the blitz.
March 27th, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Bucamania…..Conte for sure…..Tandy Not. When Tandy plays Bucs Win. When Conte and Weed Whacker played Bucs lost. Evans is work in progress. He is ok back there at Safety but still has a lot or growth and learning left to conquer before he is considered an elite Safety in the NFL!!! I may be wrong but I may not!!!