Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense allowed a 70% completion percentage. This is mainly due to poor play from the secondary, which was in constant rotation. To solve this problem, the Buccaneers signed Brent Grimes and drafted Tampa native Vernon Hargreaves III with the eleventh pick from the University of Florida.

Hargreaves will need to develop quickly within the next two seasons.  This stemming from the fact that Grimes is playing on a two-year contract and is 33 years old.

Hargreaves is 21 years old and has more upside compared to the other corners on the roster, such as Alterraun Verner, Johnthan Banks and Jude Adjei-Barimah.

Banks is playing in the last year of his contract and is no gurantee to make the roster, Verner has not lived up to his full capacity after signing with the team in 2014 off of a Pro Bowl season and Adjei-Barimah was signed the day before Training Camp began last season.

The Buccaneers will need Hargreaves to learn from Grimes, as both are under-sized for the cornerback position (5’11”, 5’10”) and Grimes has made four pro bowls in his career despite this. When Grimes leaves Tampa Bay, Hargreaves in all likelihood will be forced to be the number one corner and guard the opposing team’s top option.

The Buccaneers are in a division where Hargreaves will have to face tall receivers, such as Julio Jones and Kelvin Benjamin each twice a year. If he cannot cover these receivers successfully, the Buccaneers will be in trouble.

Despite needing to be ready to take on the role of the number one corner in a few seasons, Hargreaves will also need to play this season. Hargreaves has played the slot in Training Camp and in the preseason, and will most likely be the starting slot corner. For the Buccaneers to improve on defense, him along with the other starting corner backs will need to play well.