Earlier this week, former Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves sat down with NFL Network for a feature called, "First Draft." Hargreaves was asked a handful of questions, from his background coming from a football family to his expectations for draft night.
Among the questions Hargreaves was asked was which current NFL player he liked to watch. The first name he listed was Buccaneers cornerback Brent Grimes.
ESPN's Mel Kiper believes the Buccaneers will select Hargreaves with the No. 9 pick in this year's draft.
Hargreaves and Grimes have a lot in common, so it makes sense as to why Hargreaves would emulate him. Both players are smaller corners, with Hargreaves being 5-foot-11 and Grimes being 5-foot-10. And both players pride themselves on being able to make plays on the football; Hargreaves had four interceptions in college in 2015 and Grimes had the same number of picks with the Dolphins.
If there is a player that's been most often linked to the Bucs, it's Hargreaves. The majority of NFL Draft analysts believe that Tampa Bay will select him ninth overall, with NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah going as far as saying, "If he's there – put the card in."
Whether or not Hargreaves had connected the fact that he's widely projected to be selected by the Buccaneers and could be potentially playing with Grimes is unknown. But it would certainly make for an upgraded 1-2 punch at a position where the Buccaneers lacked continuity a season ago.
If the Bucs don't pick Hargreaves, most draft analysts believe they won't pick a cornerback at all in the first round. The consensus is that the team will either go with the former Florida Gator or an edge-rusher at No. 9.
