Getty Newly acquired Houston Texans CB Vernon Hargreaves
The Houston Texans are currently riding a two-game win streak while sitting solely atop the AFC South, a game ahead of the Indianapolis Colts, with seven more weeks of the regular season to go.
As the team gears up for a Super Bowl run in 2019, they’ve just made a low-risk, extremely high-reward move. If that pans out, it could put them over the top in an AFC that appears to be up for grabs at the moment.
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Texans Claim Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves Off Waivers
Vernon Hargreaves was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Tuesday, just two days after being benched for what Bucs head coach Bruce Arians described as a lack of “hustling to go in for a tackle.”
Despite his iffy play in 2019, Hargreaves did not need to wait long to find a new home. The Houston Texans claimed the embattled cornerback off of waivers, adding him to their plethora of intriguing options in the secondary.
The #Texans have claimed CB Vernon Hargreaves III off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The team also waived CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun.
Hargraves will likely be thrust into duty immediately this Sunday for a team can certainly use all the help it can get. The Houston Texans have surrendered the fourth-most passing yards on a per-game basis this season. Interestingly enough, Hargraves is not the first high-round draft pick to find their way to Houston since the end of last season. Hargraves joins the likes of Gareon Conley and Bradley Roby as the third of three former first-round draft picks to join the Texans this season.
What Does Hargreaves Add to the Houston’s Secondary?
Hargreaves was the 11th overall draft pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the 2016 NFL draft. Coming out of the University of Florida, Hargreaves was believed to be the closest thing to a lockdown cornerback in the college ranks. With a skillset likened to potential future Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, the sky seemed to be the limit for the hometown kid who was born in Tampa, Florida.
Yet, after a promising rookie campaign where he played all 16 games, Hargreaves’ performance on the football field began to take a major hit in production. That is, when he was able to actually make it on the field. Hargreaves played a total of just 10 games from 2017-2018.
Hargreaves has had his ups and downs during his NFL career, no doubt about it. Yet, if used correctly, he still has a chance to excel at this level. Hargreaves, who stands just 5’11” on a good day, has been picked on during his career as an outside corner. However, when operating out of the slot, the story has been extremely different.
After leaving the diminutive-sized defensive back on an island to be torched for much of 2017, ranking as the 111th best cornerback out of 112 qualifying players, the team finally shifted their former first-round draft pick into the slot, and the repercussions were promising to say the least. From Week 7 through Week 10 (prior to an injury) Hargreaves earned the second-highest overall PFF grade among all cornerbacks.
While his play has dipped a bit this season, the schematics in Tampa were not all that welcoming to Hargreaves’ skillset. Although, when given the chance to operate out of the slot, he once again flashed viable upside. Check out his Week 1 stats below.
Hargreaves has a lot of work to do. His effort last Sunday for his former team was unacceptable. This is made obvious by the fact that the team cut him for it. His play has also been quite a rollercoaster over his three-plus year career. However, if Houston uses him correctly they could reap major benefits from an extremely low-risk move.
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