Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Alfonzo Dennard an option?

After two promising seasons to start his career, Alfonzo Dennard fell into the New England Patriots doghouse last season before being release today. Dennard appeared in just six games in 2014, as the Patriots secondary got a whole lot deeper with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner starting on the outside. Additionally, Dennard struggled when he saw the field, appeared to be dealing with several injuries, and simply didn’t seem to be in the coaching staff’s good graces.

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There are likely plenty of factors at play here, and Dennard could have easily made the roster on the strength of his own talent, as the Patriots don’t exactly have many clear-cut options at the cornerback position this offseason with Revis and Browner gone. Plenty of teams figure to show interest in the talented cornerback, and one of those fits could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a big need at cornerback.

The Tampa Bay Times’s Greg Auman had several interesting tweets this morning shortly after Dennard’s release was reported, and the speculation linking Dennards to the Bucs is definitely interesting. As Auman notes, this is a team that doesn’t exactly have much at one of the NFL’s most important positions, because after Alterraun Verner and Johnthan Banks, there isn’t much to like in Tampa Bay’s defensive backfield. Heck, even Banks can be openly criticized, so the Bucs are two or three-deep at best at the position.

It’s important to note that Dennard played poorly last year, has some character concerns (he’s a former seventh-round pick because he punched a cop), and, per the Boston Herald’s plugged-in Jeff Howe, the former Nebraska standout’s “work ethic” and “commitment” to football were both called into question. Per Howe, the muscle-related ailments Dennard struggled with during his three years in Foxboro could have been the product of his lack of work ethic (presumably dealing with conditioning, and perhaps offseason workouts).

Take Howe’s tweets as you will, but the important takeaway from this information is that the Patriots clearly seemed to sour on him. They released him for multiple reasons, and perhaps his perceived lack of work ethic in combination with a poor 2014 season ultimately led to his downfall.

That said, he’s a talented cornerback who really came on strong as a rookie and looked like a wise investment with the No. 224 overall pick. Technically, the formerly projected second-round pick (before the cop-punching incident) was worth the low price for the Patriots, as he played a key role for their defense in his first two seasons.

Alfonzo Dennard possesses the ability to play inside or outside, because he’s physical with above-average quickness and ball skills. As a rookie, Dennard had three interceptions and seven passes defended in just ten appearances before having eight PDs in 13 appearances in a slightly less effective sophomore season. Dennard’s lack of size (he’s 5’10”) can make him a matchup problem in some cases on the outside, but that’s generally easy to avoid.

Aug 22, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (37) during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The two things that stand out the most about Dennard as a player are his physicality and awareness, because he knows how to make up for his lack of speed and is pretty good at pestering receivers at the line of scrimmage.

It’s disappointing to see that his stock has consistently fallen ever since his very promising rookie campaign, but he has the talent and is better than all but two players in the Buccaneers secondary.

After allowing over 4,000 passing yards, 25.6 points per game, and 6.8 net yards per pass attempt last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clearly need to look into upgrades in the secondary.

Dennard has his fair share of concerns coming off his release from the Patriots, but he’s the best option on the market and could easily walk in and have a role for the Bucs, likely in the nickel between Verner and Banks or in dime packages.

Since the Patriots were willing to save $1 million by releasing him, Dennard’s looking at a cheap, one-year deal with very little in the form of guarantees. He knows he’s latching on somewhere for a roster spot, but he’s definitely good enough to earn a role somewhere, especially on a team thin in the defensive backfield like the Bucs.

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