Like any undrafted rookie looking to make a splash during training camp, Shilo Sanders knows the end goal of making the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 53-man roster will be arduous. He has experienced his share of doubt before in his football career and came out on the other side of the equation several times, however.
As a three-star recruit and the No. 153 cornerback in the nation in 2019, per 247Sports, Sanders played two seasons as a backup at South Carolina before becoming an instant standout at the FCS level under his father, Deion Sanders, as a first-time starter at Jackson State.
The hard-hitting safety followed his father again to Colorado, where he accumulated 137 tackles over two seasons as a Big 12-leading secondary threat before he was snubbed an invite to the NFL’s scouting combine.
His size and speed was questioned, along with much of his tackling technique from his post in centerfield. And now, as one of two undrafted rookies for the Buccaneers in the secondary trying to make the roster, Sanders will have to prove his value once again.
“The Bucs was the first team to call and they gave me a chance before anyone,” Sanders said at the beginning of his NFL journey. “So I’m forever grateful to the Buccaneers, and I’m just going to do everything I can to help this team win — everything in my power to help this team win — and that’s all I want.”
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Antoine Winfield Jr. returns as the franchise’s starting free safety and Tampa Bay is expected to move second-year pro and starting nickelback Tykee Smith to the strong spot. Christian Izien returns in a deep room along with Kaevon Merriweather.
It’s a numbers game for Sanders, and he’ll need to be impact during camp to leave an impression on the coaching staff as a situational threat or a player who could provide immediate aid on special teams.
“Like the rest of the safeties, he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said during an interview with ESPN last week. “You can hear him today, making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1. There was about three or four of them that did. He was one of them, but you have to make plays in pads. That’s what it comes down to — knowing what to do and then doing it consistently and constantly getting better every day.”