Shilo Sanders may have a famous last name, but he will have to earn his keep as an undrafted free agent who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To me, this feels like a pretty good landing spot for the former Colorado Buffaloes star. Tampa Bay is led by a defensive-minded head coach in Todd Bowles, one who knows that complacency will not be tolerated in an NFC South that is up for grabs.
Tampa Bay has already reaped the benefits of employing the son of a star NFL defensive back in Antoine Winfield Jr. Sanders is not his father, but he has a place in this league. That being said, I can envision one or two scenarios out of his control that could cost him a roster spot. It just so happens that both exist on the other side of the ball from him at quarterback, as well as over at wide receiver.
At quarterback, we know that is it Baker Mayfield's job, but backup quarterback could be in play. Backing up Mayfield will be Kyle Trask, Michael Pratt and rookie Connor Bazelak. Keep in mind that Josh Grizzard is the fourth offensive coordinator in as many years for Tampa Bay. Trask has been with the team the longest, but there is a chance that either Pratt or Bazelak will outperform him this spring.
The other player to keep an eye one here would have to be wide receiver Tez Johnson out of Oregon.
What could stop Shilo Sanders from making the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
With the backup quarterback battle brewing, I doubt Tampa Bay will keep all three in contention for it. Bazelak may surprise me, but I am more intrigued by the idea of what Pratt could be as an upgrade over Trask. In short, what if the Buccaneers kept three quarterbacks? It would not be out of the realm of possibility. They seem to trust Trask a good bit, but Pratt remains a fascinating quarterback to me.
As far as Johnson is concerned, it surprises me that he went to the Buccaneers in the seventh round. He may be very slight of build, but he was a tremendous playmaker at Oregon. While he may be the adopted brother of Denver Broncos franchise quarterback Bo Nix, Johnson did not do any favors for himself at the NFL Combine. He did not run well, nor did he handle himself at the podium well either.
Not to say that feels like a wasted pick, but the Buccaneers drafted a more sure thing at wide receiver in the first round in Emeka Egbuka out of Ohio State. That was a weird choice to begin with, as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are still very much focal points of this team's offensive aerial attack. Is there something at play that Bowles and general manager Jason Licht know that we do not with receiver?
To tie a bow on this, Sanders may perform well in training camp and in the preseason, but the bulk of the focus may be on the offensive side of the ball for Tampa Bay in the lead-up to the regular season. Not to say that Sanders will get lost in the shuffle, but the fine-tuning of the 53-man roster may not have him factoring into the equation as much as we all would like it to. He will have to earn his keep.
If Sanders were a sixth-round pick, I would like his chances of making the team exponentially more.