Training camp will be a make-or-break sign for both of Deion Sanders' sons. While Shedeur Sanders really needs to look good in the preseason to make the Cleveland Browns roster as a quarterback, Shilo Sanders is going to need a prayer and then some to stick with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is because there are far more talented players in the Buccaneers' defensive backfield than just him.
ESPN's Ben Solak wrote about some of the best storylines in the NFL heading into training camp. Among his five rookies to watch was Buccaneers rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Had it not been for hip injuries, Morrison would have been a first-round pick off the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's star-studded roster. Keep in mind he missed the back-half of the season for Notre Dame due to injury.
Solak mentions that Morrison could be vying for the starting CB2 spot in Tampa. He believes that incumbent Jamel Dean was too injury-prone and far too inconsistent to have a stranglehold on the position. It is why Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht doubled-down by drafting Morrison out of Notre Dame in the second round and then selected Jacob Parrish in the third out of Kansas State.
Morrison was always the better prospect, but now that he is healthy, he could be a huge get for them.
Benjamin Morrison can be the breakout star Tampa Bay Buccaneers need
What you have to remember is Todd Bowles is a defensive-minded head coach. He cut his teeth playing defensive back, first in college at Temple, before winning a Super Bowl with Washington in the very early 1990s. He may favor the other side of the ball of his noted mentor Bruce Arians, but Bowles will always have a high ceiling in the coaching department because of his prowess over on defense.
What I am getting at is Bowles will have a more hands-on approach when it comes to coaching up his defense this season. While it has been the offense that has driven the bus the last few years in Tampa Bay, we all know that this team is only as good as where its defense will take it. The pass rush has to get better, which in turn means the secondary needs to be as feisty as it ever was under Bowles, too.
In short, Morrison is the type of plug-and-play defensive back a team like Tampa Bay was in dire need of. It may have been an ensemble cast of sorts making up Al Golden's final defense in South Bend, but he got the most out of his guys. However, I would argue that Morrison was the most talented player on Golden's defense from a year ago, and he missed the better part of the second half of the season.
So it should not come as all that much of a surprise that Morrison is expected to turn heads this soon.