Where you land matters. Shilo Sanders going undrafted out of Colorado allowed for him to pick his next place of employment. When the NFC South juggernaut Tampa Bay Buccaneers came calling, Sanders seized the opportunity. He could be playing alongside the son of another famous NFL father in Antoine Winfield Jr., should Sanders make the team. In a way, this landing spot does work for him.
ESPN's Jenna Laine was able to catch up with Sanders during his earliest days with the team during Buccaneers rookie minicamp. His path to the NFL may not have gone according to plan, but he does somewhat sound like his father in how he conducts himself in front of a microphone. One of the best traits a professional athlete can have is confidence. Nobody is going to give it to you, you must find it.
Sanders reflected on his "lows" not really being all that much of a low, as his NFL dream is still a reality.
“Well, my take on being disappointed in ‘lows’ -- it’s not really ‘low’ because you can’t change the path and you can’t really do anything about something that already happened."
This delectable quote right here is where you can really tell that Sanders is the son of Coach Prime.
"I always end up doing something great so I just know it’s going to happen and whatever’s happening currently is to learn or to grow from.”
Sanders finished up by saying that he is eternally grateful that the Buccaneers are giving him a shot.
“The Bucs were the first team to call and they gave me a chance before anyone. 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.”
Tampa Bay has won the NFC South the last four years, but rivals Atlanta and Carolina are closing in.
Shilo Sanders could play with the same confidence of his father Deion
One of the things people tend to forget about Shilo Sanders is he did have a college football career outside of playing for his famous father. Sanders initially played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2020 under Will Muschamp and Mike Bobo before Shane Beamer took over in 2021. Even though South Carolina was down during that period, the Gamecocks always had stud players on defense.
Going up against SEC, and later Pac-12/Big 12 defenses tells me that Sanders has seen every type of offense imaginable. This positions himself to be able to read and react within the context of an NFL defense quite well. He is also incredibly fortunate that Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is one of the very best in the business at setting his defense up for success. That should follow for Sanders.
Ultimately, Sanders still has to play within the context of himself to have staying power in the league. There may be moments where he could conceivably steal the spotlight with a big play or two, but that was never his game at any point in college. Sanders can stick around the NFL if he is disciplined and tactically sound. He may not play with the flash of his father, but he is dripping with confidence now.
Tampa Bay needs to play with an edge to stay atop in the division, and Sanders could provide that.