Buccaneers' Shilo Sanders shows promise in hard-hitting NFL debut

Billy Heyen

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Buccaneers' Shilo Sanders shows promise in hard-hitting NFL debut image

Shilo Sanders made his NFL preseason debut this weekend, too.

A safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Shilo doesn't get the fanfare of his brother Shedeur or his father, Deion, but he's still a popular name.

And on Saturday night, he took the field often for the Bucs against the Tennessee Titans.

According to Rookie Watch, Sanders played 37 snaps, including 23 in coverage. He had a quarterback hit and a tackle among those plays.

ESPN's Jenna Laine wrote, "Rookie safety Shilo Sanders delivered multiple big hits, including one on Brandon Allen on a blitz."

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Here's a look at that hit, the rare defensive play posted on the official NFL account on X despite it not resulting in any form of statistic other than a QB hit:

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Shilo needs to take advantage of all his opportunities this preseason, because nothing is a given for him.

Some expected him to be drafted as high as the fifth round, but he went undrafted. The Bucs signed him to an UDFA contract soon after the draft's conclusion.

He was a solid, if not spectacular, safety in his college career. He has good, not great, physical traits.

Shilo will have to show he can be in the right place at the right time and perform all his defensive responsibilities. Head coach Todd Bowles is a defensive-minded guy. He'll be looking for key aspects of Shilo's game to show he deserves a chance on the roster.

At least so far, Shilo had a promising start, and it'll be up to him to keep it going.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle