Everyone talked about Shedeur Sander and completely overlooked his forgotten brother, Shilo Sanders, who was also in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately for Shilo, he went undrafted. However, he did sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. Let’s examine why he didn’t get picked.
Why Didn’t Shilo Sanders Get Picked in NFL Draft?
While Shedeur’s draft slide was a massive surprise, Shilo was always considered more of a late-round hopeful.
The son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shilo had a winding collegiate career defined by recurring injuries. His most recent shoulder injury sidelined him for six months, seriously damaging his draft stock.
In addition to the history of injuries, as a sixth-year senior in college, Shilo is 25 years old, making him one of the older prospects in the NFL Draft. While he shows glimpses of high-level play, there are also concerns about his physicality in run support.
With significant collegiate experience, a high football IQ, and solid athletic ability for the safety position, Sanders is an effective coverage defender with a penchant for forcing fumbles.
The problem is that Sanders’ concerns don’t come entirely from the field. He could always improve his form, physicality as a tackler, and ability at the catch point. There are reasons to be concerned for his financial issues and assault lawsuit, and he’s just an older rookie entering the NFL to begin with.
The fact that he didn’t earn an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine was a sign that the NFL didn’t see him as a draft pick, but as a priority free agent, perhaps he can silence his doubters with the Buccaneers in Todd Bowles’ defense.
Pressure Mounts on Sanders Amid Battle for Roster Spot
Since Sanders was an undrafted free agent, he is not a lock to make the Buccaneers’ 53-man roster. As a result, he needed a strong training camp followed by good performances in the preseason games to earn a spot.
So far, he has played in both of the Buccaneers’ preseason games. He played in the first one against the Tennessee Titans, but had an underwhelming performance in preseason Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sanders finished with a tackle and a quarterback hit in the Buccaneers’ 29-7 win against the Titans. Against the Steelers, he recorded two solo tackles but faced criticism from fans on social media for his play.
Injuries to Tampa Bay’s secondary have opened a path for the former Colorado star to make the roster. However, his performance against the Steelers did him no favors. The Buccaneers’ last preseason game against the Buffalo Bills is of utmost importance for Sanders, and if he fails to play well, he will likely start the season on the practice squad instead of the main roster.
Sanders’ Scouting Report
A three-star prospect coming out of high school, Sanders generated attention for his high level of play at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas. He ultimately committed to play college football at South Carolina.
Only playing in four games for the Gamecocks in 2019, Sanders maintained his eligibility and took a redshirt year. As a redshirt freshman the following year, he played nine games and started four at safety in a COVID-19-shortened season, finishing the year with 32 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and a pass deflection.
With his father, Deion, becoming the head coach at HBCU institution Jackson State, Shilo entered the transfer portal and committed to play for his father. He also joined his younger brother, Shedeur, who joined the team as a quarterback recruit out of high school that same year.
He didn’t play in the Tigers’ spring 2021 season — their fall 2020 season had been postponed and he was coming off a full year with South Carolina that fall — but stepped into the defensive rotation in the fall. Shilo Sanders played in 13 games in 2021, starting in eight. He ended the year as a second-team All-SWAC, finishing with 39 total tackles and four interceptions.
Sanders’ 2022 season was abbreviated. Seven games into the year, he tore his ACL. Nevertheless, he started in two of those games, tallying 20 tackles and an interception. Interestingly enough, he finished that year with a personal-best five pass deflections, despite playing the fewest games in a non-redshirt season.
As Coach Prime departed Jackson State for Colorado, his two sons on the team followed suit. Stepping into the starting lineup at safety, the older Sanders brother played in 11 games and started all of them.
He ended the year with a career-high 70 tackles, intercepting a pass for an 80-yard touchdown against Colorado State. In his debut with the Buffaloes, he had 10 tackles and helped his team upset TCU, which had just been in the national championship the year before. He also finished 2023 with four forced fumbles.
Sanders served in a starting role for Colorado again in 2024. This marked his sixth and final year in college football, having redshirted in 2019 and earning an extra year of eligibility for the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
In 2024, he recorded 45 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, two pass deflections, one sack, and one forced fumble.
