The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gone through eight days of training camp and are beginning their ninth at the time of posting on Sunday. In that time, plenty of players have stood out.
Some of those players, like linebacker Alex Anzalone or cornerback Zyon McCollum , are starters who were expected to. But there are others, like edge rusher David Walker or UDFA cornerback Ayden Garnes, for example, who are pleasant surprises..
But it's another UDFA in wide receiver Dean Patterson, who has probably improved his stock the most. Patterson is getting a lot more reps due to wide receiver injuries elsewhere, and so far, he's making the most of it.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Dean Patterson IV (8) participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Patterson, a Tampa Bay native who played football at Georgia Tech, made it on to the team as a tryout player during rookie minicamp. Since then, he's only impressed.
He had a great day of camp during Day 8 on Friday, catching a touchdown during 11-on-11 work and also grabbing a nice catch on the right sideline, keeping two feet in-bounds. He also had a strong practice on Day 6 indoors, where he caught two touchdowns during red zone work on Tuesday night.
When you play like that, people notice. And head coach Todd Bowles has certainly noticed how productive he's been while he's stepped up for injured wideouts like Jalen McMillan , Tez Johnson and David Sills .
"He's getting an opportunity to play. With a couple guys down, he's getting an opportunity to play. He studies, and that's a big part of it," Bowles said. "Grabbing it mentally is probably more demanding than grabbing it physically, but if you can grab it mentally - which he's doing right now - and [make] plays and [show] up on tape, that gets you seen a lot. We'll look forward to seeing him in the preseason."
Preseason will be crucial for Patterson. He played one season at Georgia Tech after four at FIU, and in that one season of Power 4 football, he caught just eight passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He's looked the part so far in camp, but he still needs to prove that he can do it under the lights.
Fortunately for him, he'll get that chance soon. The Buccaneers will hold one more day of public training camp on Aug. 9, and after that, they'll head up to New York to play the New York Jets in joint practices and then in preseason.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/buccaneers/onsi as The Buccaneers Player Whose Stock Has Risen the Most in Training Camp So Far .
