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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers declined selecting a player for the NFL Supplemental Draft on Tuesday, July 11. That field included Deion Sanders-coached wide receiver Malachi Wideman from Jackson State.
Sanders touted Wideman’s athletic talent during Thee Pregame Show on Monday, July 10. While one NFL team called Sanders, 17 inquired about the 6-foot-5 receiver before the supplemental draft according to HBCU GameDay.
“That kid probably should be in the darn NBA,” Sanders said on the show regarding Wideman. “Let’s just get this straight. And that’s what I told the gentleman who called me, one of the scouts, I said go watch his basketball tape from high school and then call me back.”
“I said yeah, that’s the type of athlete he is,” Sanders said about the follow-up call regarding Wideman. “But this life stuff has to match up to the smart, tough, fast, disciplined, [and] it has to match up with who he’s trying to be. I’m praying for him.”
Wideman played both basketball and football at JSU.
Malachi Wideman Had an Inconsistent College Career Despite Talent
Wideman became a favorite target of former JSU quarterback Shedeur Sanders amid 13 touchdowns and 15.9 yards per catch in two seasons. Ultimately, Wideman’s inconsistency mitigated his draft stock.
“There are certain things that Malachi has to work on as a young man to develop himself to being a professional. A lot of these guys think when you go pro, you go pro. So you got to be a pro before you’re pro. You don’t get to the pros and say, I’m a pro. Malachi just has to work on some personal things that constitutes that he’s a pro even before he makes it to the pro,” Sanders said.
Wideman only caught 37 passes for 589 yards in 17 games played. He also played one season at Tennessee before that in 2020 and appeared in one game.
While the HBCU GameDay report didn’t mention the Bucs as one of the inquiring teams, their NFC South rival New Orleans Saints did. However, no NFL team made a selection for the supplemental draft, which left Wideman and Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright to free agency.
Wright had a quality career with the Boilermakers amid 99 receptions for 1,325 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons.
Bucs Could Add Depth With Malachi Wideman
The Bucs could add Wideman or Wright for receiver depth at training camp in two weeks. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Wideman will try out for NFL teams but none specified.
Tampa Bay has a plethora of young receivers coming into training camp: Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins, Kaylon Geiger, Taye Barber, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller, and Kade Warner. The Bucs needed several of those younger receivers to pan out amid limited veteran depth.
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin remain two of the most talented tandems in the NFL, but the Bucs have injury-prone Russell Gage after those two. Free agent addition David Moore has quality experience, too, but he may have to beat out the likes of Geiger or Thompkins to secure a spot.
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