Buccaneers UDFA gives intriguing option at important position
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers could always use help in their wide receiver room. Could Jerreth Sterns bring his success to Tampa from Western Kentucky?
Wide receiver is one of the positions that every NFL team should target on a near-yearly basis. Even a team like the Buccaneers with a dominant duo could always use a revolving door of talent to help prop the unit up.
We all saw this on display last season. Despite spending several picks over the past few seasons in the mid to later rounds, Tampa struggled to get much production outside of their main guys.
With that being said, it still comes as a slight surprise that the Buccaneers didn’t take even one receiver out of this relatively deep class. Still, that doesn’t mean Tampa didn’t address the position at all.
Undrafted free agents can make contributions too. There is usually a reason why these guys slip, but Jerreth Sterns is still an interesting option for a Bucs wide receiver room that has little guaranteed outside of the top few guys.
Scotty Miller, Jaelon Darden, Breshad Perriman, Cyril Grayson, and Tyler Johnson are in a dog fight to see who is going to carve out a role on this roster. Some of these guys may not make the final roster, and Sterns showing a fraction of the talent with the Bucs that he did in college could complicate matters for one of the vets.
Western Kentucky isn’t going to turn many heads, but nearly 2,000 receiving yards in a season is nothing to scoff at in any league. Sterns was a volume guy, one of the main focal points in a pass-heavy offense, and was able to play at an extremely high level despite his size.
If you’re going to measure in at less than five feet eight inches, you want to posses blazing speed more often than not. Sterns is quick, but he isn’t necessarily a burner. This could be why he slipped to free agency in the first place.
Still, Sterns has great hands, is comfortable with the ball in his hand, and his college resume is about as impressive as they come.
Buccaneers fans may be weary about taking another dominant receiver from a small school after Jaelon Darden’s rookie season debacle, but Sterns is far cheaper and could prove to be a far more efficient option for the Bucs that projects to be a great practice squad option with an outside chance of suiting up on Sundays if injuries are a problem again.
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