Scotty Miller is talented enough to play in the NFL and fully driven to succeed at football’s highest level. That’s been proven during his three seasons in the league since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him a sixth-round draft pick in 2019, particularly during the team’s 2020 Super Bowl campaign, in which a string of big plays culminated in one game-changing moment in the NFC Championship Game.
Despite that, and despite a well-deserved confidence in himself, Miller can’t be fully certain that he will still be on the Buccaneers’ roster a week from now.
That’s true, of course, for a number of talented players in one of the NFL’s deepest receiving corps. It is widely believed that Tampa Bay’s wideout group in the regular season will start with the imposing quartet of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage and Julio Jones. If that proves to be the case, and if the Bucs keep the standard six receivers on the roster, that leaves only two spots for the likes of Miller, Tyler Johnson, Jaelon Darden, Breshad Perriman, Cyril Grayson, Deven Thompkins, Jerreth Sterns and Kaylon Geiger. Every single one of those pass-catchers has given the Bucs reasons to want to keep them around, either last season, in this year’s camp and preseason, or both.
Miller, who lasted until the sixth round of his draft despite his blazing speed in part because he’s not the biggest receiver around, doesn’t have to make a shift in attitude to confront his current reality. He’s been operating in the same manner since he was a child.
“Yeah, it’s never going to be easy,” said Miller. “Nothing’s ever going to be handed to you. It’s kind of like my journey my whole life with football, ever since I was a little kid it’s never been easy. So I’ve just got to fight for everything and that’s just what I’ll continue to do the rest of my career. It’s just a blessing to be out here and I just try to take advantage of every opportunity I get.”
Miller has had a strong training camp and after coming back from a troublesome turf toe injury last season he’s as fast as ever and once again a potential deep threat. In 2020, he quickly formed a connection with new Bucs’ quarterback Tom Brady and ended up with 33 receptions for 501 yards and three touchdowns. He was responsible for three of the Bucs’ eight longest touchdown catches that season, playoffs included, including the aforementioned 39-yard shocker just before halftime in Green Bay, a play that was instrumental in sending the Buccaneers to Super Bowl LV.
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