Ja'Tavion Sanders

Viewed as the consensus No. 2 tight end, Texas' Ja'Tavion Sanders just turned 21 years old. He broke out very early in his college career at age 19 during the 2022 season, posting a 21% dominator rating with 5 TDs, 54 receptions (7th in the nation) and 613 receiving yards.
In 2023, he was still extremely efficient even with his counting stats falling amid an ankle injury and competition from two projected Round 1 WRs - Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. He recorded zero drops on 67 targets and finished 3rd in total YAC among the 2024 tight end class. He averaged over 15 yards per catch - second highest in the class (15.2) - with his downfield presence. But he wasn't featured in the red zone.
Sanders isn't a complete blocker - much more of a tight end receiver type - but he has enough athleticism to be a solid receiving threat at the next level. There's room for Sanders to grow given his youth. The Panthers are a very sneaky fantasy football landing spot for a tight end - given that Dave Canales "awarded" Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton an elite role in 2023. The Bucs tight end played nearly every single snap and ran a route on 80% of the dropbacks (3rd among TEs). Look out for Ja'Tavion Sanders in a full-time receiving role for the Panthers. Sorry Tommy Tremble.

Immediate and easy speed. He can stretch the field and get deep down the seam. Sanders isn't an elite route runner. He was tasked with screens and straight-line shots down the seam on many plays, but he has the athleticism and fluid hips to evolve in the NFL. Sanders is an upright runner and not an overwhelming tackle-breaker. He forced only 11 missed tackles over the last two years, but with his speed, he can still generate YAC. His play strength shows up during his routes at the catch point. Sanders plays through contact well in his routes. He has the upper body strength to deal with physical corners or linebackers in coverage. Sanders is a beast at the catch point. There are plenty of bang-bang plays in his film where he makes a catch in traffic and immediately gets popped and holds onto the ball. Sanders finished his collegiate career with a strong 53.6% contested catch rate and zero drops in his final season. Sanders has a decent initial punch but needs to work on his anchor when blocking. He will hit defenders initially and disengage. When he locks a defender up, he has some reps where he will blow them off the line and drive them back. With better technique and more consistency, Sanders could easily become an average to above-average blocker. Dynasty Outlook: Sanders heads to Carolina after being selected in the fourth round. Sanders only has to compete with Tommy Tremble, Ian Thomas, and Stephen Sullivan for snaps. If you're a Sanders fan, this was one of the dream landing spots you were hoping for. Ok, well, there are concerns with Bryce Young to deal with, but in terms of playing time path and decent draft capital, it was a pretty good run out for Sanders. Sanders should be selected somewhere in the third round of rookie drafts and could get bumped up the board a smidge in tight-end premium formats.