Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE Texas: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Sanders was a five-star athlete recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2021

Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders came in clutch with a big performance against Alabama. Sanders projects as the second tight end taken in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE Texas: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior tight end from Denton, Texas

Background: Sanders was a five-star athlete recruit from Ryan High School in Denton, Texas in the class of 2021. He was the No. 13 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 14 for Rivals, and No. 12 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 13th in the nation with a 90 grade out of 100. Sanders played in several varsity games as a high school freshman, contributing five receptions for 130 yards as Ryan went 14-1 with an undefeated regular season and a 6-0 district mark and title. Sanders was the Defensive Newcomer of the Year in District 4-5A as a sophomore. He amassed 54 tackles, including 23 for loss, 9.5 sacks, six passes defensed, and two interceptions (including a pick-six). Sanders also contributed 23 receptions for 378 yards and five touchdowns as Ryan again went 14-1 with undefeated records in the regular season and district. He was the 5A All-State Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-State selection at defensive end for the Texas Sports Writers Association as a junior. That season, Sanders earned a 5A All-State honorable mention spot from the Associated Press. He was a First Team All-District 4-5A Division 1 selection. Sanders finished the season with 39 tackles, including 20 for loss, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles, and three passes defensed. He also contributed 47 receptions for 763 yards and seven touchdowns as a wide receiver. Ryan went 15-1 with another undefeated regular season and district mark and an appearance in the 5A Division 1 state championship game. As a senior, Sanders caught 63 passes for 1,161 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also carried the ball for 71 yards and three additional scores. He produced four sacks and an interception on defense as Ryan went 15-0 and captured the 5A Division 1 state title. Sanders earned a First Team selection on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Super Team in 2020. His other senior year accolades included a spot on the MaxPreps Texas First Team All-State, co-MVP honors of District 5-5A Division 1, and mid-season 5A co-Player of the Year honors from Dallas Morning News. Sanders finished his high school career as an All-America, All-State, and two-time All-District honoree. He received an invitation to the 2021 Under Armour All-America Game. Sanders also played basketball at Ryan.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2022 First Team All-Big 12

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, experience lining up in the slot, out wide, at H-back, and in-line, room to add mass to his frame, euro step to set DBs up mid-route, physical with DBs at the top of the stem, takes advantage of his size to box out defenders at the catch point, high points the ball and catches cleanly with hands, makes concentration grabs with defenders around him, finishes catches through contact, picks up ground quickly with the ball in his hands, capable of double-teaming with the tackle and removing a pass rusher from play, decent job slowing Will Anderson Jr. in pass pro (2022), experience lead-blocking in a gap scheme, nice rep blocking Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the run game (2022)

Cons: Penalized seven times in 2022, four drops in 2022, one year of production, arm length is good but not great, benefited from dump offs and schemed touches, vertical speed won’t challenge slot defenders or modern linebackers, not sharp at the top of the stem, routes are rounded, takes a bit to gear down and flip around on comeback routes, generates limited separation against man coverage, physically outdueled by Kool-Aid McKinstry (2022), didn’t snag either of his two early red zone targets vs. Alabama (2022), must develop a better feel for sitting in zone, doesn’t break many tackles with power, limited twitch to make defenders miss in space, limited blocking power, body positioning and technique as a blocker, allows defenders into his pads in pass pro, struggles to mirror defensive backs as a blocker in space

Overview: Sanders has special teams experience on the kick return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. Texas lines him up in the slot, out wide, at H-back, and in-line. The former high school defender and wide receiver has room to add mass to his frame. His arm length is good but not elite. Sanders euro steps to set up defensive backs on vertical routes. He gets physical with defenders at the top of the stem. The Texas native is excellent at the catch point. He uses his size to box out defenders and prevent them from playing the football. Sanders high points the ball and catches it cleanly with his hands. He finishes catches through contact and makes concentration grabs with defenders in his air space. Sanders picks up ground quickly with the ball in his hands but lacks elite speed. He’s an above-average athlete but doesn’t separate from defensive backs on vertical routes. The junior struggles to outrace modern linebackers downfield. He doesn’t generate much separation against man coverage. Sanders rounds his routes and isn’t sharp at the top of the stem. It takes him long enough to flip around and work back down the stem on comeback routes that defenders close and eliminate the throwing window. Kool-Aid McKinstry physically outdueled Sanders, who failed to catch either of his two red zone targets early in Texas’ 2022 game against Alabama. The tight end must develop a better feel for holes in zone and sit down instead of drifting into more coverage. Sanders lacks the power and twitch to generate missed tackles after the catch. His numbers were inflated in 2022 by schemed touches and dump offs. Sanders’ blocking profile is a mixed bag. He won some reps against Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner in both the run and pass game but also had some bad, quick losses. Sanders also removed Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah from a run play completely in 2022. However, his poor technique and limited blocking power suggest those wins won’t translate to the NFL. Sanders allows defenders into his frame and doesn’t win the leverage battle. He struggles to mirror defensive backs as a blocker in space. Texas asks Sanders to pull and block run-side often. He doesn’t always have the speed or body positioning to win these reps. Sanders committed seven penalties in 2022, and his large number of blocking assignments contributed to that total.

Overall, Sanders is an above-average athlete who’s at his best with the ball in his hands, but he doesn’t excel in enough areas to justify a premium selection. Sanders is an experienced blocker but lacks the mass, power, and technique to take on NFL edge rushers as an in-line player. He will deploy from the slot at the next level.

Role & Scheme Fit: Starting possession-style tight end deploying from the slot

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 6'4", 243 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 08-22-23