The 2024 NFL Draft is here, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Ja'Tavion Sanders.
Sanders projects to transition at the next level into more of a movement receiving TE than an attached blocker in the run game. It was evident he competed and battled as a blocker. In all likelihood, he will continue to improve given his willingness to give maximum effort.
Sanders has extensive experience lining up in multiple locations within the formation. What consistently stood out watching Sanders' tape was his hands. He showed the ability to make tough catches away from his frame both on the move and in traffic. Sanders can work at all three levels as a receiver. He has the overall athleticism and game speed to work the vertical seam and execute intermediate movement routes when he runs away from man coverage or works effectively into zone voids.
He also has the athleticism to line up at boundary X in multiple splits, including attached to the formation. That is a significant determining factor in transitioning tight ends to the NFL. He will need to work the nuances and details of route running before he can become a truly effective boundary X at the NFL level.
My sense is Sanders has the overall traits to develop into a No. 1 tight end, but he will begin his NFL career as a second TE until he gets a good feel for the increased speed of the game. He'll also have to account for the tight man coverage he’ll face, along with quicker zone coverage reactions by second and third-level defenders. NFL teams that deploy the TE in multiple locations within the formation and feature the position in the passing game will look to Sanders as a higher-level prospect because of his ability to work all three levels of the defense.
Sanders played DE and TE in high school in Texas and was seen as a top 20 overall recruit in the nation. He was recruited to Texas as a TE, and in his final two seasons, he caught 99 passes for almost 1,300 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns.
In 2022, Sanders lined up in multiple locations within the Texas offensive formations, including boundary X on the back side of trips and No. 1 to trips R.
In 2023, Sanders again aligned in multiple locations in the Texas offense. He was also featured at times as the movement receiver in the offense. He was deployed creatively as a receiver, running multiple route concepts depending on his location in the formation.
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