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PFN Draft Profile

Ja’Tavion Sanders’ Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 6’3 7/8″
• Weight: 245
• Length: 32 7/8″
• Wingspan: 78 1/4″
• Hand: 10 1/8″
• Position: Tight End
• School: Texas
• Current Year: Junior

Even before Sanders made the leap from Denton Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, he was destined for the NFL. He was an All-American who played on both sides of the ball, and if he wanted, he could have had a future as a defensive end.

As a high school junior in 2019, Sanders was a first-team All-State performer at defensive end with 11 sacks. But in 2020, he started to play a more significant role on offense, and it became clear that a receiving role was where he’d shine in college.

Once he was able to focus primarily on offense, Sanders dominated, hauling in 63 passes for 1,161 yards and 16 scores as a senior. He was a consensus five-star recruit and a top-five player in the powerhouse state of Texas, and he chose to stay in-state and join the Longhorns.

After a true freshman season spent primarily on the special-teams unit, Sanders exploded as a sophomore. He broke the Texas TE record for receptions in a season with 54, and his 613 receiving yards were the second most by a Longhorns TE in school history.

Even as Xavier Worthy reached career-highs in 2023 and transfer addition Adonai Mitchell emerged, Sanders still remained productive catching passes from future quarterback prospect Quinn Ewers.

In 2023, Sanders again broke the school’s TE yardage record with 682, while catching 45 passes and two touchdowns. He averaged 15.2 yards per reception and eclipsed 100 yards against Alabama, Baylor, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Sanders’ production in college was indicative of his rare talent, and so too was his testing at the NFL Combine — running an 82nd percentile 4.69 40-yard dash with a 1.6 10-yard split in the 91st percentile. But looking at his full scouting report, how does Sanders project to the NFL?

Strengths

• Explosive size-speed athlete with brisk short-area quickness and foot speed.
• Sports a dense and compact frame and has enough length to play past his frame.
• Profile yields in-built versatility on motions, in-line, designed touches, and as a big slot.
• Flashes high-end lateral burst and fluidity on screens and when shifting into the flats.
• Has the burst and long speed to threaten the seam and stretch the field on RAC plays.
• Possesses the necessary curvilinear flexibility to bend while accelerating up the seam.
• Flashes high-end focus, hand-eye coordination, and extension timing on high passes.
• Can contort and control his body to make high-difficulty catches even against contact.
• Has vice-grip hands in contested situations and can secure passes away from his frame.
• Has shown he can chop his feet and quickly plant and drive on digs over the middle.
• Flashes promise as an independent separator, using stem presses and leverage IQ.
• Can use targeted extensions to pry past press defenders while exploding up the seam.
• Has shown he can use his midsection to absorb solo hits and keep his legs churning.
• Consistently finishes forward with his combination of physicality and contact balance.
• Incredibly willing run blocker with alignment and usage versatility and great power load.

Weaknesses

• Burst and long speed, while exceptional, fall just short of the elite mark.
• Doesn’t quite have the speed necessary to separate on long-tracking crossers.
• Isn’t an overwhelming size threat and doesn’t have high-end mass or reach.
• Sub-250-pound frame may limit his utility as an in-line blocker in the NFL.
• Sometimes exhibits slight hip stiffness when working across-face against DBs.
• At times, runs too far upright ahead of stems, inhibiting sink and misdirection.
• Doesn’t have high-end sink at stems and will let DBs get inside his frame with tall style.
• Can still strive for more efficient plant-and-drive footwork and tempo at stems.
• Focus and hand-eye coordination can be disrupted by direct contact and physicality.
• Occasionally overshoots run blocking angles in space and lacks elite recovery flexibility.
• At times, can be more disciplined with his angles and extension timing.

Day 2 MOCK DRAFT by Lance Zierlein has Miami Selecting