{"id":162428,"date":"2024-02-18T11:30:20","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T16:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=162428"},"modified":"2024-02-18T11:01:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T16:01:09","slug":"jatavion-sanders-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/02\/18\/jatavion-sanders-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders NFL Draft Profile<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Position<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: Tight End<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Height<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: 6\u2032-3\u2033<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Weight<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: 252 pounds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">School<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Texas<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">More 2024 NFL Draft Profiles<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2024 NFL Draft: Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders Scouting Report<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasfootball.com\/recruiting\/players\/jatavion-sanders.79bf0868?ref=rankings_list\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">highly regarded<\/a> coming out of high school, and NFL teams have had their eyes set on him since then. He was a five-star athlete and committed to Texas over offers from all the recruiting giants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After spending his freshman year on special teams, Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders had a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/story\/sports\/college\/longhorns\/football\/2023\/08\/07\/jatavion-sanders-builds-off-2022-breakout-for-texas-football-team\/70343227007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">breakthrough season<\/a> in 2022. His excellent performance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/story\/sports\/college\/longhorns\/football\/2023\/08\/04\/texas-longhorns-te-jatavion-sanders-named-to-big-12-college-football-john-mackey-award-watch-list\/70530208007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">didn&#8217;t go unnoticed<\/a>, as both the Big 12 Conference head coaches and the Associated Press selected him as a first-team All-Big 12. Sanders was a key player in all 13 games. He set a tight end record for the program with 54 catches. In addition, his 613 yards in receptions were the second-highest by a tight end in the program&#8217;s history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders&#8217; last season in Austin would be his junior year in 2023, and <a href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/news\/2023\/11\/29\/twenty-six-longhorns-earn-all-big-12-football-honors.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he excelled<\/a>. He finished the season as part of the All-Big 12 First Team and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award. CBS Sports also recognized him as a second-team All-American selection. Sanders played and started in all 14 games, posting 45 receptions for 682 yards and two touchdowns. He had three games with over 100 yards receiving and is the only tight end in Texas program history to achieve multiple career 100-yard receiving games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Additionally, he<a href=\"https:\/\/texassports.com\/sports\/football\/roster\/ja-tavion-sanders\/12454\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> set a new single-season record<\/a> for a UT tight end with 682 receiving yards. His 45 receptions tied for the third-most in a single season in program history. Sanders also recorded 12 receptions of 20-plus yards.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Strengths<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders is an excellent ball tracker and has great hands. He is also skilled at catching passes while being defended, and he can make acrobatic catches away from his body;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He is a reliable receiver across the middle and on the boundary. He sustains catches through contact and shields the catch point with his frame, creating easy targets;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders is skilled at separating from defenders both through his route running and speed, allowing him to gain yards quickly;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Great foot speed, ability to threaten the seams, excellent spatial awareness, and impressive long speed;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders has an expansive route tree. It doesn&#8217;t get much better;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There is excellent fluidity in his movements. His hips are flexible, and he quickly tucks the ball and transitions into a runner. He can also slow down rapidly when needed;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Vs. 2024. Draft Tight Ends: Career Yards per Reception: 13.1 (T-8th), Yards Per Team Pass Attempt: 1.44 (8th), Yards per Route Run: 1.85 (9th), Yards After the Catch: 7.7 (3rd).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Weaknesses<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders&#8217; lateral agility isn&#8217;t elite. He&#8217;s at his best when vertical and breaking off routes;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders is not going to force a lot of missed tackles with his lateral agility;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He needs route nuance in his game. If developed as a route runner, he has the potential to be one of the best in the league;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders needs to be coached up and play with more consistency;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders needs to be consistent at the catch point. He is capable of making effort catches but is content flipping his hips to catch or bread-basketing the catch.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NFL Comparison<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/03\/05\/sam-laporta-2023-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Sam LaPorta<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Teams With Need At Position<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chargers\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Chargers<\/a><\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/saints\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New Orleans Saints<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Washington Commanders<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">San Francisco 49ers<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Projection<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">: Round 2<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Statistics gathered from\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/pff.com\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Pro Football Focus<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NFL Comparison, Round Projections, and Team Fits are\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/thecodyspears.start.page\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">my own.<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bottom Line on Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders has one of the higher ceilings out of the 2024 tight end class. He&#8217;s a very fluid athlete for a tight end. Not only that, but Sanders is a legitimate downfield threat. He&#8217;s a natural separator who can pull away with his smooth routes and speed. While not an elite sprinter, Sanders does have a long, fast stride to stack defenders quickly and threaten the seam. He has excellent fluidity in his hips and can sink rapidly in &amp; out of his routes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sanders is an acrobat at the catch point, capable of being a weapon down the sideline or in the end zone. He does a great job climbing the catch point and boxing out the defender. He is acceptable as a blocker and could add some weight in an NFL environment. Sanders doesn&#8217;t have the polish other tight ends have had when they&#8217;ve gone in the first round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Everything else is in the toolbox to be an elite tight end in the league. Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders&#8217; athletic profile enables him to be a full-time player at the next level\u2014with a very high ceiling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Image: Sara Diggins\/American-Statesman-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ja&#8217;Tavion Sanders has been highly anticipated amongst NFL scouts since high school. Where will his record-breaking Texas career land him?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5041,"featured_media":162733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[10073,32376],"class_list":["post-162428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-2024-nfl-draft","tag-jatavion-sanders"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5041"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}