Rookie Profile: Ja’Tavion Sanders, Running Back, Carolina Panthers
Welcome to Rookie Profile: Ja’Tavion Sanders, a prospect at tight end for the University of Texas. Out of Denton, Texas, Sanders Billy Ryan High School. He was a WR and DE in high school, dominating on both sides of the ball.
A 5-star recruit, the ultra-athletic and versatile Sanders received offers from the top institutions in the country. Ultimately, he decided to stay close to home and become a Longhorn.
After spending his first full season on special teams, Sanders has earned back-to-back First Team All-Big 12 honors.
Measurables
Draft Capital & Landing Spot
Draft Capital- Round 4 Pick 1
- The 2024 NFL Draft was not particularly kind to Ja’Tavion Sanders. Not only was he not the second tight end selected behind Brock Bowers, but he also managed to slide out of day two altogether.
- Sanders found himself slipping to day three and the fourth round, albeit the first pick of the fourth round. This is disheartening for fantasy managers who viewed him as the TE2 in this class early on, but as the pre-draft process progressed, it became obvious he was more than likely the TE3 at best.
- A round-four selection is damning to his career, but it certainly makes him much more of a risky long-term play for fantasy. I put his chances at 50/50 to be fantasy-relevant.
Landing Spot- Carolina Panthers
- The Panthers are a mixed bag of a landing spot. This young offense struggled heavily in 2023 and after revamping their squad at the draft, they hope to take the team to the next step.
- The Panthers have added to this offensive unit through both free agency and the draft. They brought in Diontae Johnson this offseason and drafted Xavier Legette, Jonathon Brooks, and Sanders. There is plenty of talent here going into the 2024 season, but everything is up for grabs for whoever earns it.
Team Depth Chart
Expected Role: Developmental Quarterback/Backup
Depth Chart via Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Impact
The fantasy impact here was almost catastrophic. Slipping to day three and the Carolina Panthers caused him to fall from the beginning of the second round to the end of the second round of rookie drafts. Sanders not being selected as the TE2 off the board caused him to fall even further in rookie drafts and now see him going in the third round or later.
Originally viewed as a slam dunk pick early in the second round, Sanders has now fallen from grace very quickly and has now become a dart-throw in rookie drafts. There is plenty of talent and opportunity here for Sanders, but his risk has seemingly quadrupled since the draft, luckily his cost has gone down significantly as a result.
Check out The Fantasy Football Universe Sneak Peek Video of Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Check out our 2024 Rookie Rankings Page for a full breakdown of this rookie class.
