The Carolina Panthers have been very busy this offseason. They’ve looked to rectify everything that went wrong with last year’s team that finished 2-15. They signed multiple offensive linemen and drafted a plethora of offensive talent to make Bryce Young’s life much easier this time around. Xavier Legette and Jonathon Brooks, Carolina’s first two picks from this year’s draft, will garner much of the headlines and optimism from this draft class. However, Ja’Tavion Sanders looks the part of a sleeper who can help the Panthers out immediately in 2024.
The Texas Longhorns had an immense amount of talent on offense over the last few years. That didn’t stop Sanders from getting his share of touches. In two seasons at Austin, Sanders put up 99 receptions for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns.
Those are really solid numbers, but especially so considering he had to compete with the likes of Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathon Brooks, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington and Keilan Robinson for touches in that offense. All of those players got drafted into the NFL in the last two seasons.
The 1,295 yards Sanders racked up since 2022 was the second-most by a tight end in that span. Only Georgia’s Brock Bowers (1,656) had more. At 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, Sanders is a big target down the seam for his quarterback with sure hands and some juice in the open field.
Hell of a pickup by Dan Morgan.
Ja’Tavion Sanders is a stud 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wJSsSDV36W
— Michael Rimmer (@avl_mike) April 27, 2024
Sanders was regarded as a second-round pick for much of the draft process, but he slipped during the draft. That was likely due to a less-than-stellar showing at the NFL combine. His athletic testing scores like RAS and SPORQ were below average. Athleticism at the tight end position tends to correlate positively to production at the NFL level, so Sanders’ testing could be a deterrent to him living to his potential.
That’s likely why he fell to the start of the fourth round in the draft. In an ideal world, Sanders would be an uber-athlete. But at the end of the day, he is still an excellent football player who shouldn’t have been available when the Panthers got him. He was a steal of a draft pick who could find his way onto the field sooner than later.
Path to playing time
The tight end room Sanders is walking into is not very robust. Last year, it consisted of veteran journeyman Hayden Hurst and young players like Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble and Stephen Sullivan who have never found consistent playing time in their careers. All four of these guys split time at that spot last season and none of them seemed to be an answer. They combined to accumulate 58 receptions for 559 yards and four touchdowns.
It’s easy to see why the Panthers prioritized Sanders at the beginning of Day 3. He had more receiving yards in both of his seasons at Texas than those four had combined last season. Carolina had no reliable option at tight end, especially for a rookie quarterback who needed a security blanket in the middle of the field.
The Panthers should be much improved next season. Their offensive line got a major upgrade after signing Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis in the offseason. Diontae Johnson, Legette, and Brooks will bring some much needed juice and explosion as well, but Sanders should not be overlooked. He can help keep the chains moving and provide stability at tight end.
New head coach Dave Canales got a lot of new toys to work with this offseason. How he puts them all together will be worth watching in 2024.
