Chiefs Draft: Texas TE Ja’Tavion Sanders met with team at the Combine

The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ offense may have a makeover this offseason. This began with the discharge of broad receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. We will count on that in 2024, there will probably be new gamers in all the offensive ability positions.

On the NFL Scouting Mix in Indianapolis, the Chiefs took one other step in that makeover. In line with a report by Ryan Fowler of The Draft Community, the Chiefs have been among the many groups that met with Texas tight finish Ja’Tavion Sanders — one of many high tight ends within the 2024 draft class.

Right here’s the whole lot to find out about Sanders:

Background

A local of Denton, Texas, Sanders was a five-star highschool recruit. Since he performed on either side of the ball — and likewise performed basketball — he was 2021’s No. 1 athlete prospect. As a real freshman with the Longhorns, he performed in each recreation — totally on particular groups.

However as a sophomore, Sanders burst onto the scene. He earned first-team All-Huge 12 honors in each 2022 and 2023, totaling 99 receptions, 1,295 yards and 7 touchdowns over his two seasons at Texas. He was a flexible move catcher within the Longhorns’ offense, aligning within the slot or as an out of doors receiver on 37% of his profession receiving snaps, per PFF.

He declared for the draft after his junior season and acquired an invite to the Mix. In Indianapolis, he was measured at 6 ft 4 and 245 kilos. His arms have been recorded at 10 1/8 inches, whereas his arms got here in at 32 7/8 inches.

Sanders didn’t check within the explosion or agility drills. He did, nevertheless, run the 40-yard sprint, incomes a 4.69-second outcome on his second try. That was the ninth-fastest time among the many 2024 Mix’s tight ends.

Movie analysis

In an offense stuffed with playmakers, Sanders was a constant presence within the Texas offense for quarterback Quinn Ewers. He performed in all 27 video games of the previous two seasons, typically making performs within the passing recreation.

The very first thing that stands out about Sanders is how pure and cozy he’s whereas making catches downfield and in between defenders. Over the past two seasons, he has accomplished 54% of his contested-catch alternatives — and this reveals up on tape; he has robust instincts for attacking the ball in site visitors. These two performs towards TCU present his robust arms and focus by contact.

It made him a really dependable goal over the center of the sphere: on passes thrown between the numbers and 10-19 yards downfield in 2023, Sanders caught 13 of 17 targets and hauled in all six contested-catch makes an attempt.

That means to win over the center is about up by his really feel for route working. He has the flexibleness to bend round protection defenders and shortly make himself accessible in a throwing window. Sanders additionally has robust hand utilization as he will get out right into a route, utilizing fluid swipes to take care of his velocity or acceleration.

Sanders’ quickest moments have a tendency to return in brief bursts — which can have been confirmed by his 40-yard sprint. Whereas he does have purposeful velocity when given a runway, he doesn’t have the stride that some tight ends show as they grow to be galloping horses within the open discipline.

To nitpick a highly-touted prospect, he typically reveals a false step as he releases into routes. This may create a slight delay in moving into the route — and might be limiting how explosive he could be from a standstill. However since he’s a younger prospect, that is most likely one thing that may be corrected.

It’s additionally essential to notice that Sanders’ blocking profile just isn’t that of a conventional Y tight finish, who units the tone on the entrance of outdoor runs. His bodily construct is lighter and extra compact than a typical inline tight finish — however his effectiveness in these spots may enhance with improvement.

How he matches with the Chiefs

If the Chiefs need to add Sanders to the group, it might need to occur early within the draft — presumably with their first choice. The Athletic’s 2024 consensus board listed Sanders forty first, whereas NFL Community’s Daniel Jeremiah ranked him forty sixth in his newest High 50.

However Sanders does seem to have a playmaking upside that Kansas Metropolis’s reserve tight ends lack. Whereas Noah Grey has confirmed to be a really dependable goal, Sanders already appears to be like dependable — and likewise shows a developmental monitor that’s thrilling for a participant who will flip 21 on March 27.

And Sanders has a blocking basis that does appear to be it may be improved. He assaults the suitable shoulder on kickout blocks and performs with a very good base. The inconsistency we generally see on tape may merely be fatigue that causes a breakdown of fundamentals.

There’s a lot to love in regards to the thought of Sanders becoming a member of the Chiefs. He would immediately improve the group’s means to play from multi-tight finish units, as a result of the group would have a dependable pass-catcher in all three tight finish spots; Grey and Sanders can each be robust towards tight, zone protection.

However with good teaching, Sanders may flourish even past that. Within the NFL, he might be a long-time playmaker.