Film Session: Ja’Tavion Sanders NFL draft prospect profile

Pro scouting report of Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders

Ja’Tavion Sanders is a junior tight end at the University of Texas. Sanders started 27 out of 39 games with the Longhorns.

What to make of Ja’Tavion Sanders as a tight end? Here are my takeaways from Sanders’s UT film.

As a pass catcher, Sanders is versatile in his alignment and can win from multiple positions on the field. He shows good acceleration against off-coverage. He can win against Press coverage with his initial quickness off the line of scrimmage and, at times, utilizes his hands to clear DB contact. Sanders has above-average functional strength in his ability to fight through pressure within the route phase.

From a separation standpoint, Sanders can win on full-speed routes with good bursts at the breakpoint. As a processor, he can manipulate DB hips through his stems and has an average understanding of coverages on the first level. On change of direction routes, he mostly wins his play strength and processing of coverages. Sanders plays with good spatial awareness, allowing him to find soft spots between second- and third-level defenders. At the top of routes, he can also separate using his play strength to push through DB contact.

Sanders is a good, natural hands catcher. He’s effective on the move, in traffic, and stationary. Sanders shows impressive ball security and grip strength in contested situations as well. From an adjustment standpoint, he has above-average body control and is willing to fully extend for passes. He can adjust on scramble drills, too, showing necessary processing ability when his quarterback is buying time. Sanders is very competitive over the middle of the field and plays with excellent concentration at the catch point.

Sanders is solid in the run game in certain situations. He understands angles well and shows good block sustain on third-level defenders. He has good hat placement on kick-out blocks and hand placement in 1-on-1 situations. He’s effective on double teams, utilizing his play strength to help linemen drive defenders off the ball.

My concerns exist in both the pass and run games. While Sanders has some wins against Press coverage, he shows below-average anticipation versus press-jam defenders. Defenders with quick hands and good technique can win against him. He lacks the foot speed to separate on full-speed routes and can improve his upper body movements (shoulder/head fakes) to defeat leverage. Sanders struggles to separate with quickness at the top of COD routes. After the catch, Sanders shows poor contact balance; defenders have often successfully brought him down on the first attempt.

In the run game, Sanders shows below-average processing ability in gap scheme concepts. He doesn’t display physical toughness against first —and second-level defenders on kickouts and base blocks and has below-average block sustain when engaged. He struggles against power rushers as a pass blocker and shows a below-average ability to anchor vs. Bull rushers.