Ja'Tavion Sanders picked 101st overall by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Draft
Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the 101st overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, becoming the sixth Longhorn to be taken in the draft along with Byron Murphy, Xavier Worthy, T’Vondre Sweat, Jonathon Brooks, and Adonai Mitchell.
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During his three years at Texas, Sanders started 27 times in 39 games. He tallied 1,295 yards receiving and seven touchdowns on 99 receptions, the all-time record for catches by a tight end at UT. He set the single-season receiving yards record by a tight end with 682 in 2023 and finished second all-time in receiving yards by a TE with 1,220 yards, only behind David Thomas’ 1.367 yards from 2002-2005.
Sanders was named to the All-Big 12 first team in 2022 and 2023 by the Big 12 head coaches and Associated Press. He was a John Mackey Award (given to the nation’s top tight end) semifinalist in 2022 and 2023 and a 2021-2022 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team honoree.
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Sanders is the only tight end in Longhorns history to have multiple 100-yard receiving games. He was an All-American at Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, helping the Raiders to the 2020 UIL 5A Division I state championship with current Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Sanders was selected for the Under Armour All American game as well.
A member of the 2021 class, Sanders was ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect, the No. 1 athlete, and the No. 3 player in Texas in the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
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On3 ranked Sanders as the No. 60 overall prospect, the No. 1 athlete, and the No. 9 player in Texas.
