1 player in every round the Patriots can draft to improve their offense in 2024
By Matt Sidney
Round 3, Pick 68: TE Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas
We're staying in the Southwest with our third pick for the Pats, and we pick up a potentially game-changing tight end in Texas' Ja'Tavion Sanders. Some mock drafts have Sanders going in the mid-late second. Others have him going in the early third. For this exercise, we have Sanders going in the early third round.
Sanders is a skilled, possession-tight end. He is a dynamic receiving threat and has a size comparable to that of Trey McBride of the Cardinals and George Kittle of the San Fransisco 49ers. Sanders sports a solid 6'4", 240-pound frame that gifts him good speed for the position, a unique lateral movement ability, and strong agility.
Sanders is available in the third round for a reason; he needs to work on his in-line blocking ability. He showed too many times in college that edge defenders can blow right by him. If he can add that piece to his game, he will be an All-pro caliber tight end.
Until then, the Patriots will settle for a strong receiving threat from the tight end position.