A fourth-round pick last spring, Sanders got the chance to compete for a starting job right away and wound up making eight starts in 16 appearances. He led all Panthers TEs in targets (43), catches (33) and receiving yards (342), though Tommy Tremble - who made 11 starts - caught two TDs to Sanders' one. Tremble is the better blocker, which means Sanders is likely headed for another timeshare, with rookie fifth-round pick Mitchell Evans also trying to enter the mix. Of the three, Sanders is by far the most promising as a pass catcher, as evidenced by topping 600 yards in both of his final two seasons at Texas. He's not an elite athlete, having run a 4.69 40 at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, but he's young for his draft class (turned 22 this March) and can make would-be tacklers miss in the open field. Sanders' success will partially hinge on the development of third-year QB Bryce Young, who finally showed some promise with a 7:0 TD:INT in his last three starts of 2024 after posting an ugly 19:19 ratio through his first 25 NFL starts.
