Following a lackluster rookie season, Ja’Tavion Sanders enters year two as the Carolina Panthers’ clear starting tight end. In an offense without an obvious second option in the passing game, could Sanders carve out enough of a role to make him a viable fantasy football tight end?
Ja’Tavion Sanders Fantasy Outlook
Interestingly, Sanders played 73% of the snaps in his first game as a rookie. While he wasn’t involved as a receiver, earning just one target on 28 route runs, seeing him on the field so soon was encouraging. Unfortunately, that never translated into anything consistently reliable for fantasy.
Sanders wound up playing 16 games, averaging 4.6 fantasy points per game. He showed flashes of his upside and had some moments where he looked to be turning a corner. Most notably, from Weeks 6-9, Sanders posted starter-worthy fantasy point totals in three of his four games. Even in Weeks 10 and 12, his next two games played, he was at 8.8 and 7.9, which is passable in a bind.
Ja’Tavion Sanders played his rookie year at 21 years old, and was doing things like this in a grown man’s league.
Imagine what he’s going to do now that he’s gotten in shape. Still only 22 years old is crazy. pic.twitter.com/SeIzOJfNIk
— Sundownmadeit (@BCole100) July 1, 2025
Perhaps it was due to a neck injury that cost him Week 13, but Sanders was never able to build upon his solid midseason stretch. He didn’t catch a pass in the next three games and scored 8.0 fantasy points over his final five games. Sanders finished his rookie year averaging 1.2 yards per route run on a mere 9% target share.
Of course, we’ve seen plenty of productive tight ends who do not do much as rookies. However, this doesn’t preclude Sanders from taking a significant step forward this season.
Sanders should be the Panthers’ TE1 this year. Although Tommy Tremble is back, he’s a trusted veteran. If Sanders can’t beat out Tremble, there would never be anything for fantasy.
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The Panthers do have more target competition, though. They drafted the overall WR1 of this year’s class, Tetairoa McMillan, inside the top 10. Jalen Coker showed promise as a rookie UDFA in 2024. Adam Thielen is back. And Xavier Legette still exists. There’s no clear second option in this passing game, but it’s hard to fathom it will be Sanders.
The sophomore tight end carries a TE30 average draft position (ADP). No one outside the top 16-18 tight ends needs to be considered in fantasy drafts. You’re not drafting Sanders. Watch for how he’s used and what he does early in the season. He might emerge as a viable back-end TE1 who can be acquired via the waiver wire.
Mason LeBeau’s Ja’Tavion Sanders Fantasy Projection
Look, breakouts come from all over the place. So, if the Panthers and QB Bryce Young end up having a great offense this year, could year-two TE Ja’Tavion Sanders break out? Sure. Is he worth drafting in case that happens? No.
I’m not entirely sure why you’re even looking at this blurb. How deep of a league are you playing in where you’re considering if Sanders is worth the pick? Sure, you need a TE2 in your 20-man league, and it’s near the end of the draft, go for it.Â
Sanders isn’t a guarantee to be the starting TE right now. He has more receiving upside than Tommy Tremble, but with the emphasis on the run, his blocking will get him a majority of snaps. That would mean Sanders has to be incredibly efficient with his workload to be anything more than a backup TE on his own team, let alone in fantasy. If he does see that work early, I’d spend FAAB on him, but I’m not spending a pick.Â
