School: South Carolina
Year: Jr
Position: DL

Physical Attributes

• Height: 6-4
• Weight: 290
• RAS: 8.55
• Bench Press: DNC

Rankings

• Joe’s Ranking: 6.6
• Consensus Position Rank: 6
• My Position Ranking: 5
• Difference in Ranking: 1
• Tier: 3
• Projected Round: 2

Games Watched

• LSU ’24
• Missouri ’24

Ryan’s Notes

Positives

• Sanders has a really nice get off with an understanding of how to get under reach blocks and into a disruptive position
• For someone under 300 lbs he is strong and can hold up vs double teams
• His bullrush is very nice as he gets low and drives up with good effect
• TJ’s got a fierce attitude to his rushes and even though he didn’t test for speed, it’s all over his tape
• Not only is it fast and furious but it’s tenacious and rugged in a good way, he can get into compromising positions but keep churning his legs to make the blockers life very difficult especially at the top of blocks
• I love how he attacks zone blocks, he can fly across faces with a very quick get off (represented by his 85th percentile broad jump) but he can also stack and slide waiting for the back to pick a hole to then bring them down
• He has a real nose for finding the ball carrier and he can stack, flow and break with gap scheme plays very nicely
• It constantly takes me back how well he can twist and surge at the top of blocks considering how poor he is technically, he just finds a way for it to work
• Whilst he is a gap shooter he does flash patience sometimes which is a good sign he’s got potential for more pragmatism
• According to reports he has become ripped since the end of the college season and that 297 lbs is mostly muscle so if that’s the case I can see him going higher than the consensus rank.

Negatives

• Whilst I think he has some resistance built into his slender frame I worry about his 28th percentile weight going forwards as the record on sub 300 lbs DTs is not great
• He is by no means a refined player with a lot of technical details missing although this is what you come to expect from South Carolina prospects
• He is too aggressive at times as he flies through gaps without any thought to slow down, hit shoulders and squeeze down gaps; he is very much the centre of his play
• He’s hungry for personal wins which might put some teams off
• He doesn’t pair his feet with his hands it has left a lot of meat on the bones as he takes the hard way to win his gaps by not being efficient with his energy.

Ryan’s Summary

Sanders is a skinny looking gap shooter who packs a lot of strength into his frame to catch blockers off guard as he’s able to flash across their face, twist them off blocks or even bull rush them. His rush attitude is an unceasing surge that comes from a place of not knowing any other way to do it, however you do see flashes of patience when he’s playing the run and he’s grown into someone who can play all three downs effectively because of this measured play. Whilst I’m a fan of his potential I think he has a long way to go in terms of his technical skills, his footwork is sloppy and he needs to develop some actual pass rush moves rather than relying on his natural power and speed. I like his tape enough to take him early on Day 2 though as I think there’s enough there in all phases of the game plus if he can add mass in a pro weight room it will only add to his game.