Raiders 7-round Mock Draft: Selecting the best player available

We go back to back Longhorns here with the 77th overall pick and grab another player that the Raiders definitely don’t need in Ja'Tavion Sanders out of Texas. The dynamic tight end was one of the best players in his position last year and was a big part of the success of Texas on offense.

Sanders measures in at 6-3 and 252 lbs so he's on the smaller side for a tight end but he uses his size well and is a great blocker out in space. We would not expect him to block most edge rushers one-on-one but he would not be used in line very much initially. His numbers in 2023 where respectable as he made 39 catches for 607 yards and two touchdowns.

He is a prototypical receiving tight end at the next level and his last recorded 40 time of 4.56 should make him a match up nightmare for most linebackers.

The issue with Sanders at the moment is primarily his blocking especially when asked to pick up larger defenders. This would not be a huge concern for the Raiders as he would be deployed as the secondary tight end in heavy packages or could even operate as a big slot receiver because of his athleticism. We can actually see the Raiders going for a tight end in this draft to provide cover for Michael Mayer and a guy like Sanders could provide a whole new dimension for the offense.