Ja'TavionSanders

News: 21 hours agoSanders could have to battle for a roster spot for the remainder of the preseason with the Panthers slated to sign veteran tight end Darren Waller to a one-year deal, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.

Spin: Even before the Panthers brought Waller aboard, Sanders already looked to be third on the depth chart at tight end, as he played in the team's preseason opener versus the Cardinals last week while Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans were rested. A fourth-round draft pick in 2024, Sanders had still been viewed as the Panthers' top pass-catching option at the position, but he no longer holds that distinction following the addition of the 33-year-old Waller, who ended a one-year retirement last season and delivered an impressive 24-283-6 receiving line in just six games with the Dolphins. With Carolina also holding Feleipe Franks in high regard for his special-teams contributions, the team may prefer to enter the season with him as their No. 4 tight end over Sanders, who could be viewed as redundant now that Waller is in the fold.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Sanders is back as a pass-catching tight end in Carolina, though he's unlikely to see a larger share of the target pie with veteran Darren Waller now in the mix. Sanders - a 2024 fourth-round pick - flashed as a rookie with a 33-342-1 receiving line while playing 55% of Carolina's offensive snaps and handling 9.1% of the targets across 16 games. He simply didn't progress in Year 2, posting a 29-190-1 line while playing 52% of the snaps and handling a 10% target share in 12 healthy games. Sanders has been an inefficient short-range target with little goal line activity thus far (four career end zone targets), placing the 23-year-old well off the fantasy radar.