Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas
Two years ago, the idea of taking a tight end in the first round sounded ludicrous. A year ago, a fringe section of Chiefs Kingdom would have nodded in approval given the right prospect. This year, there was a solid core of fans who were into the idea given the overall ceiling of the rookie crop available and the importance of Travis Kelce to the offense. You see where this is going.
This past season, we found out just how important a top-flight tight end is to a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes and how that relationship can carry them all the way to the Super Bowl even after trading away the best wide receiver in Chiefs history. Next year at this time, Kelce will be on the verge of turning 35 and that much closer to calling it quits, whenever that might be. Given the growing belief that a first-round tight end could be a good addition, it feels safe to say a lot of fans will like the call from Seth Trachtman of Yardbarker.
In his latest mock, Trachtman has the Chiefs chasing Ja'Tavion Sanders out of Texas, a player who should be the top of his class next season if he decides to declare early for the NFL after starring for the Longhorns enough to build an impressive pro-ready resume. Sanders is a dynamic pass catcher with elite athleticism and was already a semi-finalist for the Mackey Award as a sophomore last year. This year, he should be favored to win it and he's already an All-Big 12 First-Team performer as well.
Early Verdict: After making three first-round picks over the last two seasons, the Chiefs have been able to address critical positions with high-level investments. While it'd be nice to upgrade the defensive interior or perhaps wide receiver with a first-round pick, it's not such a stretch to take a tight end at the bottom of the first round as it was a year or two ago for all the reasons above.