Big Board ranking: #76
Positional ranking: #11
Overview
Position: EDGE
College: Cincinnati
Class: Senior
Age: 22
Measurables
Height: 6’5 1/4″
Weight: 228 lbs.
Arm length: 32 5/8”
Hand size: 9 1/4″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.67 sec.
Vertical jump: 33.0”
Broad jump: 120.0”
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: 4.37 sec.
Strengths
Tall and bendy edge defender. Exceptional get off at the snap with springiness in his body. Excellent range and closes space fast. Tremendous awareness and reaction time. Great overall play recognition. Active hands on the speed rush to swipe/slap the reach of offensive tackles. Impressive power-and-jerk move. Quick ability to flash inside move. Very good natural strength. Showed an ability to power blockers off him by engaging and extending. Accurate latching onto the shoulders of offensive tackles. Great pursuit down the line of scrimmage as a backside defender. Ideal pursuit and hustle in general. Will get his arms up to deflect quick passes. Plenty of experience on both sides of the formation.
Weaknesses
Loses balance too often. Average change-of-direction skills and general twitchiness. A bit too looping when trying to flatten to the quarterback if he doesn’t win cleanly on the rush. Thinner overall frame could make him more of a liability versus the run at the next level. Trying to get out of the blocks too quickly led to early jumps.
NFL comparison
Randy Gregory
Conclusion
Overall, Sanders is a lean edge defender with impressive bend, get off, and natural strength. He should be a target for teams in any defensive scheme at some point in the middle of Day 2.
Weight stuff was concerning but glad he’s alright now