Myjai Sanders Scouting Report: 2022 NFL Draft Prospect Report

Defensive End, Cincinnati, #21

Measurements:

6’5’’/ 255lbs

Projected 40 time: 4.7

Myjai Sanders NFL Draft Player Profile

Myjai Sanders grew up in Jacksonville, Florida playing at Raines High School for his first three years. He began to gain traction recruiting wise after his junior season where he was an All-Gateway Conference Selection, recording 40 tackles and three sacks, according to his Cincinnati roster bio. For his senior season, he transferred to Camden County High School in Kingsland, Georgia. After a solid senior season where he received multiple accolades, with All-Region 1-7A First Team selection and a Brunswick News’ Coastal Georgia All-Area Football Team selection. He was able to achieve those accolades behind statistics of 39 tackles and 3 sacks, where he played both defensive end and outside linebacker.

His high school performance along with his physical measurements were able to warrant Sanders a three star rating, according to 247 sports. He was ranked as the 56th wide-side defensive end, the 151st recruit in the state of Florida, and the 1043rd  recruit in the country for the class of 2018. He mulled in a total of 19 offers coming out of high school, which consisted of a mixture of Group of 5 and Power 5 school, and ended up committing and signing to the Bearcats over schools like Kentucky, UCF, and Virginia Tech.

Myaji Sanders College 

As a freshman at Cincinnati, he had a minimal role at defensive end, however still received some playing time. He was a full 14 game starter as a sophomore where he racked up 36 total tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, and 4 sacks (which ranked him second on the team). The shortened 2020 season proved to be Myjai’s breakout season. In 10 games he had 10.5 tackles for a loss and 7 sacks, and anchored one of the best defensive units in the country. His breakout season resulted in being named as a semifinalist for the Bednarik award, which goes to the best defensive player in college football.

His 2021 campaign showed a dip in overall production with 34 tackles and only 2.5 sacks, however he was able to help lead Cincinnati to the 2022 College Football Playoff berth. They will play #1 ranked Alabama on New Years Eve in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. He was also named to the all AAC first team in both 2020 and 2021.

Myjai Sanders Strengths

Ideal Length/Frame

Sanders provides ideal length for a future NFL defensive end. His long frame allows him to gain leverage against offensive tackles. This prevents them from getting inside his shoulder pads, which is where offensive lineman have the most control. His length will also allow him to wrap up ball carriers with ease, due to his large tackle radius. This will make holes that much smaller for backs to run through in order to break into the next level of the defense. Not only is he able to disrupt running lanes, his length also disrupts passing lanes as well. Sanders is a consistent threat to bat down balls in the air, or at the least force the quarterback to throw around his wingspan.  

Explosiveness 

One of Myjai Sanders’ best qualities is his explosiveness at the point of attack. His explosiveness allows him to reach the edge before the offensive tackle. Thus allowing him to use his length to gain further leverage. Once he is able to reach the edge, he bends towards the quarterback on his speed rush. His bend is a trait which is pretty solid now, however he will have to continue to work on it. Sanders’ combination of height and length will at times prove to be a disadvantage because his pad level will be a little high, which makes it easier for NFL tackles to adjust.

He has one of the best first steps out of any defensive lineman in the 2022 NFL Draft Class. Combine that with his ability to use hands through swim moves and hand swipes is what makes him so valuable as a speed rusher. His speed rushing trait will prove to be useful in translating into the NFL. 

Myjai Sanders Weaknesses

Lower Body Strength

Sanders biggest weakness is his lack of lower body strength, which lowers his effectiveness in run defense. His lower body does not generate the power to fight through offensive lineman in the run game. That, combined with his high pad level at times, will result in him getting bullied and walled off by bigger offensive lineman. They will be able to control him easily gaining inside leverage on him. Whatever NFL team takes a chance Sanders must work on his strength. Sanders adding another 10-15 lbs to his frame will help in those situations against those large mauler type offensive tackles. If not, Sanders’ production and playtime will dwindle due to his run defense struggles.

Myjai Sanders Draft Stock

Coming into the 2021 season, I had Sanders projected to be a late 1st round to day 2 pick depending on continued progression in the 2021 season. His lack of production in 2021 is going to result in the preseason projection to drop. Especially as he primarily played against power 5 competition. He still has a ton of potential as a prospect, however he will be a project player for a couple of years. This is necessary in order to fix some kinks in his game. That potential and his 2020 production should project Myjai Sanders as a day 3 pick. However, he has a chance to improve his stock mightily. He will be going against highly touted prospect Evan Neal. This will happen when they play Alabama in this years upcoming CFB Playoff Semifinal game.

Myjai Sanders Final Thoughts

Sanders finds himself in the most talented defensive end draft class in recent memory. Therefore, Sanders will be overshadowed by the big name guys like Hutchinson and Thibodeaux throughout the draft process. Sanders provides a lot of potential with his athleticism and length, however those two qualities will not make up fully for his lack of pure strength. This is similar to our scouting report on fellow defensive end prospect Will McDonald IV out of Iowa State. He will be in a similar situation as McDonald. They both are valuable to teams looking for late round pass rushers. His stock, however, does have a massive opportunity to rise depending on his performance against Evan Neal.

Myjai Sanders Pro Comparison: Greg Rousseau, DE, Buffalo Bills

Myjai Sanders Scouting Report by Waide Brummer.