1. He's a big fan of Greg Olsen

While he was at Miami, Sandland had a chance to meet Panthers tight end Greg Olsen.

"He would come down pretty regularly, just come in the meeting rooms, talk with us, answer questions. He's a great guy, a great pro," Sandland said in a conference call.

During his pre-draft visit with the Panthers, Sandland spoke with Rivera about his meetings with Olsen and is excited to learn from the two-time Pro Bowler.

Said Sandland: "What a great opportunity for a young rookie tight end to be able to come in and learn from arguably the best tight end in the game right now."

2. The Sandlands have land

Sandland grew up in Simi Valley, a rural area in Southern California.

"It used to be a ranch," Sandland said of his families property, which is north of Los Angeles.

"My ancestors came here from England in 1880 and the land has been passed down through generations. I grew up with horses and quads and you could really go hunting. There is no cell reception, we don't really have any neighbors back here or anything like that."

3. He was a combine standout

Sandland boosted his draft stock with a strong performance at the combine.

His 23 bench press reps were good for second among tight ends and he led his position group in the broad jump.

Sandland also performed well in the vertical jump and ran a 4.74 in the 40-yard dash.

4. He is the only seventh round pick by Dave Gettleman

Dave Gettleman just completed his fourth draft as general manager of the Panthers, yet Sandland is his only seventh-round selection.

Prior to the 2014 season, the Panthers traded their 2013 seventh-round choice (219th overall) to Oakland for wide receiver Louis Murphy.  Carolina later traded their 2014 seventh-round pick (219th overall) to San Francisco for safety Colin Jones.

During the 2014 NFL Draft, the Panthers included their seventh-round pick (225th overall) in a deal that helped them trade up to land cornerback Bene Benwikere.

Last year, the Panthers used their seventh-round pick in a package that helped them move up to select offensive tackle Daryl Williams.

As of now, the Panthers will not have a seventh round pick in 2017 either. That pick was traded to Seattle in exchange for wide receiver Kevin Norwood. 

5. He can do it all

"I would think that my strength would be that I really can be an all-around complete tight end," Sandland said in a conference call Saturday afternoon.

The 2015 All-Big Sky recipient takes pride in his balanced skill set as a tight end that can both catch and block effectively.

Sandland notched 37 catches for 632 yard and nine touchdowns in his senior season.

According to this draft analysis, Sandland was required to put in work as a blocker in the trenches at Montana State, which gives him an advantage over other rookie tight ends.