A new rumor is picking up steam.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on the new podcast, “Jets Collective”, that he has “heard some rumblings in the scouting community about the [New York] Jets and [Oregon tight end] Kenyon Sadiq.”
“If the wide receivers are gone like if [Carnell] Tate, Jordyn Tyson, and Makai Lemon are gone and you’re sitting there at [pick] 16, and Sadiq is there, which I think he probably will be, that is going to be an interesting one,” Cimini told Jake Asman and Brandon Tierney on the show.
“I mean, he is off the charts athletically. I mean, he ran a sub 4.4 [in the 40-yard dash], he is a good kid, there are no red flags. You could run a lot of two-tight-end stuff. The Jets need dynamic weapons, I think we all agree on that. They have Garrett Wilson, and pretty much that’s it on the perimeter. So you split him out, you use Mason Taylor as your traditional Y tight end — you got something there. You have a tough matchup for the defense,” Cimini explained.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini told @JakeAsman & @BrandonTierney that he has ‘heard some rumblings in the scouting community about the #Jets & Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq.’ 👀
‘If the wide receivers are gone (Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, & Makai Lemon) & you’re sitting there at [pick]
A Very Plausible Scenario for Jets to Consider
In a lot of mock drafts, the three top wide receivers are often off the board before the Jets make a selection at No. 16 overall.
If you’re New York, you could force a pick and select whoever the No. 4 wide receiver is on your board. Or you could zig when others are zagging.
Sadiq, 21, is listed at 6-foot-3 and weighs 241 pounds. He has a body that was chiseled by the gods.
He spent three collegiate seasons at Oregon. During that run, he appeared in 42 games. With those opportunities, Sadiq caught 80 receptions for 892 receiving yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
“A versatile tight end with a shredded physique and alluring potential as a volume target, Sadiq’s route tree will be full of branches. His athleticism and break quickness should allow him to uncover against man coverage on all three levels. He’s talented after the catch, with the ability to make things easier for play-callers and quarterbacks looking to move the sticks,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote.
“Teams looking to diversify their passing game options with a talented pass-catching tight end could make Sadiq a priority,” Zierlein added.
Looking Into the Numbers
According to the consensus big board, Sadiq is the 16th-ranked overall prospect. The Jets hold the No. 16 overall pick in the draft.
Sadiq is the highest-ranked tight end on the board. The second-ranked tight end on the board is Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers at No. 55 overall. In other words, there is a massive gap between the best tight end and the next guy on the list.
Last year, the Jets invested the No. 42 overall pick in the second round in Taylor. He had a fine rookie season.
He appeared in 13 games and made 11 starts. Taylor finished with 44 receptions on 65 targets for 369 receiving yards and scored one touchdown. Taylor had an okay but unspectacular rookie campaign.
However, the addition of Sadiq could bring a different element to the offense and perhaps open things up for Taylor to make some more plays with the attention shifting.
The last tight end the Jets took in the first round was Dustin Keller out of Purdue with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft.
However, the last time they took a tight end at pick No. 16 or higher was Kyle Brady out of Penn State with the No. 9 overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft.
Insider Drops Eyebrow Raising Jets Draft Rumor About Adding Chiseled Weapon