Kenyon Sadiq
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University of Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
The Philadelphia Eagles were hoping against hope that Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq might somehow drop to them at the No. 23 overall pick in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft.
The NFL scouting combine and Sadiq’s performance there seems to have done a good job of extinguishing those hopes.
“Blowing people away in interviews, like walking into interviews and explaining what everybody else’s position is,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo said in a conversation with Philadelphia sports talk legend Anthony Gargano on Friday. ” … One guy said it was the best interview he’d ever done.”
In 1 hilarious moment, Gargano dropped his pen in mock disgust.
“He’s not dropping (to the Eagles),” Gargano said.
“The pen drop is when (Gargano’s) soul leaves his body,” Garofolo wrote on his official X account after the interview. “Kenyon Sadiq’s interviews here aren’t good news for Anthony Gargano and Eaglesfans hoping he’ll last until 23. Crushing it.”
Sadiq Receiving Highest Praise in Pre-Draft Evals
Sadiq, 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, was an All-Big Ten selection in 2025 and named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year with 51 receptions for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns before he left school with 1 year of eligibility remaining to declare himself eligible for the draft.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared Sadiq to Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride in his pre-draft evaluation. McBride, a 2-time Pro Bowler, earned NFL All-Pro honors for the 1st time in 2025 after he set the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end with 126 catches to go with 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns.
McBride, a 2nd round pick in the 2022 NFl draft, signed a 4-year, $76 million contract extension before the 2025 season.
“A versatile tight end with a shredded physique and alluring potential as a volume target, Sadiq’s route tree will be full of branches,” Zierlein wrote. “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. He has the body control and hand strength to win contested catches … He’s adequate as a blocker, giving good effort in-line and locating and landing on linebackers as a move blocker. Teams looking to diversify their passing game options with a talented pass-catching tight end could make Sadiq a priority.”
Eagles Could Still Find TE in Later Rounds
Sadiq isn’t the only talented TE in the 2026 draft.
The Athletic’s latest mock draft predicts the Eagles will try and find their tight end of the future in the 3rd round by taking Ohio State star Max Klare.
Goedert, 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, was a 2nd round pick (No. 49 overall) out of South Dakota State in the 2018 NFL draft and has spent his entire career with the Eagles. He set the Eagles’ single-season franchise record for tight ends with 11 touchdowns in 2025.
“A tight end on Day 2 for the Eagles? It hasn’t happened since Dallas Goedert in 2018, and before that, Zach Ertz in 2013,” The Athletic’s Zach Berman wrote. “Now comes Goedert’s potential replacement — or at least a promising prospect on the tight end depth chart … (Klare) is a fluid athlete who is in a crowded group of tight ends following (projected) first-round pick Kenyon Sadiq.”