“Or a big slot. We’re going to work a lot of 12-personnel, we have two wide receivers, one running back, two tight ends, but one of our tight ends is going to be a big, big slot. So, you’re going to have to deal with an athletic player in the slot, a speedy player.”
And Sadiq ticks all those boxes. In February, Sadiq (6-3, 241) set the NFL Combine record for tight ends when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds. That bettered the previous record of 4.40 seconds, held jointly by Vernon Davis (2006) and Dorin Dickerson (2010).
At present, the Jets have three tight ends in the room — Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert and the recently re-signed Jelani Woods.
“Let’s face it, Kenyon is an explosive player and you can’t put anybody on him,” Zierlein said. “A lot of linebackers will be mismatched on him down the field. He may be too big for safety. It’s more likely you’d see a nickel corner on him. And those guys a lot of times run about 190 pounds. On Kenyon Sadiq, man that is a physical mismatch.”
With the Ducks last season, Sadiq was named a second-team Associated Press All-American, the Big Ten TE of the Year, and first-team All-Big Ten. He was a finalist for the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end and led FBS TEs with 8 receiving TDs. Finally, he started 14 games and set a school record for tight ends with 51 receptions (560 yards, 11.0 per).