Jets Select TE Kenyon Sadiq At No. 16

The top tight end prospect in this year’s draft is heading to New York. Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq will join the Jets via the No. 16 overall pick.

Linked by some to go to an NFC South club, Sadiq will team with 2025 second-round tight end Mason Taylor with the Jets. A New York team that managed to go 17 games without seeing anyone clear 400 receiving yards will pick up some vital pass-catching muscle alongside Garrett Wilson.

The 6-foot-3, 241-pound Sadiq spent three years at Oregon, where he enjoyed a breakout junior season in 2025. He led Ducks pass catchers in receptions (51) and touchdowns (eight), and he finished second in yards (560). After leading college football tight ends in TDs, Sadiq earned First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Tight End of the Year honors. Sadiq cemented his status as an athletic freak at the Combine, where he ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.39 second) of any tight end since at least 2023.

Adding at least one receiving threat in this draft was a must for the Jets, though the popular belief was they would select a wideout before a tight end. The team reportedly gave first-round grades to Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Denzel Boston. Tate (Titans) and Tyson (Saints) came off the board in the top 10. Boston is still available, but the Jets like Sadiq better. As owners of the 33rd and 44th choices, the Jets should be in position to land a promising receiver in the second round if they want to give quarterback Geno Smith another target to join Sadiq, Taylor, Wilson and Adonai Mitchell.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.