TE Kenyon Sadiq An Option For Buccaneers?
The Mike Evans-less Buccaneers are going to look different offensively in 2026. As part of their subtle offensive makeover, the team could look to add an intriguing spark to the unit.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Reid, the Buccaneers have “keyed in” on the tight end position ahead of the draft. That’s made Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq a “real possibility” for the organization at pick No. 15.
Sadiq is widely considered the top tight end prospect in the draft, and he’ll likely be the only player at his position selected on Day 1. The tight end saw a larger role with the Ducks in 2024, including a Big Ten Football Championship Game when he hauled in a pair of touchdowns. He had a true breakout in 2025, finishing with 51 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns.
Scouts have touted the Oregon star’s offensive tenacity, and his size and speed will make him an intriguing piece in an NFL offense. While scouts are similarly wary of his pass-blocking ability, teams generally value pass-catching prowess when it comes to first-round investments at the position.
The Buccaneers are among the squads that would consider the star TE. Cade Otton has led the depth chart for several years but has never emerged as a top-tier player at the position. The veteran been relatively steady, especially over the past two years, when he’s averaged 59 catches, 586 yards, and more than two touchdowns per season. Still, it’s hard to blame the Buccaneers for considering an upgrade, especially with Evans no longer around.
The organization somewhat prepared for Evans departure during the 2025 draft, when they added Emeka Egbuka with the 19th-overall pick. The Ohio State product finished his rookie season with 938 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and he’ll lead the pass-catching corps in 2026. With Chris Godwin hitting his twilight, Sadiq could join Egbuka and recent draft picks Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson as young pieces on Tampa Bay’s offense.
Saints To Target WR, TE In Draft
APRIL 10: Cooper is, to little surprise, among the wideouts who will be hosted by the Saints on a top-30 visit, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. His visit will take place tomorrow and it will include other receiver prospects, another indication of New Orleans’ draft intentions.
APRIL 7: Saints quarterback Tyler Shough impressed as a rookie in 2025 despite a less-than-stellar supporting cast. Hoping to add more pass-catching threats ahead of Shough’s second season, the Saints plan to address wide receiver and tight end in the draft, according to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports.
New Orleans traded Rashid Shaheed and waived Brandin Cooks last season, leaving the cupboard at receiver almost empty after No. 1 option Chris Olave. Devaughn Vele came on strong toward the end of the year, but he finished with just 25 catches and 393 yards in 13 games. Other than Olave and Vele, no returning Saints wideout even reached 20 catches last season. The team has not added any noteworthy receivers via free agency or trades, leaving the draft as its best avenue to upgrade.
Owners of the eighth overall pick, the Saints have set up visits with a pair of top-tier receiver prospects, Ohio State‘s Carnell Tate and USC‘s Makai Lemon. Either could be a possibility for New Orleans’ first selection. That spot is likely too high for Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., though he is a potential first-rounder. The Saints “spent extensive time” with Cooper and fellow Hoosiers wideout Elijah Sarratt after their pro day last week, Pauline relays. Sarratt may still be available in the third round, where the Saints hold the 73rd overall selection.
With 77 catches, 889 yards and three touchdowns during a second straight 17-game season in 2025, tight end Juwan Johnson was easily the Saints’ best aerial weapon behind Olave. The team has also added Noah Fant on a two-year deal in free agency. But Pauline nonetheless floats the possibility of the Saints using their first pick on Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who is riding the momentum of an excellent season and a scintillating Combine performance.
After Sadiq ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, the fastest for a tight end since at least 2003, perhaps the Saints will consider making him a rare top-10 pick at his position. Since the turn of the century, only six tight ends (Kyle Pitts, Kellen Winslow II, Vernon Davis, T.J. Hockenson, Eric Ebron and Colston Loveland) have come off the board in the first 10 choices.
As the Saints’ general manager since 2002, Mickey Loomis has never spent a second-rounder on a tight end, let alone a first. On the other hand, he has shown a willingness to draft a receiver in the first round, having grabbed Olave, Cooks, Robert Meacham and Donte’ Stallworth in his two-plus decades in charge.
Browns Meet With WR KC Concepcion, TE Kenyon Sadiq
The Browns are clearly lacking receiving weapons as the 2026 NFL Draft nears. Armed with two first-round picks, they could snag at least one pass catcher with a high selection. The team hosted a pair of likely first-rounders in Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion and Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq on Wednesday, per reports from Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Cleveland is light at wideout, especially after Jerry Jeudy‘s production plummeted last season. Jeudy went from 90 catches and 1,229 yards in 2024 to 50 and 602 in those categories in 2025. No other returning Browns receiver even reached the 25-catch mark, and they have not added anyone of note to the group this offseason. That explains their interest in Concepcion and several other draft-bound receivers. Concepcion may be more realistic for the Browns’ second first-rounder (No. 24) than their top selection (No. 6).
The Browns are not expected to re-sign longtime starting tight end David Njoku, who remains a free agent, after finding a replacement last year. A third-round rookie in 2025, Harold Fannin was a rare bright spot in Cleveland’s offense. The 6-foot-4, 241-pounder led the Browns in catches (72), yards (731) and receiving touchdowns (six). Fannin’s presence suggests the Browns do not need to make a major investment in a tight end. However, as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023-25, new Browns head coach Todd Monken made use of the Mark Andrews–Isaiah Likely pass-catching duo.
Monken and the Browns will at least consider pairing Sadiq with Fannin, though it is unclear if they are interested in using a top-10 pick on the position. Sadiq may not be there at 24, yet six could be too rich in this case. Only three tight ends (including Kellen Winslow II to the Browns in 2004) have come off the board at No. 6 or higher since 2000.
Regardless of whether the Browns take him, Sadiq looks like a shoo-in first-rounder after a second-team All-America season and a spectacular performance at the Combine. He has a notable Cleveland connection in quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who played with Sadiq at Oregon in 2024. That may not matter, though, considering Gabriel is not expected to start for the Browns in 2026.
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, S Dillon Thieneman To Enter 2026 NFL Draft
Oregon no doubt breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when quarterback Dante Moore announced he’d stay in school in 2026. However, a Ducks team that went 13-2 in 2025 and contended for a national championship will lose other key contributors. That includes tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman. Both players will enter the 2026 NFL Draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.
Sadiq, a three-year veteran at Oregon, broke out as Moore’s favorite target in 2025. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior paced 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.
While the draft is still over three months away, Sadiq looks like a good bet to come off the board in the first round. ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks Sadiq as the ninth-best prospect and No. 1 tight end in the class, writing that “he’s nearly impossible to match against because of his quickness and size.”
Meanwhile, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic, “NFL teams believe [Sadiq] has the talent to be a top-10 pick.” That’s rare for the position, as Kyle Pitts (fourth overall pick, 2021), Kellen Winslow II (sixth, 2004), Vernon Davis (sixth, 2006), T.J. Hockenson (eighth, 2019), Eric Ebron (10th, 2014) and Colston Loveland (10th, 2025) are the only tight ends who have gone inside the top 10.
Thieneman may have to wait longer than his teammate to hear his name called in April, but he’s still a projected top 50 selection, Thamel notes. Kiper ranks Thieneman third among draft-eligible safeties, trailing only Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and Pitt’s Kyle Louis, while Brugler lauds the junior’s “man-coverage skills and run-stopping ability.”
Thieneman is firmly on the NFL radar after an impressive three-year run divided between Purdue and Oregon. As a Boilermaker, he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third-team All-America honors in 2023 after piling up 106 tackles and six interceptions. Thieneman didn’t intercept any passes in a 104-tackle sophomore campaign, but he added 96 more tackles and another two INTs in his lone season with Oregon in 2025. The 21-year-old was a first-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection with the Ducks. That stellar performance boosted his stock heading into the draft.