Rare would be the fantasy coach who gets excited about Jets draft picks, but I'll grudgingly admit to having some interest in Kenyon Sadiq. Early tight end selections have sure been delivering of late.
In the last 20 years, there have been seven other tight ends selected as early as the Oregon pass catcher was (16th). Without exception, those guys have had some pretty big fantasy seasons, most right away.
Vernon Davis is the furthest back of those selections, and he's a guy Sadiq is often compared to. It was his 40 time (4.40) that Sadiq broke at the combine (4.39). He was Oregon's top receiver last year in both receptions (51) and touchdowns (8). In New York he joins a team that also drafted a wide receiver in the first round (Omar Cooper) but is starved for reliable targets after Garrett Wilson.
Table shows the best seasons (PPR scoring) from tight ends selected in the top half of the first round the last 20 years. Two of those guys were taken a year ago, Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, and no one is throwing them back.
| TES DRAFTED IN TOP 16, BEST SEASONS (2006-) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pk | Year | Player | No | Rec | TD | Rk |
| 13 | 2024 | Brock Bowers, L.V. | 112 | 1194 | 5 | 1 |
| 4 | 2025 | Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 88 | 928 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 2022 | T.J. Hockenson, 2TM | 86 | 914 | 6 | 2 |
| 6 | 2010 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 56 | 914 | 7 | 2 |
| 10 | 2018 | Eric Ebron, Ind. | 66 | 750 | 14 | 4 |
| 14 | 2025 | Tyler Warren, Ind. | 76 | 817 | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | 2025 | Colston Loveland, Chi. | 58 | 713 | 6 | 12 |
Five of these players (all but Davis and Ebron) were drafted in the last decade, and those guys have generally starting putting up numbers immediately. On average, the first-year numbers from the other five are 69 receptions, 823 yards and 4 TDs. I'm not promising that from Sadiq, with New York also having a tight end they drafted in the second round a year ago (Mason Taylor); it's possible they bring him along slowly.
But I think he makes sense as a second tight in typical leagues, and I expect he'll go in the first round of my rookie draft this weekend, too.
--Andy Richardson
