Will Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq Create NFL Draft Momentum for TEs?

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones drops back and throws a deep pass across his body in Atlanta Falcons territory. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren was the target, but he was surrounded by four defenders, including former second-team All-Pro AJ Terrell.

Warren tracked the ball over his right shoulder and picked it up for a 23-yard gain in overtime. Five plays later, Jonathan Taylor scored the game-winning touchdown with Warren as the lead blocker.

Watching from his seat in the end zone, Colts general manager Chris Ballard turned to director of administration Cal Handelman and said: “This is Dave Casper,” referring to the Super Bowl champion and four-time first-team All-Pro with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s and ’80s.

“He was catching the ball like Dave Casper,” Ballard said. “And it was beautiful.”

Casper is one of 10 tight ends placed in Canton. Ten games into his career, Warren was drawing Hall of Fame comparisons and vindicated the Colts’ decision to draft him with the No. 14 pick.

Warren was drafted shortly after the Chicago Bears selected Colston Loveland at No. 1, marking only the second time multiple tight ends were selected higher in the same draft. And both delivered. Loveland led the NFC North champions with 713 receiving yards, while Warren was second on the Colts with 817. Will their success signal a tougher finish earlier this year?

Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is slated to go in Round 1 this April, and ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller has him landing No. 14 with the Baltimore Ravens in his latest mock draft. Although he’s the only tight end expected to go in the first round this year, the class is deep at the position. And Sadiq will become the 12th tight end taken in the first round in a 10-year span, compared to just six in the previous 10 years.

“This league is a copycat league,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “(The team) sees something that’s working and they say, ‘We can do just that.’ We need a certain type of athlete to be able to do that.”

With 25 seconds With the Buckeyes and Bears down 42-41 to the Cincinnati Bengals in their Week 9 game, Caleb Williams fired a dart into triple coverage before Loveland broke two tackles and ran for a 58-yard touchdown.

It marked Loveland’s most productive day of the regular season (six catches, 118 yards, 2 TDs) and sparked a chemistry that eventually made him Williams’ top threat. In his last four games, including playoff matchups against the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, Loveland was targeted less than 10 times in each outing.

“I think the impact (the tight end) has on the quarterback is important,” Bears general manager Ryan Pols said. “I think it’s like two guys (Loveland and Warren) are unique, who start off hot like that. Their intelligence played a part in that.

“Really lucky to have Colston. I think he’s elevated our whole team.”

Bears coach Ben Johnson is no stranger to elite rookie tight ends. Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie at age 86 in 2023, when Johnson was his offensive coordinator.

LaPorta was a second-round pick, and some of the NFL’s most productive tight ends have been drafted on Day 2 or 3, highlighted by Chiefs future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce, who was selected in the third round (63rd) in 2013. San Francisco waited until the fifth round, George Key 7 (4) to finish first or second among Niners in receiving in six of his nine seasons.

Colston Loveland. House call. #Bangla Defense, alas. pic.twitter.com/x9xQ9w76oo

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 2, 2025

The impact these players had on their playcallers by being able to deploy them throughout the formation paved the way for the next crop of tight ends before the draft. Since 2019, five tight ends have been taken in the top 14: TJ Hockenson (No. 8 by the Lions in 2019), Kyle Pitts Sr. (Falcons, No. 4 in 2021), Brock Bowers (No. 13 by the Raiders in 2024) and Loveland (No. 4 in 2025).

“The days of worrying about whether they’re in-line, whether they’re an H-back are over,” Kiper said. “We’re going to take that guy, we’re going to label him as a weapon and we’re going to use a high draft pick on him because he’s going to be incredibly valuable to our offense and be able to be one of our key performers on that side of the ball.

“What has become of these boys.”

one One of the first items on Ian Cunningham’s offseason to-do list after being hired as the Falcons’ general manager on Jan. 29 was determining how the team would negotiate with the Pitts.

Pitts was the highest drafted tight end in modern NFL history and burst onto the scene as a rookie with 68 receptions for 1,026 yards and a touchdown. After three down seasons, Pitts rebounded last year with 88 receptions and five TDs — both career highs — to go with 928 yards.

With its new coaching staff and front office in place led by Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta placed the franchise tag on the Pitts on Feb. 24 to give the team more time to evaluate its long-term options before the July 15 deadline.

Stefanski was Cleveland’s head coach in 2022 when the Browns gave 2017 first-rounder David Njoku a four-year, $56.75 million extension.

Njokwue is the only first-round tight end since 2011 to sign a multi-year extension with the team that drafted him. Njoku had a career-best season in 2023 with 81 catches (on 123 targets) for 882 yards and six touchdowns.

“Because it’s a unique position, usually they’re really, really smart guys,” Cunningham said. “I think that’s the position going forward.”

While NFL teams used a nickel defense — five defensive backs on the field — about 60% of the time in 2025, offensive playcallers turned to the tight end position to create mismatches.

“I think you’re seeing so many nickel defenses now that teams are playing nickel with big guys,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “So what tight ends do, their bodies can either match blocking schemes or get open with body control against those big safeties that play near the box now.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Sadiq isn’t that big, and his stats (51 receptions, 560 yards, eight TDs last season) aren’t flashy, but he’s projected to be called early in the first round on April 23.

“He’s like (14-year NFL veteran tight end) Vernon Davis,” one NFC front office executive said. “Super athletic with elite speed and big play potential.”

Kenyon Saadiq had one of the best days for a TE at the combine:

40-yard dash: 4.39 (best ever by a TE)
Vertical jump: 43.5” (second-best by a TE)
Broad jump: 11’1” (third-best by a TE)@Accenture | @OregonFootball pic.twitter.com/fxvABmsGrd

— NFL (@NFL) February 28, 2026

Sadiq ran 58.5% of his routes out of the slot last year and led all FBS tight ends with five touchdown receptions while lining up in the slot. His athletic attributes and testing numbers are also drawing rave reviews from NFL evaluators. He recorded a 4.39-second 40-yard dash (98th percentile all-time for a tight end), a 43.5-inch vertical jump (99th percentile) and an 11-foot-1 broad jump (98th percentile).

“Versatility is huge, being able to make explosive pass plays, but also being able to run the ball,” Sadiq said. “It creates a lot of mismatches on the defensive side, whether they’re nickel or base or whatever.

“So, I think if you have a great tight end or a couple of great tight ends, it really helps your offense overall.”

If Miller is OK and Sadiq ends up in Baltimore opposite Mark Andrews, the Ravens could be on the verge of something special.