The New York Jets selected Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in the 2026 NFL Draft, despite having drafted Mason Taylor last season and having other pressing needs. Analysts did not foresee the Jets picking a tight end at this stage.
Jets' Kenyon Sadiq draft pick has a clear problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Analysts predicted many landing spots for Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, considered the top TE in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
Very few even considered the New York Jets.
The Jets already drafted Mason Taylor in the second round last season. Besides, it's hard to look at the Jets and not see that they have a lot more needs than the tight end position.
But there they were at No. 16, a pick they got from the Colts in the Sauce Gardner deal, selecting Sadiq.
In a vacuum, it's exciting. He's a tight end who really plays more like a big, athletic wide receiver.
But did the Jets need him?
ESPN's Rich Cimini wonders in a new article on Monday if it was a "luxury pick," and if it was, that's a problem -- the Jets are too needy to be pursuing luxury.
"Coach Aaron Glenn said recently that tight end Mason Taylor, a 2025 second-round pick, is going to have 'a hell of a year' in 2026," Cimini writes. "Then came the draft, and the Jets became only the fourth team over the past 24 years to pick a tight end in the first or second round in back-to-back years."
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The Jets drafted Kenyon Sadiq to enhance their tight end position, although they already have Mason Taylor, indicating a strategic choice to bolster their roster.
Kenyon Sadiq was selected by the New York Jets with the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Jets have multiple pressing needs beyond tight end, which analysts believe should have been prioritized over selecting Sadiq.
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Cimini goes on to add that the pressure now falls on the coaching staff to make this unusual move work out.
"It's on new offensive coordinator Frank Reich to make it work," Cimini writes. "Look for an uptick in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR). In Reich's recent history as a playcaller, his usage of 12 personnel was roughly the league average."
Geno Smith will have to be competent at quarterback for this to matter anyway.
The reality is that the Jets will be hoping Taylor and Sadiq both develop well and can be reliable for whoever they land as their QB of the future -- whether that's the drafted Cade Klubnik or someone down the road.
Still, the Sadiq pick may have been a bit off the mark. The Jets still have plenty of needs to fill.