Five things to know about tight end Kenyon Sadiq, selected with the 16th overall pick of the draft by the Jets on Thursday night:
Indianapolis Raceway
Sadiq is one of the fastest tight ends ever to thunder down the NFL Combine turf. He sped to a 4.39-second time this year. That is arguably tied for the fastest TE time with Maryland's Vernon Davis, who ran the same time in 2006, since NFLCombineResults.com began recording combine results 1987.
However, some say Davis ran his dash in 4.38 seconds, some say 4.39, some 4.40. Full electronic timing began in '06 so it seems there were still some glitches in recording times to the hundredths of a second back then. We'll split the difference here and say no TE has run the combine 40 faster than Sadiq in the past 40 years.
He also skyed 43,5 inches in the vertical leap, tied for third-highest since '87, and landed an 11-1 broad jump, tied for fourth-longest in the last 40 combines.
"I think people knew I was fast and people knew I could jump," said the player who hurdled a few opponents and ran away from a few others at UO. "It was just kind of putting the measurables on paper. ... I don't think people thought I was as fast as I was, so obviously getting to prove that was good."
Former Foes, Now Fast Friends
Sadiq has two opponent connections from the first two days of the Jets' draft. He impressed top pick David Bailey in the Ducks' 23-0 Orange Bowl win over Texas Tech on New Year' Day. And he impressed second-round corner D'Angelo Ponds in Indiana's 56-22 win over Oregon on the national semis.
First, Bailey on Sadiq: "Oh, yeah, I remember there was a lot of game-planning against him. I think we identified him as the best offensive player, to be honest, besides quarterback. You know, he's extremely fast, he has a great size on him for a tight end, so yeah."
And Sadiq on Ponds: "I think that's a great pick. I think he's the best corner I went against all year, for sure. He's a bit, you could say, on the undersized side, too, but he definitely doesn't show it on the field. One thing I love about his game is how much passion and speed he plays with, so it's awesome to get to team up with him and Cooper [fellow first-round pick WR Omar Cooper Jr.] as well."
'Used to Daydream in That Small Town'
Shades of John Cougar Mellencamp. Sadiq didn't grow up in a small, small town but he was nurtured in the middle of a medium-sized town in the otherwise sparsely populated southeastern corner of Idaho.
And he did all right there. Starting at RB, he and his team when he was in seventh grade won a national flag football championship in Las Vegas. Then he spent one season in high school in Arimo, ID, before moving to Idaho Falls, where he helped lead Skyline HS to three consecutive state titles — at WR, not yet at TE — and earned Idaho Player of the Year recognition as a senior.
"It's awesome," he said of coming out of that environment to star at Oregon and now start the next phase of his career as a Round 1 pass-catching NFL tight end. "You get to represent something a bit bigger than yourself. It means something to those people back home and especially all the people that have helped me get to this point."
Moveable Feast, Memorable Feats
How many positions can Sadiq play? How about all?
"I think this season I took a snap at every single position except O-line," he said. "It just kind of speaks volumes to my versatility and what I can do. I'm going to understand the whole playbook — that's just kind of who I am. I need to know everything that's going on. So if the coaches can put me in and trust me to be in multiple situations, obviously it's going to benefit myself but more importantly it's going to benefit the team."
His career arc underscores that assessment. From RB in grade school to WR in high school to TE in college, he's got the skills to play all skill positions.
"I'm a team guy," he said. "If a coach needs me to play receiver, I'm going to play receiver. If he needs me to play running back, I'll play running back. If eh needs me to play tight end, I'll play tight end."
Something to Fall Back On
If, after a long NFL playing career, or even a short one if things don't work out, Sadiq could have a post-playing future in the strength and conditioning or training areas. He's become known in his widening circle for designing workout and nutrition plans.
"I've always just like loved working out in the gym," he said. "So I started really in high school, I'd start working out and stuff and then I'd always have friends reach out and be like, 'Hey, can you make me a plan?' So I started making them plans and stuff like that and it's just something I kind of loved doing."
