One of the highest compliments a player can earn is being labeled a guy with a "high football IQ." And when it comes to Kenyon Sadiq, the Oregon tight end the Jets selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, that tag can be extended.
Sadiq is a high IQ person. Period.
Though he wasn't in Pittsburgh for the festivities, Sadiq was available to reporters minutes after GM Darren Mougey selected a second tight end (after having taken Mason Taylor in the second round last year). He flashed that IQ with his smart and measured answers, didn't dodge any questions and even gave off a chic vibe wearing his Buddy Holly-esque black-framed glasses.
At 6-3, 241, Sadiq certainly has the size to slot in at tight end, but his speed and catching ability could also make him a threat on the outside in the offense that will be installed by offensive coordinator Frank Reich. He's no slouch in the run game either.
"I can create separation, but I can also go hit someone," Sadiq said. "Obviously the NFL is different and I have to clean some things up. But man ... I'm not going to be scared to go hit somebody."
Sadiq, 21, turned heads during the NFL Combine in February when he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, the fastest time recorded by a TE at the combine in more than 20 years and a swift time for a man of his size. With the Ducks last season, Sadiq caught 51 passes for 560 yards (11 per catch), 8 for TDs and was named a second-team All-American.
"Obviously game day speed is different than just running in a straight line and no clothes on [at the combine] basically, but no I play fast," he said. "I play fast, and I play hard, and those are two things I pride myself on. I'm going to go ahead and run past someone, I'm going to jump over someone."
In preparation for his curtain call at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Sadiq said he worked with the trainers at Exos Sports Performance in Arizona to optimize his speed and skill.
"I initially told them I wanted to run a 4.3. I think they thought I was pushing it a little bit," he said. "But as we started training, I think they started to realize that I can do it. So, no I don't think it was a shock to them, but we knew it was going to be close. We knew we were going to be close to that 4.3, so it definitely wasn't a shock, but it was amazing to kind of see the work that we had put in all together to kind of pay off."
HC Aaron Glenn noted that with Sadiq, Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert, the Jets' offense under the direction of OC Reich is going to shape up as versatile, aggressive and opportunistic.
"We're going to be able to dictate as far as the defense is concerned on what are you going to play," Glenn said. "Are you going to be in base, are you going to be in nickel? And he brings that value to us. Man, there are so many positions that he can play for us that's going to make us be able to open up the offense and Frank has a really, really good vision for this player. I'm looking forward to going against this player during training camp, so it'll be fun."
Reich is likely to employ a lot of "12" personnel, with a running back, a pair of TEs and two WRs. Last season with Oregon, Sadiq took 59% of the offensive snaps in the slot, a position that gives him a huge advantage against smaller defensive backs in the run or pass game.
At the end of the media session, Sadiq coolly and candidly responded to a question few pass catchers ever want to entertain: What about those 6 dropped passes?
"Yeah, that's 100 percent accurate," he said. " It's definitely uncharacteristic. If you go and watch those drops, they're the easy ones. That's something I really took to the chest, taken on the chin and realized it's something I need to improve on. So, improving hand-eye coordination has been huge for me. Strengthening my eyes, strengthening my mental. It's the easy ones, and at the end of day, those are the hardest ones, too. But it's just doing what I do -- go out there and play football. And if you go look after Washington [Nov. 29], after I had my last drop, after that I didn't have another one. I made that a point of emphasis and obviously, I was one of the last guys after practice catching balls or whatever it may be."
