This Oregon Ducks star has received a major NFL comparison.
The Oregon Ducks only have a couple of players projected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft next month: tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman.
The order of those two stars changes depending on who you ask, but the general consensus has long been that Sadiq is Oregon's best NFL Draft prospect this year.
Sadiq spent three seasons with the Ducks. He barely played during his freshman campaign in 2023, but began to receive more playing time in 2024 when he caught 24 passes for 308 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
Then, this past year, Sadiq truly put himself on the map as an NFL talent, hauling in 51 receptions for 560 yards and eight scores.
Sadiq is expected to come off the board sometime in the teens in a few weeks, but thanks to a brilliant Scouting Combine in which he ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash, the best ever for a tight end, it's possible he could be selected a bit earlier.
Oregon Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Credit: Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.ESPN's Courtney Cronin recently spoke to an NFC executive who offered quite the comparison for Sadig with the draft just around the corner.
"He's like Vernon Davis," the executive said. "Super athletic with elite speed and big-play potential."
Davis was selected sixth overall by the San Francisco 49ers back in 2006 and saw his NFL career get off to a slow start, but he eventually developed into one of the best tight ends in football.
He ultimately made a pair of Pro Bowl appearances, with his best season coming in 2009 when he snared 78 balls for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Davis stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 248 pounds, very similar to the 6-foot-3, 241-pound Sadiq. And whose 40 time did Sadiq best for the tight end record? Davis.
What separates Sadiq from most other top pass-catching tight ends, though, is his ability — and his willingness — to block, which will certainly have NFL teams fawning over him in the coming weeks.
We'll see where Sadiq lands next month, but whoever nabs him could be netting a cornerstone offensive piece.
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