The NFL Scouting Combine was made for players like Kenyon Sadiq.
Not to put himself on the map; he’s been in the first-round conversation since September. Not to show us a new skill, either. We all knew Sadiq could move.
The football world heads to Indianapolis to drop its collective jaw at athletic excellence. And Sadiq delivered, temporarily tying the tight end record for the vertical jump and running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash.
We didn’t learn a ton from Sadiq’s stint at the NFL Combine, but the new data can help us compare him to other high-end athletes who came before him.
Sadiq’s dynamism earned him first-round looks before the season started. All he’s done since then is make good on the hype, looking like the best tight end in the country while improving his blocking and stacking up highlight plays as a receiver.
That trend continued in Indianapolis, where he measured in at 6031 and 241 pounds with 10-inch hands and 31.5-inch arms. He tested as well, perhaps better, than most anticipated. His 4.39-second 40-yard dash was reported as a Combine record for tight ends. Sadiq also posted a 43.5-inch vertical jump and an 11’2″ broad jump, the former of which tied the Combine record before Eli Stowers broke it (45.5 inches!) moments later. He logged 26 reps on the bench, too.
The most popular comparison being thrown around after Sadiq’s weekend is Vernon Davis, the legend whose record was broken when Sadiq finished his 40-yard dash. Davis (6032, 254, 4.40 seconds) has a few pounds on Sadiq. Perhaps that is what will ultimately be the line between a generational tight end prospect and a very good one.
Davis didn’t return fully on his potential, earning one second-team All-Pro selection, two Pro Bowls, and two 900-yard seasons. Even so, that would be a positive outcome for Sadiq, and Davis’s ability to take over games is something the Oregon product’s athleticism could provide at the next level.
A more apt comparison would be Dustin Keller (6020, 242, 4.53 seconds). Keller offered promising efficiency during the best years of his relatively short career, and he was one of the earlier examples of tight ends breaking the mold of prototypical athleticism. Sadiq is more explosive, but Keller’s usage offers a glimpse into how he may be utilized.
Keller, despite being undersized, was an adequate run blocker, strong enough to stay in line for about half of his snaps when he wasn’t in the lot. Sadiq’s biggest questions revolve around said skill. If he’s truly just a receiver, there’s a world in which he is bound to the slot and more of an asset in 12 personnel than 11.
That shouldn’t be the case, given Sadiq’s competitive toughness and flashes of good technique. Like Keller, he should be able to check the box enough to play both in line and in the slot, opening the door for more opportunities and a less predictable offense.
MORE: NFL Combine winners and losers: Defensive backs, tight ends
Finally, another decent comparison for Sadiq isn’t a tight end at all. Chase Claypool (6042, 238, 4.42 seconds) is a wide receiver whose pre-draft hype was built around the notion of being a mismatch. His size/speed/strength combination stood out, and while he wasn’t consistent enough, he still saw 873 yards and nine scores as a rookie.
On paper, the two profiles are similar. However, Sadiq’s ability to win underneath and churn out explosives after the catch as often as downfield makes him a safer bet. A left-tailed outcome might see Sadiq turn into a receiver full-time. His underlying skills would still project better than Claypool, offering an off-ramp from tight end if necessary.
Fortunately, Sadiq is more than his measurables, and with first-round capital, he’ll be expected to produce much more like Davis than Keller or Claypool. His athleticism makes him a threat with the ball in his hands, he runs well enough to threaten defenses up the seam, and his strength in contested-catch situations bodes well for physicality reverberating throughout his game.
Sadiq is next in the line of new-age tight end prospects breaking the scales and tipping them in favor of creative offenses. While his athleticism helps explore potential shapes of his future production, it shouldn’t be seen as a true projection. His Day 1 capital should be a much better proxy for rookie-contract expectations.
