Kenyon Sadiq proved he's exactly what the Jets needed all along in loss to Lions

For whatever reason, leading up to this past spring’s draft, NFL analysts referenced former New York Jets tight end Dustin Keller as a comp for Oregon standout Kenyon Sadiq.

Only three games into his career, Sadiq — whom the ​​Jets selected No. 16 in April — has proven he’s far more than a Keller replica.

Sadiq exploded for seven catches, 105 yards, and his first career receiving touchdown in Sunday’s crushing 31-24 loss to the Detroit Lions. He spent the afternoon showing off his athleticism, from his diving score to leaping over Detroit defenders on a long catch-and-run. 

Not too bad for someone who missed the preseason with a hernia and, depending on who you asked, entered Week 1 with doubts about him factoring into the offense behind Mason Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert.

Kenyon Sadiq is already showing exactly why the New York Jets drafted him

Sadiq’s statistics from Sunday afternoon pop, as is typically the case with any player who surpasses 100 receiving yards. But what made his performance so noteworthy was just how dominant it felt in real time, and that’s a sight Jets fans really haven’t seen from their tight ends over the years.

The comparisons to Keller always felt perplexing because the ex-Purdue star has been retired for well over a decade. It’s not like we haven’t seen receiving tight ends throughout the 2020s, whether they were prospects who changed positions or the natural athletes with a healthy combo of size and speed.

Here’s a serious question: When was the last time the Jets had a tight end who repeatedly impressed in the passing game? Keller was fine, and he certainly had the occasional moment, but he only had three 100-yard receiving outings in five seasons. Sadiq only needed three games to record his first. 

And to be clear, that’s not us judging Keller or arguing that 100-yard games are the best way to gauge a tight end’s effectiveness. We’re also not suggesting that Sadiq is guaranteed to become the next Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce, because that would be foolish. We’ll leave those takes to the social media content creators.

What we will say, though, is that the Jets invested in Sadiq expecting him to be more than just a safety blanket for Geno Smith. He’s an imposing 6-foot-3, 214-pound weapon who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash (easily the best among tight ends, with SMU’s RJ Maryland and Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers tied for second at 4.51) and had 28 bench press reps (second behind Sadiq) at this year’s NFL Combine.

Credit to the Jets, specifically Smith and offensive coordinator Frank Reich, for immediately showing just how much they already believe in Sadiq. Outside of H-backs, there aren’t many tight ends who score rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same season, let alone in their first three games. 

Even with the Jets sitting at 1-2 entering next Sunday’s showdown with the Caleb Williams-less Bears, buy high on Sadiq. The proof lies in the tape and the eye test, regardless of whatever analytics pop up on your X/Twitter timeline this week.

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