Mason Taylor's hopeful Year 2 leap should give Kenyon Sadiq time to acclimate in Jets offense

Don't look now, but the New York Jets are quietly building one of the best tight end groups in the NFL, and we haven't even seen first-round draft pick Kenyon Sadiq on the practice field in nearly a month.

When the Jets picked Sadiq 16th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, there was legitimate reason for excitement. After all, it's not often New York takes major swings on 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight ends who can run a 4.39 40-yard dash. His absence from camp has put a damper on that excitement, but it's given second-year tight end Mason Taylor a chance to shine entering his sophomore season.

With Sadiq sidelined recovering from his hernia surgery, Taylor, the Jets' second-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, has been the de facto No. 1 tight end on the depth chart in New York, and he's taken full advantage of the opportunity.

Not only that, but Taylor's development appears to be trending up as well. In the Jets' final training camp practice of the summer on Tuesday, ESPN's Rich Cimini shared a highlight play from the former LSU standout when he mossed Minkah Fitzpatrick on a 50-50 ball from Geno Smith.

Mason Taylor's emergence should ease New York Jets rookie Kenyon Sadiq's transition

The best part about Taylor taking a potential leap entering Year 2 of his young NFL career is the burden it takes off Sadiq to rush back from injury. The last thing the Jets need is one of their three first-round picks from this past April's draft missing any developmental time throughout the 2026 season.

If Taylor is able to be the star the Jets were hoping for when they made him the 42nd overall pick in 2025, that would give Sadiq that much more time to get a grasp on New York's offense before being thrust onto the field with a major role.

Any player missing any time in training camp is never good, but a rookie missing time is that much worse. This is the time for those first-year players to be getting acclimated to their new teammates, coaching staff, and playbook. Sadiq has already missed so much; he'll need some time in September to really get his NFL legs under him.

Luckily, the Jets offense will be able to lean on Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert, and Jelani Woods in the meantime and give Sadiq the time he needs to prepare himself for his hopeful explosion on the scene as one of the NFL's newest dynamic weapons.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow