Kenyon Sadiq’s NFL career is off to a strange start.
The New York Jets chose Sadiq with the 16th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which is a high slot for a tight end. Therefore, high expectations followed Sadiq to Florham Park.
However, as Sadiq progressed through a challenging summer, those expectations were tempered for the early stretch of his rookie season.
Three practices into training camp, Sadiq suffered a setback from a sports hernia procedure that he underwent in May, sidelining him for the remainder of camp and all three preseason games. Due to the extensive missed preparation time, Sadiq was expected to have a limited role to begin his rookie year, especially due to the Jets’ depth at tight end.
Sadiq recovered in time for the Jets’ season opener and has played in all five games for the team. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the rookie, to say the least.
Kenyon Sadiq’s erratic start
At times, Sadiq has been heavily featured in the Jets’ offensive scheme, flashing the extraterrestrial physical abilities that got him drafted in the top 16 despite fairly limited collegiate production compared to most first-round tight ends (he didn’t even reach 900 career receiving yards).
But for some stretches, it’s been easy to forget that Sadiq exists. New York has oscillated between making Sadiq look like a superstar and turning him into a ghost.
The Jets quickly showcased Sadiq on their opening drive of the 2026 season, handing him an end-around in the red zone, which Sadiq took for a three-yard touchdown. It was a rare display of speed from a tight end. However, Sadiq got just two more touches throughout the rest of the game, and he only played 42% of the offensive snaps.
Sadiq’s role was reduced in Week 2, as he dipped to 37% of the snaps while only getting three looks; he caught 2 of 3 targets for 17 yards.
In Week 3, though, it seemed that Sadiq’s emergence had begun. With starting tight end Mason Taylor sidelined, Sadiq stepped into the Jets’ TE1 role, and he flourished. Sadiq played 58% of the snaps and caught 7 of 8 targets for 105 yards and a dazzling deep touchdown up the seam. It was enough to earn Rookie of the Week honors.
Due to Taylor’s continued absence, Sadiq started once more in Week 4, climbing to a season-high 69% of the snaps. While his target total dipped to four, the Jets only held the ball for 17 minutes; Geno Smith threw just 15 passes, which means Sadiq received over a quarter of them. However, none of those targets were caught, although Sadiq was not charged for any drops on those throws.
Week 5 saw the return of Taylor, and Sadiq was pulled out of the starting lineup. Late in the third quarter, Sadiq caught a short pass in the red zone on third-and-10, but fumbled it away following a hard hit that occurred almost immediately after he secured possession. The hit knocked Sadiq out of the game with a concussion, which he remains in protocol ahead of Week 6.
Prior to exiting, Sadiq had only played 13 offensive snaps over the first 39-plus minutes of the game, which included seven Jets possessions. He was targeted three times and caught 2 of 3 targets for 3 yards.
Suffice to say, the Oregon product’s role has fluctuated wildly.
So, what is the Jets’ plan for Sadiq?
Kenyon Sadiq’s role in the Jets’ offense
When everyone is healthy, it seems clear that the Jets still view Sadiq as their TE2. When Taylor returned in Week 5, the Jets did not hesitate to insert Taylor back into their TE1 role (59% of the snaps) while pushing Sadiq back down the depth chart, despite Sadiq’s explosion as the TE1 in Week 3.
This is clearly due to the Jets’ lack of trust in Sadiq’s blocking. They aren’t ready to rely on him as a blocker; it shows in his usage.
Sadiq has been asked to block (rather than run a route) on 34.4% of his offensive snaps, ranking 75th out of 85 qualified tight ends. The Jets have noticeably more confidence in Taylor, who has blocked on 45.4% of his snaps (57th), as well as TE3 Jeremy Ruckert, who blocks 58.8% of the time he is on the field.
New York is particularly averse to using Sadiq in pass protection. He has been credited with just three pass-blocking snaps, making up 2.3% of his offensive snaps.
Additionally, the Jets lean heavily toward deploying Sadiq in pass situations. Of his 128 offensive snaps, 86 came on pass plays, which is 67.1%. He’s played just 41 run-blocking snaps, which is 8.2 per game and represents just 32.2% of the Jets’ run plays this season, less than a third.
So, to boil it down, the Jets are making a clear effort to keep Sadiq off the field for run plays, and when he is on the field for a pass play, he almost always runs a route instead of pass-blocking.
Overall, Sadiq has run a route (or taken a handoff) on 65.6% of his offensive snaps, ranking 14th-highest out of 85 qualified tight ends. So, he’s not an extreme receiving specialist, a la Mike Gesicki, who leads the group with an astronomical 82.2% mark in that category, but it’s apparent that the Jets prefer to have him focus on his receiving game right now. That will lead him to playing fewer snaps, and therefore getting fewer targets.
The Jets seemingly don’t trust Sadiq’s blocking quite enough to use him in the balanced TE1 role that Taylor is playing. Taylor runs a route on 54.6% of his snaps, more than 10% below Sadiq and ranking right in the middle of the pack at 31st out of 70. This shows that the Jets view Taylor as their best two-way option between blocking and receiving, which means he will get the higher snap count, as the Jets deem him a viable option in more types of situations.
Should the Jets use Sadiq more?
While Sadiq’s involvement in the Jets’ passing game has been inconsistent, he has done a nice job of maximizing his opportunities, both at the catch point and after. According to Pro Football Focus, he has yet to record a drop and has secured two of his three contested targets, while forcing a pair of missed tackles on just 14 receptions.
Sadiq’s upside as an offensive weapon is obvious, but to get more involved in the offense, he must earn the Jets’ trust as a blocker. Once he does, he will not only receive a higher snap count, but he will get to be on the field for a wider array of situations, allowing him to be deployed in a more versatile fashion. The Jets can rely more heavily on the multi-tight end looks that have been so productive for them, using Sadiq as a primary target off play action.
Right now, though, it’s a little difficult for the Jets to maximize Sadiq’s reps, as his presence is a fairly strong tip-off for the defense. They know that when he is on the field, a pass is likely, and Sadiq will almost certainly part of the progression. That makes it difficult for the Jets to scheme up advantages for him.
Fans are probably wondering, though: If Sadiq is doing so well with his playmaking chances, and the Jets spent the 16th overall pick on him, why not just throw him into the fire and live with his growing pains as a blocker so they can get the most out of him as a receiver? It could also allow him to get the reps he needs to develop as a blocker.
Well, only the Jets know whether that would be a plausible solution. From the outside, Sadiq’s NFL blocking tape is limited, so it is difficult to definitively state where he stands as a blocker, either based on the film or a small-sample PFF grade. However, the Jets see him in practice every day, so they know better than anyone else whether his blocking is trustworthy enough to warrant a bigger role.
As much as fans might be willing to live with some bad blocks to see gaudier receiving production, that logic goes against the essence of football. Think about it like a basketball player’s defense; it’s hidden in the stat sheet relative to the points that can be racked up, but it’s just as valuable, and there’s a reason coaches value it. A tight end who racks up receiving yards but gives those yards back as a run-blocker is akin to a one-dimensional scorer who gives his points back on the defensive end.
If Sadiq’s blocking is weak enough right now to the point that it would destroy the Jets’ run game, it would be not worth playing him in a bigger role. That could sink the offense. New York cannot afford for that to happen just so they can chase receiving production.
For Sadiq’s potential to be maximized, he has to master the blocking component. Only then can the Jets fully optimize the advantages Sadiq could create as a receiver.
If teams view Sadiq as a non-threat in the blocking game, they might not match him with a linebacker, instead opting to cover him with a defensive back, knowing that it wouldn’t hurt them in the run game. At 241 pounds (9th percentile all-time among TE prospects), Sadiq is a small tight end, after all, so if his blocking technique isn’t up to par, a big safety could certainly handle him in the run game, allowing the defense to match up well in the pass game without sacrificing their run defense.
Tight ends become most advantageous for the offense when their blocking skills are respected enough to force the defense into matching with heavy personnel. If the defense knows they will get pummeled in the run game by matching a tight end with a safety, they will be forced to match with a linebacker to field a viable run defense, which then leaves them vulnerable in the pass game.
That’s where the catch-22 happens; defenses must choose between beefing up for the run or staying smaller to keep up in the back end, with both choices having a consequence. It all stems from tight ends who present a two-way threat.
If the Jets do not believe Sadiq presents a two-way threat at the moment, then they are wise to keep him in his current role until he develops his blocking. Forcing Sadiq into a bigger role that he isn’t ready for would not be worth the risk it poses to the sustainability of the offensive infrastructure.
Blocking was expected to be a work in progress for Sadiq, who had some high-level flashes at Oregon, but was inconsistent overall, along with possessing a lighter frame for the position. So far in the NFL, it seems that his development in that area is moving at the anticipated pace.
The next step for Sadiq is proving to the Jets’ coaches that he can be trusted as a blocker. He has already done enough with his playmaking opportunities to show how unique of a ceiling he possesses. To reach it, though, he has to get on the field more often, and in more advantageous situations. Improving his blocking is the path to get there.
