You can thank Terry Pledger for the evolution of tight end prospect Kenyon Sadiq. Pledger, a fine high school athlete before going into law enforcement in eastern Idaho, taught Sadiq how to fish, how to enjoy the outdoors and how to play football. That's just what grandfathers do.
Sadiq (born March 4, 2005) started playing football in the fourth grade after realizing he was faster than most of the other kids. He played running back through middle school, where his teams qualified for nationals and won a championship in seventh grade. A growth spurt propelled him to local stardom just in time to become a key contributor for Skyline High School -- as a receiver, not a rusher.
He helped Skyline win the 2020 Class 4A championship as a sophomore and effectively ditched basketball and track (he ran the 100 meters in 11.04 seconds). As a junior in 2021, Sadiq caught 78 passes for 1,162 yards and 19 touchdowns, earning 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year honors while Skyline won a second straight title.
By then, Sadiq spent his offseasons working out with RARE Academy in Boise and attending camps out west, where he realized he could not only hang with top players but beat them. With the help of his mother, Heather, Sadiq was home-schooled while playing for Skyline, even designing his own workout regimen and nutrition plans.
It all paid off before his senior year, when Sadiq committed to Oregon -- recruited by current Cowboys wide receivers coach Junior Adams -- over Michigan (recruited by Jim Harbaugh's son Jay, now on the Seahawks' coaching staff), Iowa State, Texas and Washington. He followed that with an encore season, catching 62 passes for 1,303 yards and 18 touchdowns, leading Skyline to a third consecutive state title and earning 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. It all paid off when before his senior year Sadiq committed to Oregon (recruited by current Cowboys WRs coach Junior Adams) over Michigan (recruited by Jim Harbaugh's son Jay, who is on the Seahawks coaching staff), Iowa State, Texas and Washington. Then for an encore, Sadiq caught 62 passes for 1,303 yards and 18 touchdowns, again leading Skyline to a third consecutive state title and being named the 4A All-Idaho Player of the Year for the second straight year. A four-star recruit, according to 247Sports, Sadiq graduated high school early and enrolled at Oregon in winter 2023.
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Sadiq isn't as large as other tight ends, but he's not as slow as other tight ends, either. He's blessed with phenomenal athleticism and wheels that give him a chance to separate from defenders. And the scary part about his game is that there's room for improvement -- from route variety to technique to not dropping passes to blocking. He's good now and could become outstanding.
This was the same sort of sentiment for Evan Engram when he came out of Ole Miss -- a slightly undersized but very fast move-TE. Engram has gone on to have a solid career with splashes of greatness and occasional bouts of the dropsies. Sadiq can end up being much better, but stylistically they're similar.
FIVE PLAYS: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon1. You can already see Sadiq's size when he motions into the slot. Good burst off the snap but the quick cut he makes to move outside is an example of what's all over his film. One of his better traits. The rest of the play -- running back… pic.twitter.com/XX0p6h3wyQ
3. Same route as the last play except the defender plays outside leverage for some reason. It leaves Sadiq speeding downfield wide open until the ball arrives at the same time defenders do. Sadiq's athleticism wins the rep as he leaps high and goes all out to clutch the ball… pic.twitter.com/HLQEMcksDk
5. Not everything is perfect. You've gotta love so much about this play -- the burst off the snap, the hesitation in the route, the powering through contact (which always didn't happen with Sadiq). And then there's the end of the play. Gross. Can't have that. pic.twitter.com/RviXzaCuBN
Sadiq isn't a perfect, polished player, but he has the unique athletic traits for his position that will make NFL coaches drool.
It will be very important for him to play in the right offensive scheme with the right coaching staff -- if he's with a crew that isn't experienced in exploiting matchups and developing talent, he might never reach his potential. That goes double if he winds up with a team that already has established pass catchers who might command more targets than Sadiq.
But if things break right, then he should have a quality career as a "move" tight end who can dominate mismatches for at least half a decade with multiple 60-catch, 800-yard and eight-touchdown seasons. Sadiq's unique traits will help push him into a top-20 slot in the NFL Draft.