Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq has made up his mind about whether to head to the NFL. Sadiq announced in an Instagram post that he has declared for the 2026 draft. Oregon’s season ended with a semifinal loss to Indiana last Friday. Sadiq had 29 catches for 332 yards and three touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Ducks. He broke out with 51 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025 and was named the top tight end in the Big Ten. That production has moved Sadiq to the top of the list of eligible tight ends in this year’s draft and many expect his name to be called before the first round is over in April.
Meanwhile Dante Moore has decided to return to Oregan leaving Mendoza as the clear #1 and Ty Simpson a distant #2 barring some surprise entries.
I expect Sadiq will kill it at the combine, but I'm far from sold on his actual potential. Very little production volume. Its not that he ever looked bad, its just that we barely saw anything from him. He's a huge risk in the first round. Might be a Pro Bowl guy, but I personally wouldn't draft someone like that until at least the third round. I assume that some team will take him high. Just wouldn't be me.
With Moore returning, that creates all eyes on Mendoza with pick number 1. I think a number of QBs are returning, and at this point, I will accept defeat and embrace the fact that we won't be spending our first pick on a Quarterback. I do like some guys that are going to be available in rounds 2,3 and 4. Garrett Nussmeier, John Mateer (if he declares), Trinidad Chambliss, and even though he comes off as a douche...Carson Beck. I also like Taylon Green later on if we go with a project. Drew Allar is worth later round look as well. He'll be there, and before his injury, Allar was looking like a 1st- or 2nd-round pick. I think we will draft a Quarterback this year, but it's going to be in the mid to late rounds. As far as who I like within our pick range...I'm fine bringing Ruben Bain home to Miami. Mansoor Delane, and Caleb Downs are awesome prospects, too. A lot of mocks have us taking McCoy from Tennessee. I like him, but the ACL injury has "Dolphins curse" written all over it. He may be the best CB in this draft class, but we have to move away from taking guys who have suffered injuries like that already. We never seem to win when we make those gambles. For me personally, it's not so much who's available in the first round for us that intrigues me. I'm way more interested in what we do with our other picks. We've got a few of them this year, so it should be exciting to see who the new GM decides to go with. I have a feeling this draft is going to look a lot different from the Grier drafts. For all his screw-ups, I don't think Grier was a bad drafter. He just wasn't a good one, and the team suffered for it. I know a lot of people want to just tank the next season. Most of us are viewing it as a lost season already, with the focus being on 2027, but I personally would rather see us turn it around somehow next year. Hitting on this upcoming draft will go a long way towards doing so. If we come out with Bain, a cornerback, an offensive tackle, a quarterback, and a wide receiver, I'm gonna be pretty excited about these guys. I'm by no means a draft guru, so I'll defer to the more knowledgeable draft minds on here, but from a position standpoint, those are the ones I'd like to see go after. We have 8 picks this year! Assuming we aren't trading any of them, any combination of these players would be cool. #11 - (Rush) Ruben Bain (BPA), (CB) Monsoore Delane, #43 - Caleb Lomu (OT), (S) Kamari Ramsey #75 - (QB) John Mateer, (LB) Taurean York #87 - (OT) Drew Shelton, (WR) Skylar Bell #90 - (S) Genesis Smith, (CB) Chandler Rivers #111 - (CB) D'Angelo Ponds, (QB) Trinidad Chambliss #150 - (WR) Jaden Greathouse, (QB) Drew Allar #227 - (OT) Tristan Leigh, (CB) Jerry Wilson
I have watched a couple of mock drafts and it appears to be weak on the OT position early on. Moore staying in hurts us as it is less likely one of the top OL drops. Hopefully Love and Lemon go early. LB, DT and Edge seem to be the most likely to be available. Wouldn't risk a top pick on a CB coming off of ACL surgery. I've had enough of injured players with Grier.
Anyone care to provide inside on these guys from a 3 round mock I ran. Mauigoa I think gets put to G. LG or RG. Focus on DL/OL obviously. 11. Francis MauigoaOT Miami (FL) 43. LT OvertonEDGE Alabama 75. Dametrious CrownoverOT Texas A&M 87. Christen MillerDT Georgia 90. Max KlareTE Ohio State
Always wonder given the glowing reviews some players receive pre draft. With the 11th pick definitely want consistency
Ive been on the Reuben Bain bandwagon for a while now.. so far in the championship game, hes making his case as a top 5 selection.. not sure he will be there when we pick
Bain would be a prize steal for us at 11. Doubt he falls there. Either way, I feel almost like it'll be a defensive player. Alfs gonna want a potential defensive star to start things out.
I watched the CFP National Championship game last night. I don’t know what you guys saw or think, but after seeing how Miami’s defense played against the Hoosier offense, I don’t see Mendoza being some immediate impact player. Miami’s defense pretty much shut him down in the second half…and that’s COLLEGE football. What’s going to happen when Mendoza lines up against 11 NFL caliber defensive players? And, if ends up going to the Raiders as all indications are? Poor kid is going to end up like every other heisman trophy winning quarterback in the league. Now if his draft stock falls and he ends up on a decent team that’s just missing a few pieces, he could have a great career but sadly, the Raiders are going to pick him, have absolutely NOTHING around him and he’ll fade into obscurity
Mendoza is a decent prospect….. im not sure how he will do… the hand he is being dealt is the Raiders… he will be facing Kansas City, Chargers and Broncos twice a year —- all who have very fast explosive defenses.. There was some balls he threw yesterday that just floated in the air a little longer than id like.. to me, he looks like he is built to be a Matt Ryan type of quarterback.. he is not a generational talent.. he is a game manager pocket type quarterback with accuracy.. Any other year he is not the top player selected.. he looks like a mid first round type of talent.. but the raiders are almost backed into a corner to select him now.
That was last year ..? I think if we want a clue as to the types of guys we would target, look at Green Bay drafts. OL (Mauigoa, Fano), DL (Bain, Bailey, Faulk and DB (Caleb Downs is a no-brainer if he falls, maybe Mansoor Delane) comes up pretty frequently. They like WRs in round 2. I wouldn't be shocked if it was Sonny Styles the LB either.
I think he's a starter in the league, but I do agree that he's not a generational talent. His work ethic in is what will be the deciding factor because he at least has the size you look for in a quarterback. Vegas? Tom Brady? Huge investment with the top pick? I'll give the kid a shot. He's a winner and you can't teach that. I think he's going into a better situation than given credit for. With all that being said, I'm glad we're not drafting 1st this year.
