Getty
Tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Travis Kelce is back in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room, but it’s never too early to plan for the future — especially when that future might contain another decade of elite play from Future Hall of Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City had an active, and successful, first two weeks of free agency, and the NFL draft later this month is now moving into focus. Even despite the additions of March, the Chiefs have major needs at cornerback, edge-rusher, offensive tackle and wide receiver. They also own two first-round picks at Nos. 9 and 29.
One notion that hasn’t gotten a great deal of conversation is Kansas City spending one of its two early selections on a replacement for Kelce, who could serve as sidekick to the 37-year-old in 2026 before becoming his successor as early as the following year.
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic of Wednesday, April 1 suggested Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq as that player.
Even the short-term potential of a Patrick Mahomes-led offense featuring Kelce, Sadiq, [Kenneth] Walker and Xavier Worthy is something I’d buy a ticket to see.
Sadiq’s long-term potential as Kelce’s successor and Mahomes’ new best friend is obvious. He is an extremely special athlete and the prototype for a modern tight end prospect — he can play inline and hold his own against tackles and edges; he’s an excellent space blocker who can deliver a blow on the move; he’s big enough to body small defensive backs and fast enough to run around many of them.
The number of NFL linebackers who’ll be able to run with a fully operational Sadiq will be counted on one, maybe two, hands.
Kenyon Sadiq Has Ceiling as Next Great NFL Tight End
GettyOregon Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
Sadiq measured at six-feet, three-inches tall and weighed 241 pounds at the combine in late February. He ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and posted a 43.5-inch vertical leap. He also bench pressed 225 pounds a total of 26 times.
All told, Sadiq was the top-rated athlete at the position and second-rated TE prospect based on production. He tallied 51 receptions for 560 yards and eight scores with the Ducks last season.
Lance Zierlein of NFL Network compared Sadiq to Arizona Cardinals star Trey McBride, widely considered one of the two best tight ends in football currently alongside George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers.
“A versatile tight end with a shredded physique and alluring potential as a volume target, Sadiq’s route tree will be full of branches,” Zierlein wrote. “Teams looking to diversify their passing game options with a talented pass-catching tight end could make Sadiq a priority.”
Kenyon Sadiq Could Become Next Travis Kelce for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
GettyKansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
All Kelce has done since Mahomes took over the starting QB role in 2018 is make eight consecutive Pro Bowls, earn five All-Pro nods, play in five Super Bowls and win three championship rings.
Sadiq would enter the league with a higher ceiling athletically than Kelce has ever had. Thus, pairing him with an elite QB/head coach combination like the one in Kansas City could remake the Mahomes-Kelce connection across the second half of the quarterback’s career.
Multiple recent mock drafts predict the Baltimore Ravens taking Sadiq at No. 14. So while the Chiefs’ first pick, which falls inside the top 10, might be stretching Sadiq’s value, he is unlikely to be there for Kansas City in the late 20s.
A compromise could be the Chiefs trading down a few spots and picking up a mid-rounder in return, then drafting Sadiq somewhere in the middle of Round 1.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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