There are a handful of college football programs that have embraced the era of NIL to the point where they now operate closer to how NFL teams are run than the traditional way we think college football programs function.
It’s easy to see which programs we’re talking about, because they routinely wind up in the College Football Playoff and we routinely hear the names of their players called in the NFL draft.
One of those teams is at the University of Oregon, where there’s an up and coming tight end in Kenyon Sadiq who CBS Sports NFL reporter Ryan Wilson predicts will land with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round (No. 21 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.
“Sadiq is a versatile athlete who was used at QB on four extra points in ’24; twice threw (2-point conversions) on rollout plays (and he’s also run fake punts from the upback position),” Wilson wrote in his latest mock draft on June 3. “As a TE, he runs extremely well, will run through arm tackles and is used all over the formation. He can be a quick-game target as an outside WR and was also used effectively on jet sweeps. He reminds me of Kadarius Toney in the quick game and Anquan Boldin in space with the ball in his hands.”
Sadiq Spent 2 Seasons Behind Second Round Pick
Sadiq, 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, spent his first 2 seasons at Oregon surrounded by NFL talent. That includes playing behind the first Oregon tight end selected in the NFL draft since 2012 in Terrance Ferguson, who was taken in the second round (No. 54 overall) by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2025 NFL draft.
Despite playing behind Ferguson, Sadiq has still found ways to shine. He’s also showed a flair for the dramatic — all 3 of Sadiq’s career touchdowns have come in the postseason. He scored a touchdown in the Fiesta Bowl as a freshman in 2023 and scored 2 touchdowns against Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game in 2024.
“In 2025, all signs point towards Kenyon Sadiq becoming a household name for the Oregon Ducks,” USA Today’s Don Smalley wrote on June 4. “With his talent, Sadiq would have been most anyone else’s starting tight end for the past two seasons, but he had to play a backup role to Terrance Ferguson. Now it’s his time to shine. Sadiq is one of the more experienced receivers on the Duck roster this coming season, and he’s expected to have a breakout season in 2025. As a result, with his size, NFL scouts should have a field day rating him. Sadiq will be a hot commodity when the NFL draft rolls around.”
Ducks On Epic Run of NFL Draft Success
The last 3 years have seen Oregon players come off the board in the NFL draft unlike any stretch in program history.
Oregon’s previous record for most players taken in the modern draft era was 6, in both 2002 and 2009. The Ducks tied that record with 6 players selected in the 2023 NFL draft then broke that record each of the last 2 seasons with 8 players selected in 2024 and 10 players selected in 2025.
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