Positional Rankings: Kenyon Sadiq headlines a bottom-heavy class of tight ends

Need depth at the tight end position? This is the class for you. Need an impact starter? Not so much.

The 2026 NFL Draft crop of tight ends has received mixed reviews. However, some of the names that others in the industry are high on, I am not as high on. I see Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq as the leader of the pack in a group that lacks high-end impact players.

If you’re looking for depth from this class, you’ll find it, however. All-in-all, 27 tight ends received invitations to the NFL Scouting Combine. TWENTY-SEVEN. As I have worked through this group, however, most of that group stacks ups as Day 3 talents and depth/role pieces.

Outside of Sadiq, however, there is not a tight end that I would bang the table for as a Day 1 impact player. There are a few others that I could see having that type of impact as rookies, but the stars would have to align for them.

With the combine less than two weeks away, here are the top tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft. I have both written blurbs on the top-10 and tiered the group as a whole.

2026 NFL Draft Big Board: Updated Top-50 players after declaration window passes

In terms of runaway players at the top of their positions, Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq has as wide a gap at the top of his position group as Ohio State’s Caleb Downs does with the safeties, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza does with the quarterbacks, and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love does with the running backs.

If his teammate Jamari Johnson had declared, it would have been a narrower gap, but as it stands, Sadiq sits as the No. 11 player on my big board with the NFL Scouting Combine less than two weeks away. And he is going to go to Indianapolis and do some nutty stuff on the field if he opts to test.

Scouting Report: You're overthinking Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq

The production is the production. However, the production was also better before Sadiq was hurt in the Rutgers game and missed the following week against Iowa. Look at his box score before and after that game against the Scarlet Knights, and you’ll gather an understanding of why his production dipped.

Sadiq is explosive and dangerous after the catch. He is a true seam-ripper and mismatch nightmare against second and third-level defenders, and is already a good blocker as he continues to develop in that phase of the game. I’ve seen some overthinking on Sadiq, but I won’t be joining that crowd.