Should Texans Rethink Draft Plans After All-Time Great TE Combine Performance?

The Houston Texans currently have four selections within the top-100 of this year's NFL draft, and seldom has any recent mock draft predicted the team to use one of a tight end. That all may change after Friday evening, as the NFL world is still reeling from one of the greatest performances by a tight end in Combine history.

If you haven't heard already, Oregon prodigy Kenyon Sadiq shattered the mold at the tight end position when he put on a hall of fame caliber performance at Lucas Oil Stadium.

He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash (best ever for a TE), vertical jumped at 43.5" (second-best ever for a TE) and broad jumped at 11'1" (third-best ever by a TE).

While an elite Combine performance doesn't guarantee Sadiq will have a spot reserved in Canton, it does punctuate the kind of transformative athlete he has been during his time at Oregon.

Houston Texans pipe dream prospect: TE Kenyon Sadiq

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Idaho native just completed a campaign where he caught 51 passes for 560 yards (11.0 average) and eight touchdowns. His contributions helped Oregon place as the 16th best total offense (452.2 yards/game) and 11th-best scoring offense (36.9 points/game) in all of college football. (note: His three best games came against Minnesota, Rutgers and USC, combining for 248 yards and five touchdowns)

In total, his three years at Oregon produced 80 catches, 892 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Beyond the statistics, Sadiq is physical, twitchy, and possesses great balance after catch. To some, he's virtually a wide receiver masquerading as a tight end (in the most complementary way possible).

Sadiq was already penciled in to be an early round draft selection, landing anywhere from the first to second round depending on what draft simulate is utilized. After a display like this in Indianapolis, his chances of escaping the first round have essentially cratered.

Physical tools like his don't come around often, which is why several teams have probably already altered their big boards in order to accomodate a bid for the future NFL'er. Additionally, the NFL has seen what happens when an elite tight end manifests and helps change the trajectory of a franchise (Travis Kelce, Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, etc).

Most likely, the Texans at #28 were never going to sniff a player like Sadiq. However, it may alter their thinking with their other three picks before the fifth round, seeing as though names like Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), Michael Trigg (Baylor), Nate Boerkircher (Texas A&M) and Max Klare (Ohio State) will potentially still be available by the third round.

Texans Preparing for Life After Schultz?

In 2026, incumbent starter Dalton Schultz will be playing on the final year of his three-year, $36 million extension that he signed in 2024. Thus, it is imperative that Houston begins to plan for life after Schultz, if in fact this will be his final season with the team.

He has been a reliable safety blanket for quarterback C.J. Stroud since joining the Texans in 2023, but general manager Nick Caserio has the chance to upgrade the tight end room in way that the franchise potentially has never seen before.

Much remains to be seen prior to April's draft, but excitement for gamebreaking talent will only continue to build along the way.