During the week NFL draft analyst Todd McShay let loose with some podcast slanders of Duck tight end Kenyon Sadiq, saying that the junior from Idaho Falls was a disappointment to scouts and his coaches, even implying he wasn't working hard or achieving his potential.
Friday night Sadiq answered those criticisms without saying a word, turning in his best game as a Duck with eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. He caught every ball Dante Moore threw him and broke plays of 23, 20 and 18 yards in addition to his 3-yard touchdown.
On a night the Ducks played without three of their best receivers in Dakorien Moore, Evan Stewart and Gary Bryant, with Dillon Gresham and Jack Ressler also out, the Oregon tight ends came up big and kept the Ducks explosive.
“He’s a game changer for us,” Lanning said, when asked about Sadiq. “I’m glad we were able to shut him down there for a little bit and get him back. The way he worked this week, it felt like it could have the potential to be a good week for him.”
Louisville transfer Jamari Johnson turned in four receptions for 57 yards and sophomore Roger Saleapaga caught his first two passes as a Duck, good for 25 yards. Johnson produced gains of 24 and 16, Saleapaga an18-yard pass play, helping the team stay explosive despite the loss of so many offensive weapons.
Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is a freak athlete pic.twitter.com/i9d5pBoe6A
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) November 15, 2025
In all the tight end trio caught 14 passes for 178 yards a touchdown.
After taking two hard falls in the Rutgers game on TD catches, Sadiq was limited against Wisconsin and out at Iowa, so the jabs at his production missed the mark badly. In the games he's been healthy he's been a potent weapon for Oregon, the team's second-leading receiver with 30 catches for 407 yards and six touchdowns, tops on the team.
His numbers aren't Tyler-Warren gaudy because the Ducks have a balanced offense. In Friday night's 42-13 win over the Gophers Moore and backup quarterback Brock Thomas used 10 different receivers while Moore threw for a season-high 306 yards on 27-30 passing with two touchdowns.
When a team is 9-1 and ranked No. 8 with a running attack that averages 6.3 yards a carry and 233.6 yards a game, all the passing stats are going to be muted a bit. Will Stein doesn't air it out more because they don't have to. Noah Whittington and Jordon Davison had touchdown runs straight up the middle for 39 and 40 yards.
Blocking by those three reliable tight ends is an integral part of Oregon's ability to ground and pound. Sometimes the Ducks pull Sadiq like a tackle or a fullback.
All of the podcast potshots in the world won't change how valuable he is to an offense that ranks No. 9 in the country at 39.6 points per game, even after winning a couple of tough games in a monsoon.