Weighing the chances as Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq closes in on coveted honor

John Mackey was Johnny Unitas' tight end with the Baltimore Colts, a three-year starter at Syracuse and the first modern tight end, a bruising blocker and a superb athlete who played basketball and lacrosse for the Orangemen.

Mackey made five Pro Bowls and caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Johnny U. in Super Bowl V, a ball deflected off Duck Hall of Famer Mel Renfro. Deflected twice, the freak, heads-up play set a Super Bowl record for the longest pass play at that time, since surpassed.

Winning the Mackey would be a big deal for the Oregon program, the first in school history to go along with Mariota's Heisman, Penei Sewell's Outland Trophy and the Dave Rimington Award won by Jackson Powers-Johnson in 2023.

Honors like that are proof of concept, huge in recruiting alongside the Ducks' impressive run of first-round draft picks. The Ducks have had at least one first-round selection in each of the last six years, and in April 2025 they sent two to Round 1 for the first time since 2015.

Strong finish could put Sadiq over the top for Mackey honor

Adding a Mackey to that list of postseason honors puts a vital data point in the trophy case, a permanent marker of development and prestige that speaks directly to the hopes and dreams of the next promising tight end and his family.

How good are Sadiq's chances? The award is down to three, Sadiq, Eli Stowers of Vanderbilt and Baylor's Michael Trigg.

Mackey Award Finalists, Stats through Week 13

Sadiq is the first-ever Oregon tight end to be named a finalist despite a long tradition of productive tight ends and fan favorites like Terrance Ferguson, Justin Peelle, George Wrighster and many others.

He can't possibly catch Stowers in catches with one regular season game to go until ballots are due, but he has him doubled in touchdown catches and he's made more explosive and highlight-film plays than the other two. In addition, the Idaho Falls, Idaho plus-athlete missed most of two games with injuries.

The selection committee for the Mackey includes sportswriters, college football analysts and former winners. They do include blocking as part of the criteria, and Sadiq has been an outstanding part of the Oregon running game and its success, an attack that ranks No. 3 in the country at 6.13 yards per carry and 229 yards per game.

The 6-3, 245 junior has surged in the last two weeks with big games against Minnesota and USC. With the Ducks down several of their best wide receivers, he's likely to be an integral part of the game plan at Washington in the last week of the regular season this Saturday. A big day could put him over the top as well as being a key to locking down a playoff spot.

Balloting takes place in December with the winner presented on December 12 at the College Football Awards Show on ESPN. The last three winners are Tyler Warren of Penn State, then Georgia's Brock Bowers in 2022 and 2023. Trey McBride won in 2021, drafted in the second round.

Warren, Bowers and 2020 winner Kyle Pitts were all first-round picks.