Mel Kiper Mocks Kenyon Sadiq To The Bucs
March 19th, 2026
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq.
Iconic helmet hair draft guru Mel Kiper issued his third mock draft of the season this week and his crystal ball puts beastly Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in the lap of the Bucs.
Kiper’s 40-plus years at BSPN and various contacts also have believing the Bucs would ignore their defensive holes and turn in Tampa Bay’s draft card for Sadiq with the No. 15 overall pick.
Joe has written about Sadiq, and about Baylor tight end Michael Trigg as an attractive third- or fourth-round pick for the Bucs. But seeing Kiper’s mock and thinking about the potential reality today exactly five weeks from the 2026 NFL Draft, Joe has to pause and think about what kind of trade-down haul Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht could reel in with Sadiq still on the board.
It could be huge.
Maybe the Jets would cough up their 2025 rookie tight end Mason Taylor and their two second-round draft picks (Nos. 33 and 44) for the Bucs’ No. 15 overall pick?
Taylor is more of a blocking tight end, but he’s an interesting prospect who caught 44 balls last season and is the son of Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor. He was a mid-second-round pick last year.
Joe could speculate all day. With the Bucs’ needs for talent upgrades at inside linebacker, cornerback and edge rusher, Joe could see Licht drooling at the thought of picking up two extra second-round picks and a player.
