“Sadiq Is A Name To Watch Here”
April 20th, 2026
More Zac Robinson chatter, the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator.
Joe is somewhat confused by all the chatter about how new Bucs offensive coordinator liking two-tight-end sets last year while calling plays for the Falcons somehow ties to the Bucs’ thoughts in Thursday’s NFL Draft.
Anyone know who Charlie Woerner is?
He was the blocking tight end playing opposite Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts. Woerner made 13 starts and played in all 17 games. He caught 8 balls last year for 48 yards.
It’s highly likely the Falcons ran so many two-tight-end sets because that best used their personnel. They needed to block for All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson, and they had a very thin receiving corps after No. 1 receiver Drake London.
Joe doubts using two tight ends was or is Robinson’s preferred approach.
Robinson is a Sean McVay disciple and McVay wasn’t much of a two-tight-end guy until last year when his receiver options after Puka Nacua and Devante Adams were flimsy. Liam Coen, also a McVay disciple and Robinson’s best friend, is not a two-tight-end guy, either. That’s why the Jaguars loaded up on receivers last offseason, and at the trade deadline.
Sports Illustrated super insider Albert Breer pumped out a look at the NFL Draft today focused on what he’s hearing across the league, with chatter for each team.
Breer doesn’t rule out the Bucs drafting Oregon tight end Keynon Sadiq in Round 1 — and some of that he tied to Robinson.
What you need to know: Yes, this pick is probably going to be a defensive player. That said, Sadiq is a name to watch here, with new OC Zac Robinson having a readymade role for him in how he used Kyle Pitts Jr. in Atlanta last year. If the Buccaneers do look for defense, edge would loom as the biggest immediate need. And assuming Bain is off the board, along with Bailey and Reese, they might have the dilemma of taking a hard look at Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor. Plenty of scouts prefer Mesidor’s tape and physical profile to Bain’s, but his college career was pockmarked by injuries, and he just turned 25. To take him this high, you’d have to really like him as a player. Meanwhile, if you’re looking at corner, the injury risk on McCoy at this stage of the first round may be too great. So would it be too early to look at his teammate Hood?
The Bucs have three strong receivers — Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan — and a solid starting tight end they’re paying $10 million per year in Cade Otton. Robinson/Todd Bowles will want those guys on the field.
The Bucs also have receiver Tez Johnson and newcomer running back Kenny Gainwell, who played plenty of slot receiver last season in Pittsburgh.
Adding weapons is great, but so is getting a significant impact from a rookie pick in Year 1.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:38 pm
Spot on analysis Joe.
The whole 2 TE, 12 personal talk is much about nothing. As mentioned, the Falcons had one good WR and a TE that was used more like a WR. Just because Pitts was on the field with an actual blocking TE, they say 12 personal.
The Bucs have much better WRs who will be in the line-up in 3 WR sets more than 2 TEs.
Adding a TE is a total luxury pick and I just can’t see it happening, unless the Bucs are forced to pick at 15 and JL has Sadiq as the clear BPA over guys like Ioane, Mesidor, McCoy, etc.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:38 pm
It won’t be Sadiq or Mesidor.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
Unless these rankings out there are off, Licht may have to trade up. I’m for it if it is the right pick.
Of course, even with the rankings…these players can still bust.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:42 pm
Will Kacmarek, Ohio State
April 20th, 2026 at 2:43 pm
Thursday cant get here fast enough lol
JL would be foolish to select Sadiq @15 with our current OL
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 20th, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Jacob Rodriguez is the pick to click. Just do it.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:53 pm
Im with you Gipper..J Rob would be a great get that would fill a huge need.
April 20th, 2026 at 2:55 pm
Mechanic: Your brakes have failed and need to be replaced, especially in the wet weather here in Tampa.
Licht and Bowles: Nah, give us new tires instead. If we drive faster the brakes won’t matter. We can just slap some duct tape on those brakes.
Glazers: Love the culture!!!!
April 20th, 2026 at 2:55 pm
Bonzai,
I’m not sure what you are referring to with the rankings?
They wouldn’t need to trade up for either Mesidor or Sadiq.
Also, just because a guy might be ranked number 1, ie Love, doesnt mean he goes number 1.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
Sadiq is supposed to be all that. He is not even in the same league as Cade Otten. When this team gets on a playoff roll, which we will, then the fans and pundits across the country will get to see what kind of football player Cade is. Talk about underrated. I’m not sure I would trade him for another tight end in the league. Laugh all you want. I’m being dead serious. He’s our second best player on the team. Nobody is better than Tristan Wirfs. Mauch, Goedecke, and Bredeson are also in our top 10 players. Barton has a chance to get there this year. Godwin is our 3rd most valuable with JMac and Emeka close behind. Oh yeah. Mayfield is up there too. I’ve been accused of not having enough sense to come in out of the rain. But I’ve got plenty enough sense to know we’re doubling down on defense this year. And I ain’t whistling Dixie!
April 20th, 2026 at 3:04 pm
Mike Evans leaving for SF articles – 1,250
Sadiq to Tampa articles – 1,225
Writers block is a real think people. Check on your loved ones.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
If the first 4-5 picks are not all on defense Licht needs to be fired
April 20th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Otton in a league of his own huh. I hope you sent him gloves for Christmas, that ball he gave away last year was highly disappointing.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:28 pm
OSU DT, move Calijah Kancey to Edge!
April 20th, 2026 at 3:29 pm
Take a deep breath….We are not wasting our 1st pick on this guy. End of story.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:31 pm
NO! Plus i think he’s gone by 15 anyway. DEFENSE PLEASE!
April 20th, 2026 at 3:35 pm
Lots of hyberbolic takes in here, which is not surprising.
First 4-5 picks have to be all defense or JL needs to be fired? Funny stuff. I think adding a stud guard would be wise. I also wouldn’t be surprised with either another TE or WR.
While I agree defense should be the primary focus, drafting an offensive player in the first 5 picks is likely to happen.
Otton, who I happen to like, is the 2nd best player on the team? He’s a solid TE who has improved a lot as a blocker, but isnt’ overly fast and can drop some catchable balls.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:38 pm
3 Reasons to Draft Sadiq:
1. Sets up Zack for Success.
He loves TE. Kyle had just under 1000 yard rec and 5 TD. Let him thrive.
2. Dynamic 2xTE Sets.
Sadiq and Otton set up the run and pass. Bucky gets an extra blocker and Baker thrives with intermediate passes.
3. He Could Become at Top TE.
Teams with top TE do pretty well in today’s NFL.
4. Defense is Available in Rounds 2-7
My favorite MLB and Edges will go in Rounds 2-4. Bucs can afford this pick.
April 20th, 2026 at 3:39 pm
They call Kyle Pitts a TE
But Kyle Pitts mostly would line up as a WR
That’s why the Falcons was not drafting, or signing free agents WR
In reality he’s a 6’6 WR, not a TE
April 20th, 2026 at 3:59 pm
Trade down and get more pics. Get a trench player and snag one of the good ILBs in round two. Snag the 2nd or 3rd ranked TE instead.
April 20th, 2026 at 4:03 pm
Defense!
April 20th, 2026 at 4:11 pm
If Baker isnt protected, he cant BAKE!!! ….so simple
IOANE
April 20th, 2026 at 4:27 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch is spot on. Will Kacmarek was the other TE at Ohio State and compares well with Charlie Woerner. There are no question’s about Kacmarek’s blocking. Like zero- ziltch but the Bucs just resigned Ko Kieft as well as Otton so I’m not buying this the Bucs are hot for a TE poppycock. If they must draft a TE let it be Kacmarek later on day 3. Culp started the 2025 season getting a consistent handful of snaps but from mid season on he was barely used. I don’t think the Bucs see much future in him.
I’m not enamored with Sadiq the prospect. He is simply the best player at a fashionable position. Additionally, on top of two freshly resigned TEs the Bucs have two receivers who can block, be third down safety blankets and red zone targets in Godwin and Egbuka. The Bucs drafting a TE or even another WR high is like hauling sand to the beach.
On top of all that, purely from the dollars and cents perspective it rarely makes sense to draft a TE in the first round because no TE has ever made $20 million for a season of NFL football. Otton is making $10 and is solid plus at the position. Kelce made $17 mil in 2025. Kittle jumped from $15 mil to join McBride at the top at $19 million. These are comparable numbers to #2/3 WRs, CBs and edge/DL and bottom tier QBs. The winningest teams in the league are the same group that get the most performance out of a player relative to the dollar amount of their slotted salary rookie contract versus paying what that performance would be worth on their second contract which is set by the market for the position.
I like Dylan a Thieneman a ton but I could never take him at 15 because of positional value on the open market and the slotted rookie deals. Same goes for Ioane and Sadiq and even Love at 15 based purely from the bean counter perspective which translates to retained players and more free agency flexibility down the line.
Take Love top 5? Dumb whether he pans out or not when you can get the best in the game for $20 mil. Take Beck or Allar in the back half of the first? Genius, actually if you have QB questions and Geno Smith made $40 mil guaranteed in 2025.
Mesidor makes sense from the prospect/performance, positional and penny-pinching perspectives so remains my guy at 15..
April 20th, 2026 at 4:43 pm
If they are going to go guard, give me Proctor over Ioane. He’s more athletic and can play RT if Luke continues to struggle with injuries.
6’7″ 360 lbs next to Wirfs would be stellar.
April 20th, 2026 at 4:46 pm
Eli Stowers is a better receiving TE than Sadiq and can be had in the 3rd round. Sadiq is a waste of a pick.
April 20th, 2026 at 4:56 pm
He doesn’t have the best hands and sometimes body catches but he has speed and quickness that could make him unguardable on some routes.
April 20th, 2026 at 5:30 pm
@Hopein1Hand⬆️… do you watch our games? You said Culp started the year getting snaps. He only had 56 snaps ALL YEAR. AND was inactive for games early in the year. Durham had 354 snaps. Also, Durham is a better than Kacmarek. As good a blocker and receiver. And Culp is a better receiver than Kacmarek. Ko is a better blocker than Kacmareck. He literally brings nothing to the TE room we don’t already have. We are fine at TE. We need defense.
April 20th, 2026 at 5:48 pm
Idk why you’d spend a 1 on a TE when you can sign David Njoku and used that 1 to fill a hole on the defense
April 20th, 2026 at 6:13 pm
How are we going to score in the Red zone this season? Evan’s gave us a nice matchup. Goodwin has never been that type of receiver,, maybe because Mike was always here, is tucker the goal line back? we need a big Red zone target and we don’t have it.
April 20th, 2026 at 6:17 pm
Sly Pirate your “reasons” don’t really make sense.
1) Sadiq has had only one college season with any real production
2) his stats are very close to Culps college career and nowhere near Pitts college production.
3) half of Pitts production last year came in two games against the Bucs
4) Otton is way better now and will be better than Sadiq
5) way better options in the draft such as Delp at lower draft pick position
April 20th, 2026 at 6:21 pm
Ill be shocked if the Bucs dont take him. Completely hope we don’t.
Because our Defense will still suck.
Draft EDGE 2 or trade down.
April 20th, 2026 at 6:49 pm
BigBoiBuc- I do watch the games. I checked the snap counts too. He was inactive for the first 3 and last 3 weeks of the season. I rewatched the games over the past few weeks too in the name of seeing what the Bucs have to work with. If you want to be like that about my attention to TE #3 and ignore my clear assertion that the Bucs are set at TE, fine, I’ll clarify, if the Bucs go TE Kacmarek late day 3 he would be a back-up that could have offset the loss of Ko Keift in 2025 (which hurt the Bucs run game) were he on the roster but there are defensive talents available late I would prefer to add to the 2026 roster. The Bucs aren’t going to win a Super Bowl because of their TEs.
I don’t have a problem with the Bucs TEs or your assessments of them. I like Durham and think Culp is worth a shot in a new system. They’re nothing special but they’ll do since I’d like to see Godwin, Egbuka, Gainwell, Irving, McMillan, Tucker and Tez all getting as many third down and red zone targets as they can. Let the TEs be out there 2 and 3 at a time blocking. There is no need to waste a draft pick on that, let alone a first rounder.
April 20th, 2026 at 6:51 pm
@Boge⬆️we do have big Red Zone TE targets but 2/3 of our last 3 OCs didnt use them. We drafted Durham for that reason. 6’6, 84” wing span, 35” vertical jump. Had 21 college Tds mostly red zone. Throw the ball up in the air to him! Same with Culp and Otton. We always forced it to Mike. He was great at it no doubt but now what. .
April 20th, 2026 at 6:57 pm
NO !
April 20th, 2026 at 7:32 pm
Maybe Baltimore takes him and we can focus on Defense
April 20th, 2026 at 7:43 pm
Either D or an OL..
April 20th, 2026 at 7:46 pm
The Bucs have looked at so many TEs it’s crazy. They are pretty good at scouting them too. They will definitely have a TE selection in their back pocket for any round. Some of the teams looking at Sadiq are the Vikings, Chiefs, Broncos… he’s a chess piece that could be different than a typical TE but, he could also be way overhyped. Who knows. I haven’t watched enough to really know myself.
April 20th, 2026 at 7:57 pm
His explosive play catch rate was about 25% highest in the draft class. He would step in and immediately be th fastest player on offense
April 20th, 2026 at 7:59 pm
Well Tucker might be the fastest but it’s close between them
April 20th, 2026 at 8:03 pm
This is all a smoke screen, no way they go TE when it counts.
Ioane is the smartest pick if available.
Baker was an MVP candidate when healthy, that’s what I know.
Has he ever been healthy all season?
Protect him in a contract year and let’s see what we really have.
Plus we need the upgrade anyway.
If we did trade up for Delane I wouldn’t be mad.
Would much rather trade back and get McDonald, Mesidor or Ioane if available.
If not you go Rodriquez it’s that simple.
Please don’t reach for the hype.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:36 pm
It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:54 pm
I just have a hard time seeing Licht go HB-TE on Day 1 after signing Otton to fat check & bringing back Kieft as the blocking TE for 12 personnel sets, with known commodities in Durham and Culp already on the roster….W/ Culp being the Sadiq-lite comp at a 7th Rd price tag.
All the Sadiq talk just feels like a pre-draft media smokescreen…Considering current roster construction and the GLARING holes on the DEF side of the ball.
Not to mention I think he will get scooped up by BAL at #14 before getting to TB at #15.,,,The Ravens only have 2 TE’s on their roster – Meaning the BAL FO is looking to give Lamar a new TE security blanket as Andrews isn’t getting any younger & with Likely heading for the NYG in FA.
To me, BAL makes the most sense for Sadiq’s Day1 landing spot.
April 20th, 2026 at 9:58 pm
I agree with buxfanintexas, don’t waste the 15th pick pick on Sadiq. Go defense with that first pick and if you want a tight end that can stretch the field, sign Njoku. He’s still only 30-31 years old and he wouldn’t be too expensive.
April 20th, 2026 at 10:09 pm
absolutely great analysis on Robinson and the TE situation.
April 20th, 2026 at 10:44 pm
This just keeps replaying over and over.
In the voice of Robot.
“Danger, Will Robinson.”
Poor dude is working on the only phase of the Bucs game that gives them a shot at winning a game. His boss’s unit is definitely Lost In Space. And special bus was so legendarily bad, even if they merely suck it will be a huge improvement.
April 20th, 2026 at 11:17 pm
We are fine enough at tight end, but like the guy said above..Njoku would be a fine addition .
April 20th, 2026 at 11:27 pm
Otton signing is what helps me really think this won’t transpire
April 21st, 2026 at 12:59 am
Man, if they sign this guy I hope he does not turn into the next OJ Howard, the bust who allegedly was the best player on the board when Jason took him at #19 and as a result left a lot of talent on the board which could have filled bigger needs.
April 21st, 2026 at 8:50 am
Al I’m gonna say is it better NOT be Sadiq…
It would be the most moronic move EVERRRRRRR!!
Fix your freaking defense!!!!
If you aren’t motivated enough to trade up for Styles then trade down to low 20’s if you can….
Draft Mesidor!!!!!! – don’t care that he’s 25…He’s a great talent if he stays healthy..
2nd round is the ILB – Rodriguez or Hill gotta be the focus, nobody else!!
3rd round get your DT – Jackson from FSU
4th round get your CB – the kid from Indiana
Take BPA after that….
April 21st, 2026 at 3:21 pm
@Bucsfan1988
This is what I gave them. I’d still consider trading down.
1st round: AKHEEM MESIDOR (DE Miami)
2nd round: KYLE LOUIS (LB Pitt)
3rd round: KEYLAN RUTLEDGE (OL Georgia Tech)
4th round: CHANDLER RIVERS (CB Duke)
5th round: JACK KELLY (LB BYU)
6th round: BRANDON CLEVELAND (DT North Carolina St)
7th round: DEANDRE PROCTOR (WR Johnson C Smith)
April 22nd, 2026 at 10:11 am
Light should just draft seven random farm animals after trading down and stocking up future picks for the Bucs next GM, HC and new full-time modern DC.
The results for 2026 are a fait accompli.