Would the Panthers have picked TE Kenyon Sadiq if he was available at 19?

The favorite for the Carolina Panthers' 2026 first-round pick may not have been the favorite after all.

On Thursday night, the Panthers watched as Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq was plucked off the board by the New York Jets with the 16th overall selection of this year's draft. Sadiq, given Carolina's lack of production at the tight end position, was favored by many to be the team's choice at the 19th overall spot.

That projection, of course, did not come to fruition. But what if the second-team All-American pass catcher was there for the Panthers to take?

Joe Person of The Athletic gave his thoughts on that prospect in a new depth chart breakdown from Monday, and he believes that Carolina still would've ended up on who they ultimately took—Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling. Person writes:

The Panthers were frequently linked to Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in mock drafts. Sadiq ended up going 16th to the New York Jets, but my impression is the Panthers would have taken Freeling over him anyway.

President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan was asked about the state of the position during his pre-draft press conference a few weeks ago.

"I think we have some guys on our roster that are big targets," Morgan stated. "In general, we have guys in our tight end room that we feel are good players and guys that have the skill set to be able to do that.

"Whether it's opportunity or whether guys are still developing, I think we have the pieces in that room to be able to do that."

Those pieces include soon-to-be sixth-year veteran Tommy Tremble, 2024 fourth-round pick Ja'Tavion Sanders and 2025 fifth-round pick Mitchell Evans. Tremble led the group with 249 receiving yards this past season.

In all, 22 tight ends were selected this past weekend—just two off the NFL draft record. The Panthers came away with zero of them.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL Draft: Insider thinks Panthers would've passed on TE Kenyon Sadiq