There is a distinct possibility that the 2027 NFL Draft’s top tight end will be selected out of Oregon, in the form of Jeremiah Johnson. If that does happen, then mighty Oregon will have produced the first tight end selection in back-to-back NFL Drafts. Kenyon Sadiq is the was the number one tight end selected in 2026, as he went #16 overall to the New York Jets.
Johnson might be even more of an overall, complete tight end than Sadiq was at this point in his career.
At Big Ten Media Days, The Sports Bank had an exclusive conversation with Johnson, and he discussed what he learned from Sadiq working on to improve his game.
“Just his drive for the game,” Johnson said exclusively to TSB. “He just wants to get better at in every aspect of the game.
“That’s from on the field to knowing the playbook to off the field to getting his body right to play the next play.”
Johnson, like every other athlete at the University of Oregon is super grateful to the Knight family and Nike.
Phil Knight and his family have put billions, plural, into the athletics programs in Eugene.
“He pours into us, and we pour right back into him with the work- the blood, sweat, and tears we put on the field,” Johnson said.
And with that Nike/Knight money comes all the flashy, unique uniforms that Oregon is synonymous with.
Asked to mention his favorite, Johnson responded:
“I would say my favorite one (uniform combination) was either the the black and tie dye green that we wore against Wisconsin last year, or I would say the all white combination versus Michigan like two years ago.”
On the silver helmets with the dominant wings pattern, he said: “That was fire.” He also said the “green and it has like a yellow and white stripe on the shoulder” pattern was fire too.
Asked Dante Moore about this and he was like “he really said that?”
Uhm yep. https://t.co/PEIrhnyipQ— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) July 29, 2026
Johnson is very close with Oregon’s star quarterback Dante Moore. Johnson and Moore are so close that…well, see the tweet above
Yes, that was definitely TMI to say the least. Moore is projected as a top three overall prospect in next April’s NFL Draft. And the Oregon Ducks are ranked #2 in most preseason polls.
2026 could be a very special season, building off the 2025 campaign that ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
“Last year the season didn’t end how we wanted it to end,” Johnson said.
“You know, after that game, I was crying in Dante’s arms. We was hugging each other, and I was crying in the barn. I was like, “Bro, just let me know like what you’re gonna do.
“He didn’t let me know, but a couple of days later, he went out public saying that he was coming back, and I almost jumped out my bed and went to go hug him.
“I went there. He lived like a couple of couple of streets down.
“I almost jumped on my bed, knocked on his door. But yeah, it was a moment for sure when I heard that he was coming back. It only brought tears to my eyes.”
Hopes and ambitions are very high for Jeremiah Johnson, Dante Moore and the rest of the Ducks this season.
“This year, he’s on a mission to to get better and go to the NFL,” Johnson said of Moore.
“And he wants to bring everybody with him, and he is bringing everybody with him each and every day.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.