As the trade deadline passes, the Arizona Cardinals acquired Markus Golden to boost their edge-rushing corps from an injured Chandler Jones. This week, they face the Miami Dolphins, who are coming off an impressive win with rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Going into Week 9, the Cardinals have the top offense in the NFL, averaging 419.1 yards per game. From Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins, this offense has been a lethal force throughout the majority of the season.
However, they do have a few question marks in terms of their long-term answers at key positions. One of those is at tight end. Kliff Kingsbury does not utilize tight ends as much as other teams in the NFC West. However, there is one name in particular in the 2021 draft that would make the Cardinals offense even more lethal than it already is. That name is Kyle Pitts from Florida.
The Kyles of the Florida Gators (Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts) took the college football world by storm through the first few games of the season. Through four games, Pitts has 22 receptions for 355 yards and seven touchdowns, four of them coming in the first game against Ole Miss. Pitts stands 6-foot-6 and 246 pounds and has been an absolute unit with the Gators. He has a good amount of speed and is physical after the catch. Pitts also has elite hands, as he only had four dropped passes in 2019. He is athletic and has the talent to be lined up as a wideout, as he has done before and will still beat out cornerbacks with his separation of speed. As a tight end, he Pitts is such a crisp route runner and has really expanded his route tree throughout his time at Florida. The Cardinals have tight end Maxx Williams until 2022, but they have not seen a ton of flashes out of him. Granted, the tight end position is not one of the premiere parts of the Cardinals offense. If they drafted Kyle Pitts, Kyler Murray not only has his tight end for the future, but they also have a guy that can line up as a receiver and produce like a top-notch weapon.
Kyle Pitts has made substantial leaps forward throughout his time at Florida. His weight has been a concern, but he has consistently added to it along with muscle throughout the offseason. His blocking is so efficient and that would be crucial for the Cardinals offense. However, there have been times where he won’t finish his blocks. This happened in his 2019 game against Tennessee where he would start off strong, but let his opponent win the battle because he wasn’t as physical enough. This has slowly improved, but it should not affect his draft stock and cause tight end needy teams to pass on.
Kyle Pitts has certainly made a case for himself being the number one tight end in the country with his performance this season thus far. The tight end position is one of the biggest question marks on the Cardinals offense. If Kyler Murray had DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald (if he stays another year), Christian Kirk and you add Kyle Pitts to that mix, the Cardinals would be an offense you would not want to mess with.
[listicle id=445486]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and