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Last week, star Gators tight end Kyle Pitts declared for the 2021 NFL Draft, ending his college career. It’s unfortunate news for the team, who will miss his presence on the field during their upcoming bowl game against the Oklahoma Sooners. For Pitts, though, it’s a step closer to realizing his dream as a professional football player, as he’s widely projected to be drafted in the first round.
Pitts is a highly talented player, but evaluating him presents a unique challenge for teams at the next level. Though he lines up as a tight end, his play is more like that of an outsized wide receiver, and Florida essentially used him as their WR1 throughout the 2020 season. As the league moves more toward prioritizing speedy wideouts, even at the expense of physicality, does Pitts make sense in a modern offense as a receiver? Given his relative lack of pass-blocking ability compared to other tight ends, does he make sense as at that position either?
Those questions have no easy answers, but someone will be willing to gamble on him with a high draft pick. One team who should be eager to get a bite at the apple is the New England Patriots.
Football’s evil empire over the last two decades, the Patriots suffered an uncharacteristically bad year in 2020 after losing a great deal of talent to opt-outs and getting less than ideal performance from free agent quarterback Cam Newton. However, arguably the biggest contributor to their lack of success this season is the lack of quality receivers.
Pitts may be an unusual player, but he’s nothing if not a quality receiver. What’s more, Pats head coach Bill Belichick is a talented schemer when using players like Pitts and he has traditionally made good use of pass-catching tight ends.
Professional football, unlike other sports, requires a savvy blend of drafting for both immediate need and taking the best player available. Pitts could fit the bill in both respects when the Patriots come on the clock, especially if they’re drafting near the middle of the pack. He’d be a good value made even more appealing by the dearth of players in-house who could play higher-quality snaps as either a wideout or a tight end.
What will become of the Gators star tight end at the next level is not overly clear, sports are too weird to predict with certainty. However, few pass-catchers in the upcoming draft are quite as polished and talented as Pitts has become during his time in Florida. New England seems like as good a place as any for him to thrive.
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