Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Gator Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.
Florida’s Kyle Pitts was already projected as a top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL draft prior to his Pro Day.
Following his testing numbers Wednesday at UF, the 2020 Mackey Award winner could become just the second tight end to go in the top five in the common draft era (Riley Odoms, 1972).
“Kyle Pitts is my highest-graded tight end EVER,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. tweeted Wednesday.
Pitts wowed at his workout, running the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds at 6’5 5/8”, 245 pounds. Pitts also posted a longer wingspan (83 3/8″) than any NFL receiver or tight end in the last 20 years, breaking DK Metcalf’s record.
“I wanted to show everybody my strength and my speed,” said Pitts, who also had a 33.5 vertical. “Getting out there and doing those bench numbers (22 reps), a lot of people didn’t expect me to do that. In the 40 I wanted to run sub 4.5, that was something I wanted to show. Just going out there being elusive, getting in and out of breaks, just playing football.”
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah has Pitts ranked as the No. 2 prospect on his board, and sixth overall is the highest a tight end has been drafted since Odoms. The last player selected at that spot, Vernon Davis in 2006, was coached by Florida assistant Tim Brewster when he was with the San Diego Chargers.
Brewster doesn’t think Pitts will make it out of the top 10.
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“Kyle Pitts is not going to be around long,” Brewster said. “I’ve talked to all 32 teams about Kyle Pitts and I think he’s a generation player. He’s just absolutely different in his skill sets and the things that he can do. Antonio Gates I thought would be the absolute best player I’ve ever coached. He’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and I had him his first three years.
“I think there’s going to be some teams that trade up trying to get a shot at Kyle Pitts. There’s just no holes in the kid. The development that he made in the run game to make himself a more complete tight end I think just totally helped him in the eyes of the National Football League. I would certainly think that he would not get out of the first 10 for sure.”