Eagles land a versatile offensive weapon in Daniel Jeremiah’s 2021 NFL mock draft 2.0

Eagles land a versatile tight end Kyle Pitts in Daniel Jeremiah’s 2021 NFL mock draft 2.0

The Eagles could have a need at tight end and wide receiver with Zach Ertz’s future uncertain and one SEC star could fill both voids.

Daniel Jeremiah just unveiled his second mock draft of the offseason and he had the Eagles going with an interesting selection at No. 6 overall.

Rather than snagging DeVonta Smith, Patrick Surtain, or Micah Parsons’, the Eagles go for Florida Gators All American tight end Kyle Pitts with the pick.

Philadelphia Eagles
Kyle Pitts · TE
School: Florida | Year: Junior

I don’t envision Zach Ertz being on the Eagles’ roster for the 2021 season. However, Philadelphia still ensures its QB1 — whomever that ends up being — has an outstanding duo at tight end in Pitts and Dallas Goedert.

The Philadelphia native is a rare prospect built in the mode of the Raiders Darren Waller.

Pitts can create his own separation, has terrific ball skills, and can win matchups against defensive backs.

An Associated Press First Team All-American, Pitts is the first Florida Gator to be named a first-team All-American since Vernon Hargreaves earned the honor in 2015.

A finalist for both the Mackey and Biletnikoff Awards, Pitts finished the 2020 season with 43 catches for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns, despite playing in only eight games.

Pitt’s 12 touchdown catches are the second-most by a tight end in SEC history.

[vertical-gallery id=646830]

[lawrence-related id=646931,646924,646884,646887]

2021 NFL draft film room: Florida TE Kyle Pitts

See for yourself what Florida tight end Kyle Pitts brings to the table as a 2021 NFL draft prospect

As we look ahead to the 2021 NFL draft, it’s time to get acquainted with some of the top prospects in this year’s class.

What does Florida tight end Kyle Pitts bring to the table? Check out the film and see for yourself:

[vertical-gallery id=625649]

Giants select TE Kyle Pitts in PFN’s latest mock draft

The New York Giants select Florida TE Kyle Pitts in the latest Pro Football Network mock draft.

[jwplayer 6fiYLHtu-ThvAeFxT]

For a short while, most 2021 NFL mock drafts seemed to trend toward the New York Giants selecting Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle at No. 11 overall. However, in recent days and weeks, that consensus has gone kaput.

In place of Waddle, another consensus pick appears to be developing. After a series of mock drafts that seemed to come across like scattershot, most now appear to be settling on Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

Such was the case in the latest Pro Football Network mock draft, where the Giants landed their new playmaker in Round 1.

11. New York Giants: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

The Giants have a few directions they could go here, but they need a pass catcher badly. Evan Engram is seemingly not working out, and Golden Tate is likely on his way out the door.

Kyle Pitts is the best of both worlds for the Giants. Not only can he be the primary passing weapon in this offense, but Pitts can work in-line. He has proven to be an underrated blocker in 2020, and Pitts can be a Darren Waller-esque target for Daniel Jones.

The selection of Pitts comes with the top three wide receivers — Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Ja’Marr Chase — already off the board. Cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Patrick Surtain II were also already off the board, so the choice of Pitts seemed like an obvious one.

We’ve discussed Pitts at length here on Giants Wire and believe he may be exactly what the doctor ordered offensively. He’s a big, fast and talented receiver who can play multiple positions and create mismatches all over the field. He’s everything the Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones need.

[lawrence-related id=664560,664557,664545]

Look at these notable former Florida Gators ahead of pro day 2021

Here’s a look at six former Florida Gators expected to participate in this year’s college pro day ahead of the 2021 NFL draft. 

Football season is well in the rearview mirror as spring quickly approaches, which means that all eyes are on the next big date on the calendar: the 2021 NFL draft starting on Thursday, April 29. But before then, there is one particular event for collegiate gridiron giants looking to make the jump into the professional ranks that the entire sport is focused on.

Ahead of the draft, players will hold a pro day with their respective schools to show off their tools and talents to NFL evaluators and scouts. Mind you, this year’s activities will look quite a bit different due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, especially considering the cancelation of the 2021 NFL scouting combine which had previously been held uninterrupted since 1987.

The limitations placed on the players and organizations by COVID-19 makes these pro days that much more important. The University of Florida will be holding its pro day on Wednesday, March 31, including six notable names from last season’s South Eastern Conference East Division champion team.

Below are six former Florida Gators expected to participate in this year’s college pro day ahead of the 2021 NFL draft. Each entry includes the player’s stats, basic demographics and a link to their 2020 Gators Wire player profile card.

Every Florida Gators football player eligible for the 2021 NFL draft

Many of us are already looking forward to the next big date on the NFL calendar, which happens to also cross paths with the college ranks.

The National Football League’s 2020-21 season is now in the rearview mirror with the completion of Super Bowl LV and while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to bask in the glory of their pro football title, the sport continues to move along.

Many of us are already looking forward to the next big date on the NFL calendar, which happens to also cross paths with the college football ranks: the 2021 NFL draft. The upcoming selection process distributes collegiate talent among the 32 professional teams in the league and will feature several former Florida Gators looking to play in the highest level of their beloved sport.

Among those expected to be taken are Mackey Award-winning tight end Kyle Pitts and the celeritous receiver Kadarius Toney, as well as Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Kyle Trask — two of whom could be drafted in the first round, and possibly all three.

Below are the ten UF alumni who have entered the 2021 NFL draft pool for 2021, complete with profiles and some of our own Gators Wire player profile cards.

These two former Gators projected by ESPN to go in top 20 of NFL draft

Here is a look at ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s updated opinion on the dynamic pair of former Gators expected to be selected.

Mocking the 2021 National Football League’s upcoming 2021 draft is all the hype right now and one of the major media outlets offering their opinions is ESPN, who published their latest first-round predictions on Wednesday.

From the perspective of a Florida Gators fan, nothing has changed since our last update a little over a week ago, when ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr. gave his previous prognostications on where a certain pair of UF alumni might land. Both Mackey Award-winning tight end Kyle Pitts as well as multi-tool receiver Kadarius Toney are expected to break an 11-year streak when it comes to offensive skilled players drafted out of Florida in the first round this coming April.

Here is a look at Kiper’s updated opinion on the dynamic pair of former Florida Gators.

2021 NFL draft: Kyle Pitts’ game against Kentucky illustrates that he is the matchup nightmare modern NFL offenses covet

Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts was dominant this season. This film breakdown of his game against Kentucky shows his various skills.

Modern NFL offenses are all about creating advantageous matchups, and then exploiting them.

Given that, Florida’s Kyle Pitts is the matchup nightmare modern NFL offenses covet. Especially in the passing game.

Pitts was dominant this past season, catching 43 passes for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns, in just eight games. He averaged 17.9 yards per catch, and his 770 receiving yards ranked him sixth in the SEC, behind five different wide receivers. But beyond the numbers is what he displays on film, with the route-running, movement skills and ability at the catch point to operate against all variety of defenders, in a number of different ways.

His game against Kentucky put all of that on display:

https://youtu.be/ddlvzyK-S2o

There is a reason some analysts are toying with the idea – if not outright doing so – of ranking him as a wide receiver. That might be his best usage in the NFL, rather than tight end, but the fact that we are having that discussion speaks to what his ultimate position might be:

Matchup nightmare.

Today’s NFL is about creating mismatches as an offense, and exploiting them. Kyle Pitts flashes that every game, as he did in his outing against Kentucky.

This former Gator lands in the top 10 of PFF’s mock NFL draft

The former standout UF tight end is projected to go eighth to the Falcons in the latest Pro Football Focus mock draft.

Florida tight end Kyle Pitts had an outstanding final collegiate season in which he was fairly indisputably the top tight end in the nation. He won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end and was nominated for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the best overall pass-catcher. He also finished 10th in Heisman voting.

The tight end spot is becoming increasingly important in the NFL. An elite player at the position is as valuable as a top receiver now, as evidenced by the impacts made from players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle and even the aging Rob Gronkowski.

Pitts has a very similar skillset to all of them, and there’s a reason some, including the latest mock draft from Pro Football Focus, think that he could go in the first 10 selections of April’s NFL Draft.

PFF has him going eighth to Atlanta, where he would join an already talented receiving corps that has pieces like Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones. The addition of Pitts would give veteran passer Matt Ryan a lot to work with.

If Pitts were to go in the top 10, it would be the second year in a row Florida’s had a player go in the first 10 selections after CJ Henderson was taken ninth by Jacksonville last year.

[lawrence-related id=35210,35195,35153,35074,34923]

[listicle id=35207]

[listicle id=34852]

This former Gator lands in the top 10 of PFF’s mock NFL draft

The former standout UF tight end is projected to go eighth to the Falcons in the latest Pro Football Focus mock draft.

Florida tight end Kyle Pitts had an outstanding final collegiate season in which he was fairly indisputably the top tight end in the nation. He won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end and was nominated for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the best overall pass-catcher. He also finished 10th in Heisman voting.

The tight end spot is becoming increasingly important in the NFL. An elite player at the position is as valuable as a top receiver now, as evidenced by the impacts made from players like Travis Kelce, George Kittle and even the aging Rob Gronkowski.

Pitts has a very similar skillset to all of them, and there’s a reason some, including the latest mock draft from Pro Football Focus, think that he could go in the first 10 selections of April’s NFL Draft.

PFF has him going eighth to Atlanta, where he would join an already talented receiving corps that has pieces like Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones. The addition of Pitts would give veteran passer Matt Ryan a lot to work with.

If Pitts were to go in the top 10, it would be the second year in a row Florida’s had a player go in the first 10 selections after CJ Henderson was taken ninth by Jacksonville last year.

[lawrence-related id=35210,35195,35153,35074,34923]

[listicle id=35207]

[listicle id=34852]

Three Gators mocked to go in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. Here’s who gets picked

The king is crowned and the games are over – it’s time to look ahead to the next big event on the pro football calendar: the 2021 NFL draft.

The National Football League’s 2020-21 season came to a thrilling end last Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led by quarterback Tom Brady beat the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Now that the king has been crowned and the games are over, it is time to look ahead to the next big event on the pro football calendar: the 2021 NFL draft.

For the first time since 2010, Florida could have a skilled offensive player drafted in the first round — Gators legend Tim Tebow was the last to be taken among the first 32 picks. Mackey Award-winning tight end Kyle Pitts has been the highest-rated in the class among the sports media, with multi-talented wide receiver Kadarius Toney also appearing in the first round on most mock draft boards.

Then there is Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award-winning quarterback Kyle Trask, who has appeared in the top round of the draft in a sparse amount of projections but has fallen precipitously after his underwhelming final three games under center. Nonetheless, the FBS passing touchdowns leader still figures to be selected within the first three rounds according to draft analyst Chad Reuter at NFL.com.

Below is where Reuter expects the three players to be selected as well as the team making the pick, with a brief explanation of the two first-rounders.