[jwplayer O1smRfIc]
Kyle Pitts‘ electric start to the 2020 season doesn’t just put him in a league of his own among tight ends.
The junior is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded pass-catcher in college football through Week 7, edging out even the sport’s most elite wide receivers.
Pitts graded at a 95.0, higher than Wake Forest receiver Jaquarii Roberson and Alabama receiver Devonta Smith. No other tight end was even in his stratosphere, as BYU’s Mason Wake, the No. 2 player at the position, graded at 84.6.
Through three games, Pitts has 17 catches for 276 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s been the favorite target of quarterback Kyle Trask, and the duo has led a UF offense that is on pace to set records.
Highest REC grades:
1. Kyle Pitts – 95.0
2. Jaquarii Roberson – 92.6
3. DeVonta Smith – 92.2 pic.twitter.com/hXmiSEHRmy— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 22, 2020
He even finds himself receiving some attention as a dark-horse Heisman candidate despite the fact that no pass-catcher has won the award since Desmond Howard in 1991, and no tight end has ever technically won the trophy.
The last was Notre Dame‘s Leon Hart in 1949, though Hart played the “end” position as there were no tight ends at the time.
Pitts is facing an uphill battle if he’s going to be the first, but he’s got the production so far. Should he continue on this pace, it will be hard to ignore him come December.
[lawrence-related id=26412,26405,26399,26353,26315]