Florida tight end Kyle Pitts will be a first-round pick in the .Pitts, who caught 43 pa ses for 770 yards and 12 TDs for the Gators as a junior in 2020,evokes comparisons to Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson because of hismeasurements.Is Kyle Pitts the next Calvin Johnson? Sporting News (@sportingnews) Pitts is 6-5, 245 pounds with an83-inch wingspan. Heruns a4.44 in the 40-yard dash. He has a 33.5-inch verticalandhit 22 reps on 225 pounds. He would have been one of the main attractions of the NFL Scouting Combine with those numbers.Johnson was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, but he was a receiver. Pitts is a tight end, and that makes him a more intriguingprospect in some ways because of the history at the position.MORE NFL DRAFT: | A total of 56 tight ends have
Bobby Hull Jersey been selected in the first round since the first common draft in 1967. Penn Statetight end Ted Kwalick was selected with the No. 7 pick by Penn State in 1969.Of those 56 tight ends, a total of 28 made at least one Pro Bowl appearance. A total of 14 tight ends have been selected with top-10 picks since 1967.Denver took Riley Odoms with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft the highest selection ever for a tight end.YEARPLAYERPICKTEAMCOLLEGE1972Riley Odoms5DenverHouston2006Vernon Davis6San FranciscoMaryland1973Charle Young6PhiladelphiaUSC2004Kellen Winlsow II6ClevelandMiami, Fla.1970Steve Zabel6PhiladelphiaOklahoma1969Ted Kwalick7San FranciscoPenn State1980Junior Miller7AtlantaNebraska1974J.V. Cain7St. LouisColorado1978Ken MacAfee7San FranciscoNotre Dame1973Paul Seymour7BuffaloMichigan2019T.J. Hockenson8DetroitIowa1996Rickey Dudley9OaklandOhio State1995Kyle Brady9N.Y. JetsPenn State2014Eric Ebron10DetroitNorth CarolinaOut of those tight ends, Vernon Davis had the best career. He finished with 583 receptions for 7,562 yards and 63 TDs.Davis enjoyed a 14-year career that was productive, and he might be the better comparison to Pitts. Davis was 6-3, 248 pounds and ran
Martin Havlat Jersey a4.39 at the NFL Combine. There is a bust factor at work. A total of 20 of those 56 tight ends or 35.7 percent finished with le s than 2,000 receiving yards for their career.A total of 16 or 28.5 percent finished with more than 5,000 receiving yards for their career. Here is a look at the most-productive first-round tight ends in NFL history:YEARPLAYERPICKRECYDSTDS1997Tony Gonzalez131,32515,1271112007Greg Olsen317428,683601978Ozzie Newsome236627,980472006Vernon Davis65837,562631979Kellen Winslow135416,741452005Heath Miller305926,569452002Jeremy Shockey145476,143372004Benjamin Watson325476,058442001Todd Heap314995,869421972Riley Odoms53965,755412003Dallas Clark245055,665531988Keith Jackson134415,283491975Ru s Francis163935,262402004Kellen Winslow II64695,236251973Charle Young64185,106271970Raymond Chester243645,01348Gonzalez, Newsome and Winslow are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Clark is a candidate to join them in Canton.That 5,000-yardthresholdwould be theminimumexpectation should a team draft Pitts with
Erik Gustafsson Jersey a first-round pick. Here is a look at tight ends drafted in the first round since 2010 and their production in the NFL to this point:YEARPLAYERPICKRECYDSTDS2010Jermaine Gresham213773,752292013Tyler Eifert212212,501262014Eric Ebron103393,753322017Evan Engram232162,420132017David Njoku291121,279112018Hayden Hurst25991,08392019Noah Fant201021,23562019T.J. Hockenson8991,0908Hockenson and Fant have enjoyed succe s in their first two seasons. Ebron has the most production, but several of these tight ends have battled injuries and inconsistency throughout their careers. Atlanta Falcons (No. 4)The Falcons would be the first team not to take a quarterback, and Pittswould fit in an offense that already features Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Atlanta does have Hayden Hurst, however, soJa'MarrChase is a candidate to be taken in this spot.Cincinnati Bengals (No. 5)The Bengals are a better bet to take Oregon tacklePeneiSewell, but there are value picks at offensive line in the second and third rounds, respectively. Pitts could open the middle of the field and be a dominant red-zone target for JoeBurrow.Cincinnati, however, already tried this with Jermaine Gresham (2013) and Tyler Eifert (2013).Miami Dolphins (No. 6)Miami has shuffled around the draft
Pierre Pilote Jersey board through trades, and this would be a question of who quarterback TuaTagovailoawants. Would Alabama receiversDeVontaSmith or Jaylen Waddle be better fits here knowing the Dolphins already have Mike Gesicki at tight end?Carolina Panthers (No. 8)The Panthers traded for Sam Darnold, so it's unlikely (but still po sible) they take a quarterback here. The Panthers had a pair
Nathan Noel Jersey of 1,000-yard receivers in D.J.Moore and Robby Anderson last season, and Pitts would be the perfect target to add to that.Dallas Cowboys(No. 10)The Cowboys have a loaded offense, and Dak Prescott is on the recovery trail. Add Pitts to the mix, and it becomes one of the best offenses in the NFL around Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper,CeeDeeLamb and a solid offensive line. Jerry Jones could make that splashhere, and it's a good fit.Phiadelphia Eagles(No. 12)We don't see Pitts falling any further than this, and if he does reach No. 10 then a team might trade up to get the star tight end. Zach Ertz has been a trade candidate through the offseason, and drafting Pitts would make that move easier.