TE Kyle Pitts destroys the Pro Day; Cowboys should consider it at 10

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The Cowboys limped through a brutal 2020 season to miss out on post-season support with an embarrassing 6-10 record. The consolation prize? The tenth overall pick in the next draft, the perfect opportunity to remedy one of the glaring holes on the historically poor defense that put them there to start.

Pick any position on that side of the ball, and Dallas could certainly use an elite college perspective. So for the team to even consider using their high first-round selection on an attacking player, it would have to be something. really special.

Hello, Kyle Pitts.

At least, that’s what almost every draftnik on the planet is telling you right now: that 20-year-old from Florida is angry and say it with me – “generational talent.”

Pitts showed off his physique and skills at Gators’ Pro Day on Wednesday and appeared to live up to the hype.

That stature alone should raise a few eyebrows, especially in Dallas, where the Cowboys led the NFL in losing assists last season.

But Pitts can also fly full blast, as evidenced by his time of 40 yards.

Skeptics will point out that, because the sprint has arrived at school’s Pro Day, this time of 4.44 is unofficial and therefore should be judged with caution. (Playing field, familiar playing surface, controlled conditions, friendly timers, etc.) But the numbers show that, for some reason, the timers in Gainesville are actually a bit on the slow side.

Talent assessor Warren Sharp compares Florida’s close-end 40 times to those of Calvin Johnson and Mike Evans.

Renowned Draft Analyst Goalkeeper Mel Jr. calls Pitts, simply, “my highest tight end ever.”

But does that mean it’s worth a top ten pick?

There are those who argue that taking a tight end – any tight end – only at the start of the first round is madness, outright. But NFL history is littered with tight ends in the first round, and while some have turned out to be busts, many are among the greatest players of all time.

Mike Ditka, Ozzie Newsome, Kellen Winslow, Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey, Dallas Clark, Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen: all the first.

Since 1961, 62 tight ends have been chosen in the first round. It’s better than one per year, on average. In 1970, 1973, 1978, 2002 and 2017, three tight ends came off the board in the first round. Heck, in 2019 there were two from the same school.

The Cowboys went tight three times in the first round. In 1973, they took Billy Joe Dupree from Michigan State at age 20. In 1984, they chose Stephen F. Austin’s Todd Fowler at 25. And in 1997, they used the 22nd pick on LSU’s David LaFleur.

But there’s a noticeable difference, some would argue, between taking a close end in the mid-20s and using a top ten pick.

This has happened 16 times since 1961, so it’s not unheard of. Most recently, the Lions used the No.8 pick on Iowa’s TJ Hockenson two years ago. Ditka, Riley Odoms, Ken McAfee, Kyle Brady, Ricky Dudley, Kellen Winslow Jr. and the aforementioned Davis were also among the top ten picks.

So a tight end coming off the board in the top ten is far from unusual. In fact, Pitts’ collegial work and the meteoric rise of his stock project over the past few weeks suggests he might not even be there when the Cowboys meet at 10 a.m.

But if he is, do the Cowboys bite? It would come back to the age-old debate of the editorial staff as needed versus selecting the best available player.

Trying to beef up the defense with a Patrick Surtain II or Jaycee Horn seems like the easy and logical game, at least looking only at 2021. The Cowboys offense is already loaded, right?

Maybe not as much after 2021, when Michael Gallup’s contract is up. Gallup’s skills are undeniable and he has built an impressive reel of acrobatic and contested catches during his four seasons as a Cowboy. But as his ranking among the broads in the league improves, common sense accounting indicates that it will be very difficult for the club to afford to keep Gallup after his rookie contract expires.

The interest in Pitts doesn’t strike Blake Jarwin or Dalton Schultz; the Cowboys’ tight ends have played wonderfully and will no doubt continue to do so. But everything indicates that the Florida junior is truly special, that he has the skills and the tools to top them on the depth map right now.

He would improve on the tight final position on day one, and he would become even more valuable if Gallup left after this season. And how long have Gallup and Pitts both been on the same ground as Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb? With Dak Prescott throwing ?? This is just video game ridicule.

ESPN’s Todd McShay said of Pitts: “You can play it online, you can put it in the slot, you can use it as a wide catcher. And then, after the capture, this guy, he’s special.

Special enough to withstand a badly needed defensive stud? Special enough to take at 10? Special enough for someone else to jump and grab it sooner?

All of this remains to be seen and will continue to be a major storyline as the draft approaches.

To view Cowboys Wire’s screening profile on Pitts, click here.



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