Florida's Kyle Pitts is considered one of the best tight end draft prospects to enter the NFL in many years after winning the 2020 John Mackey Award and being named a unanimous All-American. William Hill Sportsbook gives Pitts an Over/Under draft position of 5.5 in the first round later this month from Cleveland, but if a team really wants him it may have to trade up to No. 4 with the Atlanta Falcons to get him (if the Falcons don't just take Pitts). And according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, that could be exactly what the Dallas Cowboys do.
This week on ESPN, Mortensen said this: "We're hearing this thing about Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys — and the GM — being infatuated with Kyle Pitts. He's going to have to trade up to get Kyle Pitts. He spent $40 million a year on Dak Prescott, so why not go get Kyle Pitts?"
Dallas has the No. 10 overall pick in Round 1, and there's no chance Pitts is available then.
Can you imagine an offense with Prescott at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott at running back, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup at receiver, and Pitts at tight end? Unstoppable if the offensive line stays healthy. Blake Jarwin is currently the top Dallas tight end but is coming off a torn ACL that ended his 2020 season after one game.
When Jones gets infatuated with a player, he usually does whatever it takes to get him – although he was talked out of drafting Johnny Manziel at No. 16 overall in the 2014 draft. Dallas instead took offensive lineman Zack Martin, and he has been one of the NFL's best since.
The 6-foot-6, 246-pound Pitts would be a matchup nightmare at tight end and probably could play some slot receiver, too. Last year in just eight games for the Gators, he had 43 catches for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns and became the first tight end to finish Top 10 in Heisman Voting (finished 10th) since 1977. NFL.com compares Pitts to Raiders star Darren Waller.
The Jaguars are taking Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall, the Jets are selecting Zach Wilson at No. 2 and the 49ers are taking a quarterback at No. 3 – it's just not clear which yet. Thus, the draft really starts at No. 4 with the Falcons for teams that might want the best-non QB. Pitts is the +140 favorite at William Hill to be the first non-QB taken.
Dallas hasn't drafted a tight end since Dalton Schultz in the fourth round in 2018, and he took over as the primary guy last year when Jarwin was injured. The team last took a tight end in the first round in 1997 in LSU's David LaFleur, and that didn't work out.
The Cowboys have an Over/Under win total of 9.5 for the 2021 season and SportsLine oddsmakers believe they will open it at defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.
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