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NFL Draft 2021: Round 1 Grades

Atlanta Falcons



Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

Strengths: Instant mismatch,scheme-flexible, reliable red-zone target

Weaknesses: In-line blocking

Today's NFL is a mismatch league. Every team is searching for offensive weapons capable of creating chunk plays on a consistent basis. Enter Florida's Kyle Pitts.

Pitts is the class' best offensive weapon.

At 6'6" and a listed 246 pounds, he's a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. The reigning John Mackey Award winner has a catch radius that would make a pterodactyl envious. He works all over the formation as a slot receiver, wing, H-back and even in-line. He doesn't drop passes, either. Linebackers aren't athletic enough to handle Pitts in space, and he's far too big for defensive backs to cover.

How good is Pitts? He's one of the best that Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban ever faced.

"Creates a lot of issues and problems for you, no doubt," Saban told reporters. "Probably as well as anybody we played against for a long time."

Even as a blocker, Pitts improved in his final season on campus. Granted, he'll never be in the same category as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Rob Gronkowski or San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle when it comes to well-rounded tight ends.

However, there's nothing wrong with being a Travis Kelce-like threat in the passing game.

Shivers went down the spine of every NFC South defensive coordinator (and the rest of the league too) while thinking about having to defend both Pitts and Julio Jones, if the veteran wide receiver is still with the team beyond this weekend.

Pitts is the tight end equivalent to Jones. He’s got a completely different physique compared to everyone else at the position. There’s not a linebacker or defensive back who can properly cover the 20-year-old target. He’s pure nightmare fuel for whoever faces him on a weekly basis.

With the tight end in tow, the Falcons are committed to quarterback Matt Ryan for the foreseeable future. Head coach Arthur Smith once revived Ryan Tannehill’s career. He can do the same for the former league MVP.

Throwing to Pitts and Jones will make any quarterback look good. Ryan is now the NFL’s happiest person.

Grade: A