According to a friend of SportsTalkATL, Matt Karoly, Adam Schefter reported on SportsCenter that Arthur Smith has become more and more enamored with Kyle Pitts.
Schefter just reported on SportsCenter that Arthur Smith has become more and more enamored with Florida TE Kyle Pitts
— Matt Karoly (@mattkaroly) April 28, 2021
The former Florida Gator might be the best player in this draft, and I would feel confident in saying he has the best chance of being enshrined in Canton when it’s all said and done — this from my profile on Pitts.
Pitts is positionless. He can align on the boundary, in the slot, or with his hand in the dirt. He’s as good of a route-runner as any receiver in this draft with great burst out of his break, giving him elite change-of-direction skills for a person of his size. Pitts is as good after-the-catch as he is before, a rare and tremendous red-zone threat. Excellent at beating one-on-one press, but also great at finding the soft spot in zones. The former Gator, much like Julio Jones, makes normal 50-50 balls, closer to 60-40 in favor of Pitts.
The idea of Arthur Smith getting his hands on a tight end like Pitts is making me salivate at the mouth. Smith is a guru at the position as he coached the tight ends in Tennessee for many years, resulting in the revival of Delanie Walker’s career and Jonnu Smith’s ascension to the Pro Bowl. Nobody ran more two-tight end sets last year than Smith, and he deployed the third-most three-tight end sets — hence the addition of Lee Smith. Drafting Pitts would give Smith the ability to stay in 11 personnel, forcing the defense to defend the run with smaller defensive backs or defend tight ends with bigger linebackers.
Smith’s offense is adamant in forcing opposing defenses into unfavorable positions, and Pitts could make it impossible to defend. He can line up outside on the boundary, in the slot, and with his hand in the dirt in-line — a true “F” tight end. He can also win at every point in his route… at the line of scrimmage, during the route, at the stem, and at the catch point. His blocking ability is being undermined given his prowess as a receiver, and I’ve found he’s adequate in pass-protection and surprising as a run-blocker. He can block in-line with his hand in the dirt, in the slot, and in motion. Arthur Smith’s offense would frustrate defensive coordinators to no end trying to defend a unicorn such as Pitts.
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