Dallas Cowboys: Grading potential first-round selections
By Connor Green
Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida)
Prospect Grade: A+
Chances of falling to ten: Low
Level of need: Low
If the Dallas Cowboys are dead set on the strategy of drafting the best player available, regardless of need, then nabbing tight end Kyle Pitts at ten would be an absolute home run of a pick. However, it is unlikely that Pitts will be available for the team when it comes to the board and he does not address a position of need for Dallas.
The 20-year old has a legitimate claim to being the most talented player in this draft class, hence why it is highly unlikely he will fall to Dallas at ten. Last season he put together a jaw-dropping season for the Florida Gators in which he managed to haul in 12 receiving touchdowns (second-most in the NCAA) and 770 yards while only playing eight games.
The highly-touted prospect was awarded the prestigious John Mackey Award (most outstanding tight end) for his efforts last year.
The six-foot-five, 245-pound pass-catcher followed up his astonishing 2020 season with an objectively impressive Pro Day. The former Gator posted an absurd 4.44 (unofficial) 40-yard dash and had his wingspan measured at over 83 inches. The latter number is longer than any tight end or receiver who has been measured at the NFL Combine over the past 20 years.
His rare combination of size, speed, and pass-catching ability virtually guarantees his selection before Dallas’s pick comes around. However, it should also be noted that the Cowboys do not necessarily have a large need for another pass-catcher or tight end.
The organization has two competent players at the position in Blake Jarwin, who will be returning from a season-ending ACL tear last year, and Dalton Schultz who had 63 catches and 613 receiving yards for Dallas last year in Jarwin’s absence.
It is unlikely the Dallas Cowboys will have a chance to call Pitts’s name on draft night and it is clear the team has bigger needs. However, it would be hard to pass up on Pitts, who might arguably be the most talented player in this draft if he inexplicably falls to them at ten.