Philadelphia Eagles: Kyle Pitts just screams “Howie Roseman guy”

With the 2020 NFL Draft Combine officially off the books due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans of the NFL – and the Philadelphia Eagles specifically – are getting a tad antsy.

While we usually get to gracefully wait until late February to officially find out the measurables of the next crop of soon-to-be NFLers, seeing which players rise and fall due to an unexpected 40 yard dash time, this year, we won’t have that luxury.

No, without that barometer to measure players against each other, fans, pundits, and experts alike have gone full-on draft crazy two months out from the big three-day soiree, in a year where there will be more incomplete scouting reports than at any point in my adult life.

What a year to have a top-10 pick, no?

But how will the Eagles use their pick? Will they draft a quarterback and place Jalen Hurts into another full-on quarterback controversy? Or how about playing things safe and selecting a franchise left tackle like Penei Sewell, who could conceivably be a perennial Pro Bowler if he pans out as expected?

Assuming things go as many expect, the Eagles will likely use their first-round pick on either a wide receiver, an offensive lineman, or a quarterback, which, ironically, are the same positions they’ve selected with four of their last five first-round picks.

Or, the Eagles could pull a 2018 and use their top selection on a tight end, albeit on a supremely talented one many are calling more of a do-it-all joker than a traditional inline blocker.

I know, crazy, right? Using a top-10 pick on a tight end? What, are all of the guards unavailable? But when both Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah predict the Birds selecting such a player in their most recent NFL mock drafts, one has to fully appreciate the possibility.

And really, could Kyle Pitts be any more of a Howie Roseman guy?

There are a lot of reasons why the Philadelphia Eagles would like Kyle Pitts.

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In 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl off of a strong running game, a stout defensive front seven, and receiving corps headlined by top-3 tight end Zach Ertz.

Though some had, have, and will continue to critique the former Stanford Cardinal’s game for his inability to consistently pick up yards after contact and average-at-best blocking abilities, it’s unquestionable that Ertz was the vital cog that kept Doug Pederson’s offense rolling moving from Week 1 through the Super Bowl.

With Ertz on the way out and Dallas Goedert looking like a certified NFL starter but not the next Gronk, Travis Kelce, or George Kittle, the idea of adding an elite, generationally talented tight end could be the kind of “smarter than thou” move that Howie Roseman loves to make for better or worse.

In theory, the idea isn’t the worst around.

As any fantasy football player will attest, the difference between the first and 10th best tight end in the NFL is drastically different than the difference between the best and 10th best wide receiver. If a team can land a 1,000-yard contributor at the tight end position, a three-down player who can attack all three levels of the field, block in-line, and maybe even pull some double-duty as an occasional h-back lined up in the backfield, that’s incredibly valuable.

When five of the top-10 yard getters from the wide receiver position in 2020 were selected outside of the first round, it’s understandable that a general manager may believe that their scouting department is strong enough to find the next Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, D.K. Metcalf, Tyreek Hill, or Allen Robinson rather than hoping to find the next Darren Waller, who took four years, two teams, and a position change to finally break out.

And when you get into the personal reasons why Pitts specifically would fit into the Eagles’ offense, it’s again not hard to see why the two parties would be increasingly linked together.

Pitts is a Philly kid, born in our fair city and educated right down the road at Archbishop Wood. He committed to Florida after a successful showing at the Under Armour All-America Game and then went on to shine in a do-it-all hybrid role the Gators haven’t seen since Urban Meyer was their head coach and Tim Tebow wasn’t a retired minor league baseball player.

Did Pitts ever record 1,000 receiving yards in a single season? No. Unfortunately, COVID limited the 20-year-old Unanimous All-American to eight games in 2020 and robbed the Gators of their first 1,000-yard receiver since Taylor Jacobs all the way back in 2002, but that’s unfortunately neither here nor there. While Pitts’ stat line won’t make anyone forget about Jamar Chase, not anytime soon anyway, his actual on-field abilities are nearly peerless in this or any draft class since, well, maybe ever.

You don’t often see players like Kyle Pitts drafted in the top-10 because you don’t often see players like Kyle Pitts, period.

Measuring in at 6-foot-6, 246 pounds, Pitts is a big, strong player who moves like a man six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter. He’s decisive and nimble, yet bruising and powerful. Pitts has a wicked swim move typically reserved for the most elite of defensive end prospects, the side-to-side agility of a running back, the ability to bowling ball through a trio of would-be tacklers, and a knack for hauling in 50-50 jump balls that helped him rack up 1.5 touchdowns a game in 2020.

As pretty much anyone who has watched Pitts play will attest, if he was labeled a wide receiver instead of a tight end, he’d unquestionably still be a top-10 pick. Pitts can play the X, he can lineup in the slot, heck, I imagine he could even line up split-back with a running back like Miles Sanders to confuse the pants off of opposing defensive coordinators if Sirianni is so inclined.

Sure, the Eagles could go the obvious route and grab a wide receiver who put up like 1,800 yards during his breakout season at LSU, but that’s not going to line Roseman up for any Executive of the Year considerations. No, after receiving a ton of criticism, earned or not, for his handling of the Carson Wentz trade, it’s starting to feel like Roseman may overcompensate by trying to make big, splashy moves that hold an inherent level of risk.

No one wins Executive of the Year for drafting a left tackle.

Is Pitts a top-10 player based on his on-field performances? Most definitely. He does things you seldom see from the tight end position and is clearly a better receiving prospect than players like T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant, O.J. Howard, and David Njoku, who were also drafted in the first round. But, just for argument’s sake, what if he would have turned up in Indianapolis and ran, like, a 4.84 40 yard dash? What if he looked sluggish in wide receiver drills – assuming he participates in them – and that single performance dropped his stock significantly?

Laviska Shenault, AJ Epenesa, and Xavier McKinney were all considered first-round prospects heading into the combine last year, and they all fell into the second due to underwhelming performances. Is it possible a player like Pitts could run a wicked slow 40, and a player like DeVonta Smith shocked the world with a sub 4.3 40, and suddenly the two players swap on draft boards across the league?

I know the combine isn’t the end-all, be-all of NFL scouting, but when you’re selecting a tight end in the top-10, you want to have as much information as possible. Even if Pitts is able to run a blistering 40 at Florida’s Pro Day, it’s hard to look at that number without a slight asterisk since his number isn’t timed on the same field as everyone else.

Remember, Jalen Mills ran a 4.47 40 at LSU’s pro day after a 4.61 at the combine. Between you and me, I think the latter shows up more often on the field.

With that being said, I’ve come to terms with the idea of Kyle Pitts at six, and I look forward to cheering on the Philly native if he actually ends up in a midnight green uniform.

The NFL, especially in 2021, isn’t about winning one way. Some teams, like Tennessee, win with a supersized, 2,000-yard power rusher, while others, like Arizona, spread the ball out with three, four, even five wide receiver looks. Stefon Diggs was targeted on one out of every three Bills’ passing plays, and the 49ers? Well, they build an offense around players who pick up yards after the catch at every position across the board.

Oh yeah, and they use a fullback better than any other team in the last decade.

If the Eagles think they can utilize a player like Pitts as a foundational piece in Sirianni’s offense, why not take him?

In theory, the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense could look noticeably different in 2021. Doug Pederson is gone, as are basically all of his assistants and the team’s franchise quarterback. Howie Roseman could have selected a head coach who runs a spread offense, a power run offense, or even a Navy-esque wishbone if he was so inclined. He did not. Roseman instead opted to pluck a younger limb from the Pederson tree and believed that Nick Sirianni was strong enough to grow his own legacy on his own. So, assuming the Eagles continue to rely on 12 personnel, zone-blocking concepts, and a hybrid spread/West Coast offense, the idea of securing a 20-year-old do-it-all tight end who can make plays from every position isn’t the worst idea. It’s certainly better than selecting a 26-year-old guard who dreams of being a firefighter.