With the sixth pick in the 2021 the Philadelphia Eagles draft Kyle Pitts tight end from Florida. Kyle Pitts is a 6'6 245 lb tight end that at one point in his career was regarded as a wide receiver with the tight end label due to his lack of blocking, which actually resulted in him not being considered for the John Mackey award. He runs a reported 4.70 40 yard dash at this weight, and in theory if asked to drop 10 pounds and work on agility and speed, he would literally be the same body type as hall of fame inductee Calvin Johnson who was 6'5 235 lbs during his playing days. Granted Johnson was a once in a lifetime athlete who ran an insane 4.35 40 yard dash. However looking at a 4.70 40 yard dash in comparison to current or retired receivers such as Larry Fitzgerald 4.63, Anquan Boldin 4.72, Chris Carter 4.62, or the mind blowing Jerry Rice 4.71 it shows that if you are a reliable enough receiver and have the ability to pick up yards after the catch your straight line speed isn't as important as your strength, agility, and route running. This was a long convoluted way of saying there is reason to believe the Eagles could actually look to use Pitts closer to the role of a receiver than that of a tight end. When you look at the Eagles roster they lack a larger target at wide receiver, they have a very likely trade candidate in Zach Ertz at tight end, and likely cap causalities in Alshon Jeffery, and DeSean Jackson. This leaves the perfect void for a receiving tight end to come in serve as the number 2 tight end behind Goedert, while also serving as a defacto wide receiver as well.
Why would anyone assume that the Eagles value tight ends this much in their scheme? That's actually quite clear if you look at the offense the Chargers, Eagles, and Colts ran under Frank Reich, and Nick Sirianni. They often used two tight end sets featuring names like Antonio Gates, Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Eric Ebron, Trey Burton, or Jack Doyle. They are very clearly huge fans of the things a versatile tight end can do and the mismatches they create. So it stands to reason they would jump at a player many have said is the best tight end prospect they've ever evaluated. However if you look more closely these guys also developed and learned on receivers like Alshon Jeffery 6'3 220 lbs, 4.5 40 yard dash, Mike Williams 6'4 220 lbs 4.56 40 yard dash, or the most successful of them all Keenan Allen 6'3 216 lbs 4.72 40 yard dash. These guys have been productive despite their lack of top end speed and this could be indicative of the role they see for Pitts. Adding a generational talent whose efficiency as a receiver was quite literally some of the highest ratings handed to a pass catcher in the last decade is something no team should think twice about doing. His efficiency rating of 95.9 stood atop names like George Kittle, Harrison Bryant, David Morgan and Hunter Henry as the highest ratings handed out to a tight end since 2014, however they also are the highest handed to a wide receiver since 2014. He stands higher than even Devonta Smith the Heisman winner. This all adds up to an extremely safe pick at #6. The role he could play in this offense due to his versatility and athleticism would be monumental as he learned the offense.
Anytime you can draft a guy described by analysts as the most dominant player in the college game today, the best prospect at his position in the past decade, and someone who can take over a game you should go for it especially when that player fits a need. This is the type of offensive player the Eagles need to add to their roster regardless of position. But tight end might be the most influential position on this particular roster and in this scheme. Keep in mind we have very prominent coaches when it comes to receivers and tight ends on this staff now.
Jason Michael is your tight ends coach who was also a former offensive coordinator in Tennessee where under his guidance Delanie Walker posted career highs in receptions in back to back seasons, totalling almost 2,000 yards, and 10 tds. He caught 93 passes in 2015, never again nearing that number in his career. If you look at his statistics prior to Michael joining the Titans versus after you could say Michael helped make Walker a much better receiver than he had ever been in the past. He also worked with Antonio Gates in San Diego from 2011-2013, and coached Ricky Seals-Jones to career highs in receptions, and yards. In 2019, and 2020 he worked under Sirianni helping guide Jack Doyle to a probowl in 2019, and a trio of tight ends to 81 receptions, 895 yards and 8 tds collectively in 2020. Pretty solid coach to learn the ins and outs of being a move tight end in the NFL.
Shane Steichen helped guide Hunter Henry to career highs in yards and receptions in back to back seasons in 2019-2020 as the offensive coordinator there. We all know he is in Philly due to his work with Justin Herbert, but his work with our tight end position might be more important in 2021. He also helped aid in Donald Parham's transition to the NFL from the XFL.
Aaron Moorehead is the wide receivers coach, a former NFL player who once suited up for the Colts. He played from 2003-2007 all of those seasons spent with Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Tom Moore, and Clyde Christensen. He also watched first hand as Chris Foerester, and Ricky Thomad coached up Dallas Clark into a probowl tight end. If that resume wasn't enough, he coached NFL Players in Corey Fuller at Virgina Tech, Christian Kirk, Josh Reynolds, Damion Ratley at Texas A&M. Moorehead himself is 6'3 and made it in the NFL based on his knowledge, and route running. He would be the ideal coach to help Pitts learn to be used more as a wide receiver than an inline tight end.
Last but not least Nick Sirianni is a former wide receiver coach who had his list of success stories which led him to be a coordinator and later a head coach.
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