Atlanta Falcons Select Florida Gators TE Kyle Pitts in NFL Draft
Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts has been selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Hearing his name called at No. 4, no tight end has ever been selected as high as Pitts was on Thursday night. Former Denver Broncos tight end Riley Odoms held the previous record, set at the No. 5 pick in 1972.
Spending three seasons at the University of Florida, Pitts would emerge as a playmaking threat as a sophomore before taking college football by storm during the 2020 season. Across the past two years, Pitts caught 97 passes for 1,419 yards and 17 touchdowns, establishing himself as a unanimous First-Team All-American and earning the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end this past year.
Pitts didn't drop a single pass in 2020 and converted 39 of his 43 receptions into either first downs or touchdowns.
Pitts finished tenth in voting for the 2020 Heisman Trophy, becoming the first tight end since Notre Dame's Ken MacAfee in 1977 to rank in the top ten for college football's most prestigious individual award.
This offseason, Pitts memorably blew up Florida's pro day with astounding results in the 40-yard dash (4.44 seconds), broad jump (129 inches), and other tests. He went on to sign an endorsement deal with Jordan Brand, becoming one of fewer than 30 professional football players to earn a sponsorship from the company.
Deemed a "unicorn" by Florida head coach Dan Mullen among other anthropomorphisms to demonstrate his rare abilities as a pass-catcher, Pitts is considered the greatest tight end draft prospect of all time by analysts such as ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.
Pitts is the first Florida Gators prospect to be selected in the top four picks since linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. was taken with the third pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Pitts is also the third Gators player to be selected in the top four in the 2000s.