Would Falcons Star Kyle Pitts Go No. 1 Overall In 2022 NFL Draft?

The Falcons' top pick from last year would likely have been out of reach for them this year.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 22, 2022

With the 2022 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, there's a lot of uncertainty as to who will be taken with the top picks.

Kyle Pitts

This time a year ago, the Atlanta Falcons were zeroing in on Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, and there wasn't a whole lot of debate.

The other option for the Falcons would have been to take a quarterback, particularly Justin Fields, and that would have made NFL history as the first draft to have quarterbacks drafted 1-4.

However, Pitts was the pick, highlighting an extremely talented top 5 with enormously high ceilings.

Pitts entered the draft early with two years of college eligibility remaining, his senior year and a COVID opt-out year. There would have been a chance that Pitts could have stayed in the Sunshine State with the No. 1 overall pick had he stayed in school for one more season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars would have been on the clock, and their history of drafting in-state talent (Dante Fowler Jr., Jalen Ramsey, C.J. Henderson) would have suggested that Pitts would have been a potential option at the No. 1 pick to give quarterback Trevor Lawrence a true top target.

Dante Fowler Falcons at Bills — Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Dante Fowler Jr.

Trevor Lawrence

Kyle Pitts

Pitts also has a ceiling that's higher than most of the people that are at the top of this year's draft. For the 2022 class, the talent is seen in the later rounds, with very few players tabbed as a "generational" talent like Pitts was a year ago.

The Jags could still go in a number of different directions as they kick off the draft for a second year in a row, but if Pitts were available, their decision could have been a little bit easier.

Published Apr 22, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.