TeamPitts

[*ochocincos*]

(04-29-2021, 02:07 PM)shanebo Wrote: I love Kyle Pitts too, and I think he'll probably be a great NFL player.  But he's a TE, and it's a fact that a TE simply cannot exceed the production of a comparable WR.  For example, Travis Kelce is probably the best TE in the NFL today, but he's never led the league in receiving yards (2nd in 2020, his best year, and 4th in 2019 - 500 yds behind Michael Thomas) or TDs.  In fact, no TE has ever led the league in receiving yards or TDs, to my knowledge.  Now that's nothing to sniff at -- I'd love to have Kelce on my team -- but the best WR from the year Kelce was drafted (2013) is DeAndre Hopkins, and I'd rather have Hopkins on my team than Kelce (he has 2,000 more yards and 12 more TDs).  Same with Gronk.  He was drafted the same year as Antonio Brown, who outperformed him in every category.  And as good as George Kittle is, JuJu, Godwin, and arguably Golliday all have been better.  

So unless you really think Pitts will become a generational TE -- and by "generational" I mean better than Kelce, Gronk and Kittle, guys who have in the last decade revolutionized the TE position -- you're statistically better off picking the best WR in a draft class (or the guy who you believe will be the best WR in a draft class, lol ...) if you're looking for an offensive weapon.  So I'd go Sewell, Chase, Pitts, in that order.    

Admittedly, pre-draft only Hopkins was widely considered to be the best WR available in his respective year, but Kelce, Gronk, and Kittle were not considered to be the best TEs in their draft classes either -- recall we picked Gresham before Gronk and Eifert before Kelce, and Kittle wasn't taken until Rd. 5.

The thought that a TE will never lead the league in receiving yards is kind of getting closer to being an outdated thought.
Kelce broke the record for receiving yards in a season by TE last year, hitting 1416 yards, which was 2nd most receiving yards in the whole league.
The previous record holder was George Kittle, who had 1377 yards in 2018.


Travis Kelce's receiving yards rank each season:
2020 - 2nd
2019 - 4th
2018 - 10th
2017 - 13th
2016 - 12th

The only receivers who have been 13th or better every year for the past 5 years - Travis Kelce. That's it.

Kelce has averaged 1228 yards and 7.6 TDs per season since 2016. That's elite WR1 level.

There are probably only 3-5 WRs you could say you would take over Kelce:
- DeAndre Hopkins
- Davante Adams
- Michael Thomas
- Mike Evans?
- Tyreek Hill?

The reality is TE is becoming far more receiving-focused nowadays, with guys like Kelce, Kittle, Waller, Gronk, and Ertz getting rather consistently at or very near the Top 10 in receiving yards.

EDIT - And yes, I do think Pitts will be a generational talent, similar to Gronk, Kelce, Kittle, Waller.