04-02-2021, 02:49 PM
Generational is obviously not a term that we should use for any of these kids. It just helps the NFL industry grease the wheels for another draft, which is why we hear it every year. Moreover, the vast majority of past generational players have been supplemented by other pieces- so you never know how much of that to ascribe to them in isolation.
There are very few exceptions of guys who did it on their own... maybe Barry Sanders, Megatron, a handful of linemen like Roaf and Boselli. Otherwise you got Gronk (Brady), Rice (Montana), Larry Allen (90s Dallas OL) and others who arguably excelled as much for the systems and talent around them as for their own play.
I think Pitts is most likely to bust. After all, nobody was really talking about him as "generational" during last season (i.e. when they were actually playing football). That only came when he started testing and people started looking at his measurements lol- which is a recipe for disaster, that, especially as a TE. Matchup nightmares do not constitute greatness. There's always a matchup nightmare. Nobody ever talked about Gronk or Shannon in those terms- they were just great.
I mean, even when they do produce mismatches (Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas, hell you can put Eifert on this list), the generational label never follows. Those stars tend to be seen as specialists. If you're a TE, you will never be seen as "generational" if you can't block, and Pitts has a long way to go in that area.
PITTS
There are very few exceptions of guys who did it on their own... maybe Barry Sanders, Megatron, a handful of linemen like Roaf and Boselli. Otherwise you got Gronk (Brady), Rice (Montana), Larry Allen (90s Dallas OL) and others who arguably excelled as much for the systems and talent around them as for their own play.
I think Pitts is most likely to bust. After all, nobody was really talking about him as "generational" during last season (i.e. when they were actually playing football). That only came when he started testing and people started looking at his measurements lol- which is a recipe for disaster, that, especially as a TE. Matchup nightmares do not constitute greatness. There's always a matchup nightmare. Nobody ever talked about Gronk or Shannon in those terms- they were just great.
I mean, even when they do produce mismatches (Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas, hell you can put Eifert on this list), the generational label never follows. Those stars tend to be seen as specialists. If you're a TE, you will never be seen as "generational" if you can't block, and Pitts has a long way to go in that area.
PITTS
