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It appears as though an NFL team could draft Florida tight end Kyle Pitts in the top-10 this year. At 6’6, 240 lbs, and still only 20-years-old, some will view Pitts as the next in line behind players like Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, and George Kittle.
Also known as: the last three starting tight ends to make the Super Bowl.
One team that won’t be employing Pitts is the Los Angeles Rams, who won’t be picking in the first round and who may already have their top-two tight ends for 2021 secured. Tyler Higbee led the position group in playing time with 73% of the snaps and while rookie Brycen Hopkins only got two snaps all season, he could now find himself elevated to the number two role after having been a fourth round pick in 2020.
The reason for that being that Gerald Everett — the 44th overall pick in 2017 and a project once though capable of turning into an elite receiving tight end — is a free agent.
Everett played in 57% of the snaps in 2020 and he caught 41 passes for 417 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown. But Everett also had seven drops on only 62 targets according to Pro-Football-Reference, one of the worst marks imaginable, and even having posted career-highs in catches and yards that may not be enough to save him in LA.
Do the Rams feel confident to move forward with Higbee and Hopkins, or is this a position worthy of further emphasis on upgrading this offseason?