The cautionary reality of rookie Tight Ends
- Thread starter MrChadRico
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This is a very valid point. Pitts could have a tremendous rookie season but it wouldn't only be an anomaly but it'd be unprecedented. To deny that is willful ignorance.
If drafted I'd hope he has a solid contribution his rookie year and also opens up the field for other players. That wouldn't show up on the stat sheet but would justify his draft position.
If drafted I'd hope he has a solid contribution his rookie year and also opens up the field for other players. That wouldn't show up on the stat sheet but would justify his draft position.
dolphinheel
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The world is filled with critics, but critics don’t have to risk anything, perform under pressure or actually achieve. They’re just critics.
dolphinheel
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1-Rookies are rookies regardless of position and they all need time to adjust to the speed of the game. 2-you either trust our FO and college scouting dept or you don’t. I think there will be some major crow eating by MD fans on Igbo, Jackson, Hunt, Kindley and Tua. I mean MAJOR.
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Great Post @MrChadRico !
It's a well known fact that TE's have one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, transitions from college to the NFL. That's because in college the position is incredibly dumbed down into either an extra OT (the guys you never see hyped in drafts) or oversized Slot WR's (the types you always see over-hyped in drafts). What is asked of an NFL TE in terms of routes and audibles alone is a staggering change for these kids. This early career lack of production is not only normal, it's almost guaranteed. Sure, sometimes a coach can simplify the playbook and only give the rookie 20% of the playbook to learn, and the QB can grit his teeth while the rookie bumbles and stumbles his way through that making all kinds of mistakes and just throw him the ball if he gets open, and you get a rookie year like Jimmy Graham. But those are extremely rare, and fans seldom realize how much the team has sacrificed to make that happen.
Reality is that it takes a year or two for TE's because the position is so much more complex and dynamic than in college. Even the great ones take time nowadays.
The Darren Waller comparison is a great one. Although Pitts is more advanced coming out of college than Waller, that's the type of player Pitts can become when he arrives as a TE. Chances are it'll be in year 2 or 3 though, with muted success as a rookie.
By contrast, the WR position has become extremely complex at the high school and collegiate levels, so they arrive in college far more advanced these days. College coaches can immediately start them with complex route trees and advance from there. So, WR's transition has shortened from 3 years to instant-impact in today's NFL. Even one who needs development only takes 1 year now. But, their blocking assignments are much less and limited to downfield shielding mostly. WR's are never asked to pass protect.
We've lived through that progression with Mike Gesicki, and we're starting to reap the benefits of it. Not saying Gesicki is better than Pitts will become--just saying that Gesicki is already farther advanced along his personal learning curve and closer to that high production phase where our investment pays off. Gesicki was a 2nd round pick, whereas whomever gets Kyle Pitts is likely investing a top 10 pick in the entire draft. Far more is expected of that pick ... eventually. And when he does adjust and reach is production phase ... he'll command a salary at or near the top of the league for his position. When Jimmy Graham was ready to re-sign he had become a super-star and wanted to be paid like a WR instead of a TE ... and it led to him being let go by the Saints and his career cratering with the Seahawks. He was never again spoken about in the same breath as the league's TE's ... merely because his best years were spent in an offense that no longer featured him. So where Kyle Pitts goes will matter.
Anyone doubting Pitts' talent is going to be proven wrong. Anyone expecting that talent to instantly be the star he was in college is going to be disappointed for a while. He'll get there ... but TE's aren't a plug-and-play position, so it'll take a while and it will matter where he lands. We have no Sean Payton in Miami, so if it's here, don't expect instant-stardom, because TE's take a while to adjust.
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Very true. Also, in my opinion, why it’s so hard to project TEs to the NFL. Kelce was a third rounder. Waller was a sixth rounder. Playing TE in the NFL is so different from college that I think it’s very difficult to guess whether a great receiving TE will be able to survive the physicality of the position at the NFL level, and/or whether a great blocking tight end will be able to get open.
I think Pitts is pretty unique in his measurables and receiving ability, so my hopes are high that he breaks the general rules when it comes to the TE position.
But personally I’d rather go Smith. I really don’t have any doubt about Smith’s ability to excel at the NFL level—route running is the skill that always translates, and Smith isn’t so slow that corners will be able to recover against him. The biggest question to me is whether he needs to put on 10 pounds of muscle or not. Which will be easily and quickly determined during his rookie season.
I think Pitts is pretty unique in his measurables and receiving ability, so my hopes are high that he breaks the general rules when it comes to the TE position.
But personally I’d rather go Smith. I really don’t have any doubt about Smith’s ability to excel at the NFL level—route running is the skill that always translates, and Smith isn’t so slow that corners will be able to recover against him. The biggest question to me is whether he needs to put on 10 pounds of muscle or not. Which will be easily and quickly determined during his rookie season.
ThePeopleShow13
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My biggest concern with Pitts is Tua being hesitant to make aggressive throws. I expect Tua to improve in that area. I also think the NFL learning curve for TEs plus Tua adjusting to the NFL could lead to Pitts have a lackluster start to his career (in Miami). I think Smith, Waddle or Chase would end up Tua’s #1 target as rookies as they fit his style of play more.
dolphinheel
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IMO Pitts or Chase will fall to us and believe Grier thinks the same or he wouldn’t have made those trades. I’m good with any elite offensive weapon that makes Tua better.
No one has called him a bust but most of us who have questioned Igbo, have questioned if he should have been a first round draft pick. My personal view of players taken in round one are players who should be able to come in and contribute immediately.
Igbo was forced to play early in the year because of an injury to Jones and he obviously wasn’t ready to play in the NFL. Once Jones returned to the lineup, Igbo couldn’t even beat out Needham for the slot CB position and Needham was an UDFA in 2019.
Perhaps Igbo will develop into a decent player in the NFL but the Dolphins need players who they draft in the early rounds to contribute far more than Igbo did in his rookie season. He can’t be considered a bust at this stage of his career but his rookie season can certainly be considered a major disappointment considering he was a first round draft pick.
I think Grier would be just as happy with Smith, Waddle, or Sewell and that is why he moved down to 6. If he moved down to 6 expecting Pitts and Chase to still be available at 6, then he made a bad trade. Yet I don’t think he cares if Pitts and Chase are still on the board or not.
Obviously both of them would be the possible selection if they are still there at six but I think Grier and Flores probably have 5 or 6 players they would be happy with at six and Pitts and Chase are in that group of players.
dolphinheel
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Oh
Oh yes they have.
Obviously I haven’t read every post on this forum so I have missed the posts calling Igbo a bust. While I don’t think you can call any player a bust after just one year in the league. I think calling him a disappointment after his rookie season is more appropriate.
I certainly haven’t given up on him but he does need to vastly improve next season or those you claim have already called him a bust might be on to something.
3rdandinches
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The more weapons we have on offense the more likely numbers would be down for all of them. This is how I look at it at least. I want impact for the offense not worried about individual accolades!
If a rookie TE makes an impact inside the red zone in my opinion that is the most important trait in year one. Even at that if a rookie TE has 5 TD catches he's doing good.
300 to 500 yards, 1st down conversions and red zone production is the metric. Most athletic TE struggle blocking in the running game until the 3rd or 4th year. It's just the level of line play vs college and generally they are blocking the strong side unless it's a 2 TE set.
300 to 500 yards, 1st down conversions and red zone production is the metric. Most athletic TE struggle blocking in the running game until the 3rd or 4th year. It's just the level of line play vs college and generally they are blocking the strong side unless it's a 2 TE set.