Yeah...no.
Well thought out argument. However, as a Gator, I have watched ever snap of Pitts' time with the Gators. He is out of the box better than MG in every way. He's more shifty, he's equally sure handed, he seems stronger, he seems quicker and he DEFINITELY can out block MG which is really his achilles heal. I really like MG and have been a big fan but Pitts is an All-Pro by year two. Now with that said, I wouldn't trade MG as he's an established weapon and there's plenty of room with some creative play calling to get them on the field together which is going to send many DCs to AA. Moving from 18 to say 10 to get KP is doable just by flipping them the 50th pick which is our 2b (#10 is 1300 points in value and our 18th plus 50th equal the same amount though there may need to be some pot sweetening). With 2a we then snag Willaims from UNC. We've now walked away with Smith/Chase, Pitts and Williams supercharging our weaponry.Sorry to reply to my own post, but it felt a little late to modify it.
I missed the part about including Gesicki in the trade in the OP, and would add the caveat to my quoted post that if we trade up from 18 to get Pitts, that 's a smart move. But, Gesicki is already a better asset than Pitts, and our hope is that Pitts becomes what Gesicki has already become--a true mismatch that makes teams gameplan for him. Teams single-cover Parker. They gameplan against Gesicki. Him running seam routes makes it almost impossible to build a good scheme against, which is why we keep seeing him catching intermediate and long passes straight up the gut of the defense, and everyone keeps asking, 'how does a defense not know this is coming, and how have they not stopped this yet?' The answer is that he is a mismatch, a 6'6 guy with a 41" vertical, long arms and strong hands who excels at contested catches ... oh yeah, and he runs a freakin' 4.5 so LB's can't keep up with him and he dwarfs and outmuscles CB's. Only a S has a prayer of covering him ... and they're not going to do it successfully alone, so the scheme needs to keep one eye on him at all times.
Anyone drafting Pitts is hoping he becomes the exact same thing. Gesicki will command money, sure, but it's because he _already is_ that matchup monster that Pitts may or may not become, and it probably will not be as far progressed until he's had a few NFL years under his belt. At that time, who knows what the team needs will be, or how much his contract renegotiation will cost. Better to take the bird in the hand with a phenomenally high ceiling (Gesicki), than a guy who is almost as good in Pitts. Pitts is unlikely to be longer than Mike Gesicki (6'6 + long arms + 41" vetrical). Pitts is about the same speed, and about the same height, so we're probably talking about a similar ceiling for both players. But if you want better production and defense-threat in 2021, 2022, it's clear Gesicki is the guy you want.
My previous post was about the prospect Pitts being worthy of trading up. I realize now that I didn't make that clear. Sorry. My perspective was pairing Pitts with Gesicki, giving us two interchangable monsters who were both mismatch nightmares, and creating havoc for defenses. Essentially, both guys are big slot receivers ... but teams rarely have even 1 guy who can cover that. Making them plan to cover 2 of them ... that makes OC's salivate. At best, we have Parker as our #1, with Gesicki and Preston Williams playing those roles now. If we added Pitts, we would move Williams to be Parker's backup. We would also need someone with supreme speed to work in and keep the defenses focusing deep and opening up the underneath for Tua's bread and butter short throws, which are the staple of the NFL these days.
While I'm not as high on Pitts as some, I haven't watched him nearly as much as you.Well thought out argument. However, as a Gator, I have watched ever snap of Pitts' time with the Gators. He is out of the box better than MG in every way. He's more shifty, he's equally sure handed, he seems stronger, he seems quicker and he DEFINITELY can out block MG which is really his achilles heal. I really like MG and have been a big fan but Pitts is an All-Pro by year two. Now with that said, I wouldn't trade MG as he's an established weapon and there's plenty of room with some creative play calling to get them on the field together which is going to send many DCs to AA. Moving from 18 to say 10 to get KP is doable just by flipping them the 50th pick which is our 2b (#10 is 1300 points in value and our 18th plus 50th equal the same amount though there may need to be some pot sweetening). With 2a we then snag Willaims from UNC. We've now walked away with Smith/Chase, Pitts and Williams supercharging our weaponry.
Why not pay MG to stay AND have Pitts on a rookie contract?While I'm not as high on Pitts as some, I haven't watched him nearly as much as you.
The other part of that scenario is MG is in the final year of his contract.
If they have decided against an extension, now is the time to replace him. It isn't necessarily a matter of having both.
I have no problem keeping MG (assuming a fair price), regardless of Pitts.Why not pay MG to stay AND have Pitts on a rookie contract?
How far up can you go with #18 and #82?
I would not give up #50.
Maybe. But there is a long list of guys who were dominant in college with superior physical traits who failed. For every Shannon Sharpe, there were 10 guys scouts thought would be superior to him. I really like Pitts' potential. I like his ceiling, his productivity, ability to show up in big games, and his game translates to the pros. But most athletes do not live up to their athletic potential. Even Mike Gesicki hasn't lived up to his potential yet, but he is advancing consistently and quickly towards a very high ceiling.Well thought out argument. However, as a Gator, I have watched ever snap of Pitts' time with the Gators. He is out of the box better than MG in every way. He's more shifty, he's equally sure handed, he seems stronger, he seems quicker and he DEFINITELY can out block MG which is really his achilles heal. I really like MG and have been a big fan but Pitts is an All-Pro by year two. Now with that said, I wouldn't trade MG as he's an established weapon and there's plenty of room with some creative play calling to get them on the field together which is going to send many DCs to AA. Moving from 18 to say 10 to get KP is doable just by flipping them the 50th pick which is our 2b (#10 is 1300 points in value and our 18th plus 50th equal the same amount though there may need to be some pot sweetening). With 2a we then snag Willaims from UNC. We've now walked away with Smith/Chase, Pitts and Williams supercharging our weaponry.
I'd love to trade down just a couple of spots and take him with our first pick. Charlie Campbell has a mock draft with the Eagles taking Pitts at six. This is a team almost every draft has looking for the replacement for Carson Wentz in a quarterback heavy draft. And here’s why he thinks that- “Team sources say they think Pitts is a top-10 talent due to his dynamic ability as a receiver, and some scouts feel he is the best receiving weapon in the 2021 NFL Draft. Some think he could play wide receiver and be a poor man's Calvin Johnson. Others think that Pitts should stay at tight end but could be a Travis Kelce- or Tony Gonzalez-caliber weapon. The consensus among team evaluators is that Pitts is a far better tight end prospect than T.J. Hockenson, Ebron, O.J. Howard or Evan Engram.”
No offense to Gesicki, nobody has ever compared him to Calvin Johnson, Tony Gonzales or Travis Kelce. Let alone all three.
stop trying to give this team's talent away and draft picks, if he's that valuable to give away picks then pick him #3 and get your receiver at 18, the dolphins aren't hurting for receivers IMHO they just need a different skill set type of receiver.Curious to see if Miami fans would be willing to trade the 18th overall pick and Gesicki to move up and draft Kyle Pitts? The Dolphins might need to toss in a future pick too, but it might be worth it.