Week 16 showdown provides the best example for dolphins lining up Kyle Pitts

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DeVonta Smith. Yes’Marr Chase. Penei Sewell. Kyle Pitts.

If the Miami Dolphins are unable to facilitate a trade from the # 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the team’s options are best limited to these candidates. Miami, a team in need of an offensive boost, would do well to add them all – the argument could be made that one of the group would be called up.

But the prospect that seems to be having the most momentum right now is Florida TE Kyle Pitts; an erratic athlete running somewhere around 4.50 sec in the 40 meter dash (he would tell you it was a 4.46 sec run) at 246 pounds.

Either way, Pitts is a phenomenal athlete. But some will question the merits of a “tight end” when making a top three overall selection versus drafting an offensive tackle or wide receiver. But if you’re looking for the best argument the Dolphins can make to actually include Pitts in the event that they stay in line with the No. 3 overall pick, then look no further than Miami’s second-recent soccer game. in week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Miami won the match courtesy of a little bit of Fitzmagic – but saw their hopes almost slip through, largely thanks to one of the prospects Pitts is most compared to: Raiders, tight end Darren Waller.

The man who was ordered to keep an eye on Waller that night? Defensive Back Eric Rowe – Overall, one of the most robust cover guards against opposing tight ends in all of football. Rowe, on the year, netted an opponent-passer rating of 76.9 against him in cover according to Pro Football Focus and allowed only one touchdown in cover. In 14 of Miami’s 16 games in 2020, Rowe allowed less than 40 yards of coverage while mainly covering the opposing tight ends.

But in week 16 against Darren Waller? Rowe was attacked 9 times and got 7 completes for 120 yards – Waller was unstoppable. And that’s a great reminder of what a player of his (and Pitts’) caliber is offensively capable of. The only other tight ending in the NFL to tag Rowe for big numbers in 2020 was Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Pro Football Focus, the games against the Raiders and Chiefs got 231 (115.5 ypg) of Rowe’s 508 total yards on the season.

Against top-level teams with tight ends? Rowe allowed 115.5 yards per game. Over the other 14 games of the season, he allowed an average of 19.8 yards. So let that feat serve Dolphins fans with a reminder of what a player in the model of a Darren Waller or Kyle Pitts might be capable of. And then you have to ask yourself: why wouldn’t you want that?

If Miami holds up at No. 3 overall, this is likely the team’s only crack in drafting Pitts. But recent history against players cut from the same cloth would indicate that it is not a decision at all.

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