AsthmaField
Outta bounds
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A few things before I start:
Yes, I know it’s a long post. I apologize in advance.
Yes, I have been wrong about prospects plenty of times before like everyone else. This is how I feel about Pitts though and right or wrong, I feel more strongly about his potential than just about every other prospect in this or other drafts.
Yes, it is another Pitts thread. It is my first and likely last - unless he’s drafted here.
_______________
Prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, anyone who spent much time in the draft zone knows that I was pushing for Dallas to choose Aaron Donald with their first round pick. I started campaigning for him when he was still considered a “too small” DT and was projected to go in the second round. Then he blew up the senior bowl practices, blew up the combine, and then blew away team executives in interviews and - as I feared - blew up the Cowboys (16th pick) chances of getting him without a trade up.
Speaking for myself, rarely do I really dig into a prospect and it be crystal clear that he’s going to be a great player. With Donald, I felt with a certainty that he was going to be a difference making defender and thought that the Cowboys should do whatever is necessary to get him. So I proposed that they make a small trade up to insure that they got a guy that I felt was sure to be great with their pick. They didn’t, and while I love Zack Martin, it was an opportunity to get a hall of fame player for what would probably have been a third round pick value.
Looking back at third round guys recently (JJ Wilcox, Terrence Williams, Malik Collins) that certainly no longer seems too steep a price to pay for Aaron Donald.
Fast Forward to April 2018. In all the drafts since 2014, the only guy who I felt similarly about was Quentin Nelson the ND Guard. That was it. None in 2015, 2016, or 2017 made me think they were sure things.
I didn’t quite feel like Nelson was going to be quite as good as Donald, but I had great confidence that he was quickly going to be among the best in the league on the OL. Dallas had a good OL and needed help elsewhere, and picking 19th, they were just too far from where Nelson would be drafted (6 overall)... so I didn’t spend any time pushing for Dallas to move up for him. However, had Dallas been in the top 10, I would have felt like he would be worth trying to move up to get. Had that actually happened, they would have had Nelson at LG and not had to use their second round pick on Connor Williams.
Nelson would have changed the entire complexion of the OL in the last three years. He’s that good. And really, that shows my feelings about getting great talent when you can. Nelson is a difference maker on the OL. He is incredibly valuable to that Indy OL and is worth way more than an extra second or third to move up for had Dallas been in range. His addition in Indy changed that entire OL and really their entire offense. One super talented guy can do that.
Real difference makers are rare, exceedingly valuable, and change teams fortunes.
Now, in 2021, I feel similarly about Kyle Pitts. I feel like a I did about Nelson and Donald. I think the guy is going to be absolutely great in the NFL and like Donald/Nelson, I think he’s going to be a game changing, team altering presence in the NFL. These guys are rare and are beyond valuable to whichever franchise is able to get them.
So, needless to say, if he slides to 10, I feel like he should be the pick.
However, feeling like he’s going to be a game changing, hall of fame type player, do I feel like they should move up for him? In a word: Yes. If they view him in a similar way as I do - meaning potential HOF player - then they absolutely should look into it.
The odds are long because the Cowboys absolutely value their draft capital, and they hate parting with higher round picks. Plus, they have many needs on defense and it is difficult to sell using two premium picks on offense when the defense needs help badly.
I do have a suggested trade though.
When people talk about getting Pitts at 10, many of them say that he’s too talented to pass on but if they draft him, Michael Gallup should be traded. This makes sense because he would be fourth in a list of guys catching balls, despite being a really good player.
So, I propose that:
If Pitts slides to Detroit at 7 Dallas should call them and offer the 10th pick and Michael Gallup for their 7th overall.
Atlanta at 4 is too high so we’d have to hope they take a QB, and I think Cincy will go Sewell and Miami will take Chase.
This might work because Detroit needs WR’s in a bad way because they just lost Kenny Golliday and Marvin Jones and Gallup is a good, no nonsense WR that would probably fit nicely into what Dan Campbell is trying to build there, and they’re likely to be targeting WR with that 7th pick. Plus, they only move back 3 spots in the draft order. Having just spent a top 10 pick on TE TJ Hockenson, I doubt they’d go Pitts anyway.
It is a solid deal for Atlanta and one they might take. They get a good WR and they still have 10 overall to add a very good player.
For Dallas, they get a player that has a chance to be a real difference maker, they lose no more draft picks, and you basically trade the player that Pitts would be replacing anyway.
It is, IMO better than giving up any more picks in a draft where defensive help is so needed, and Dallas gets one of only 3 guys that I’ve felt this way about in the draft. I think that I’d do it and be thrilled with a draft that would still give the defense a lot of help and provide a guy that is as special as I think Pitts is.
If we don’t trade up for him, I’m pretty sure someone else will. He won’t slide to 10 IMO.
So there it is. I know a lot of guys will disagree but I feel strongly that this would be very good for Dallas.
Yes, I know it’s a long post. I apologize in advance.
Yes, I have been wrong about prospects plenty of times before like everyone else. This is how I feel about Pitts though and right or wrong, I feel more strongly about his potential than just about every other prospect in this or other drafts.
Yes, it is another Pitts thread. It is my first and likely last - unless he’s drafted here.
_______________
Prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, anyone who spent much time in the draft zone knows that I was pushing for Dallas to choose Aaron Donald with their first round pick. I started campaigning for him when he was still considered a “too small” DT and was projected to go in the second round. Then he blew up the senior bowl practices, blew up the combine, and then blew away team executives in interviews and - as I feared - blew up the Cowboys (16th pick) chances of getting him without a trade up.
Speaking for myself, rarely do I really dig into a prospect and it be crystal clear that he’s going to be a great player. With Donald, I felt with a certainty that he was going to be a difference making defender and thought that the Cowboys should do whatever is necessary to get him. So I proposed that they make a small trade up to insure that they got a guy that I felt was sure to be great with their pick. They didn’t, and while I love Zack Martin, it was an opportunity to get a hall of fame player for what would probably have been a third round pick value.
Looking back at third round guys recently (JJ Wilcox, Terrence Williams, Malik Collins) that certainly no longer seems too steep a price to pay for Aaron Donald.
Fast Forward to April 2018. In all the drafts since 2014, the only guy who I felt similarly about was Quentin Nelson the ND Guard. That was it. None in 2015, 2016, or 2017 made me think they were sure things.
I didn’t quite feel like Nelson was going to be quite as good as Donald, but I had great confidence that he was quickly going to be among the best in the league on the OL. Dallas had a good OL and needed help elsewhere, and picking 19th, they were just too far from where Nelson would be drafted (6 overall)... so I didn’t spend any time pushing for Dallas to move up for him. However, had Dallas been in the top 10, I would have felt like he would be worth trying to move up to get. Had that actually happened, they would have had Nelson at LG and not had to use their second round pick on Connor Williams.
Nelson would have changed the entire complexion of the OL in the last three years. He’s that good. And really, that shows my feelings about getting great talent when you can. Nelson is a difference maker on the OL. He is incredibly valuable to that Indy OL and is worth way more than an extra second or third to move up for had Dallas been in range. His addition in Indy changed that entire OL and really their entire offense. One super talented guy can do that.
Real difference makers are rare, exceedingly valuable, and change teams fortunes.
Now, in 2021, I feel similarly about Kyle Pitts. I feel like a I did about Nelson and Donald. I think the guy is going to be absolutely great in the NFL and like Donald/Nelson, I think he’s going to be a game changing, team altering presence in the NFL. These guys are rare and are beyond valuable to whichever franchise is able to get them.
So, needless to say, if he slides to 10, I feel like he should be the pick.
However, feeling like he’s going to be a game changing, hall of fame type player, do I feel like they should move up for him? In a word: Yes. If they view him in a similar way as I do - meaning potential HOF player - then they absolutely should look into it.
The odds are long because the Cowboys absolutely value their draft capital, and they hate parting with higher round picks. Plus, they have many needs on defense and it is difficult to sell using two premium picks on offense when the defense needs help badly.
I do have a suggested trade though.
When people talk about getting Pitts at 10, many of them say that he’s too talented to pass on but if they draft him, Michael Gallup should be traded. This makes sense because he would be fourth in a list of guys catching balls, despite being a really good player.
So, I propose that:
If Pitts slides to Detroit at 7 Dallas should call them and offer the 10th pick and Michael Gallup for their 7th overall.
Atlanta at 4 is too high so we’d have to hope they take a QB, and I think Cincy will go Sewell and Miami will take Chase.
This might work because Detroit needs WR’s in a bad way because they just lost Kenny Golliday and Marvin Jones and Gallup is a good, no nonsense WR that would probably fit nicely into what Dan Campbell is trying to build there, and they’re likely to be targeting WR with that 7th pick. Plus, they only move back 3 spots in the draft order. Having just spent a top 10 pick on TE TJ Hockenson, I doubt they’d go Pitts anyway.
It is a solid deal for Atlanta and one they might take. They get a good WR and they still have 10 overall to add a very good player.
For Dallas, they get a player that has a chance to be a real difference maker, they lose no more draft picks, and you basically trade the player that Pitts would be replacing anyway.
It is, IMO better than giving up any more picks in a draft where defensive help is so needed, and Dallas gets one of only 3 guys that I’ve felt this way about in the draft. I think that I’d do it and be thrilled with a draft that would still give the defense a lot of help and provide a guy that is as special as I think Pitts is.
If we don’t trade up for him, I’m pretty sure someone else will. He won’t slide to 10 IMO.
So there it is. I know a lot of guys will disagree but I feel strongly that this would be very good for Dallas.