With the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts continued to make history on Thursday night as he became the highest drafted tight end of all time. After a stellar junior season with the Florida Gators, he locked himself in as a first-round draft pick.
Florida has produced a Top-10 selection in each of the last two years, with C.J. Henderson going No. 9 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
After being selected in the Top-5, Pitts joins an elite group with just three other former Gators to do so (Dante Fowler, Gerrard Warren and Wes Chandler).
“I’ve been waiting for that call my whole life,” Pitts said on stage after his selection. “When I saw my phone ring, my heart dropped.”
In his Florida career, Pitts made 100 catches for 1,492 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Mackey Award winner and unanimous All-American broke program records for receiving yards by a tight end, single-season touchdowns by a tight end and single-game receiving touchdowns (Ole Miss) among other accolades.
With the addition of Pitts, the Atlanta Falcons are getting an immediate difference-maker. A generational type player, he redefined the position at the college level and could do the same thing in the pros.