Florida’s Kyle Pitts to enter 2021 NFL Draft

In the least shocking news possible from the Florida Gators’ 2020 season and 2021 offseason, celestially-talented tight end Kyle Pitts will forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the 2021 NFL Draft.

He announced the decision on Sunday morning via a tweet very clearly prepared in conjunction with the Florida program he leaves as a legendary figure, and one that also discloses his intentions to skip Florida’s bowl game.

Pitts was perhaps college football’s best tight end — even arguably its best pass-catcher and offensive weapon — in 2020. He began the year with six touchdown receptions in his first two games — including four in his season debut — and despite missing three games after a brutal illegal hit against Georgia, finishes his portion of the year tied for fourth nationally in touchdown catches with 12.

His 770 receiving yards — on a mere 43 catches — are Florida’s new single-season record for a tight end, as well, a substantial feat given the Gators’ considerable history of production at the position.

And as a lanky 6’6” player both built solidly at 245 pounds and capable of burning defenders in the open field, his chances of being selected early in the 2021 NFL Draft were strong to begin the season and have only improved since. Pitts showed he could be a workhorse as well as a spectacular playmaker in 2020, and his fantastic day against Alabama being capped by an acrobatic touchdown catch will leave evaluators with as fond a memory of his college career as Gators fans will have.

Projected as a top-15 pick by most and a top-10 pick by some, Pitts has an outside chance to be taken with the earliest selection ever used in the NFL Draft, and is widely seen as a lock to menace the league for years to come.

I wish him the absolute best in this endeavor, and I hope to hell that he doesn’t score many of his touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.