Advertisement
Published May 8, 2021
GT Roundtable: Which Gators draftee is stepping into the best situation?
GatorsTerritory
Staff

Brought to you by JFQ Lending, GatorsTerritory dishes out another roundtable discussion from our team of writers.

In this latest edition, Corey Bender, Nick de la Torre and Conner Clarke share their choice for the recent University of Florida draftee who is stepping into the best situation as an NFL rookie.

Advertisement

Bender

You can attack this question is a variety of ways.

With Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the roster, there is no doubt Kyle Pitts will be provided with plenty of one-on-one opportunities in Atlanta. Then you have Kyle Trask, who will not be forced into action and can pick the brain of arguably the top signal caller in NFL history. You can make a case for a flurry of the Gators who heard their name called last weekend, but I'm rolling with Marco Wilson. Here is why.

There is no need to dissect the situation even more, but following the loss to LSU, I can't remember another UF player who was in a more difficult spot than Wilson. A countless amount of fans wanted him removed from the roster, and even before that, those same people were questioning why he was playing a significant role to begin with. Regardless if you check social media or not, that is an extremely difficult situation to be in, and while some would have folded during those dark times, Wilson did the opposite. He used it as fuel and not only manufactured an eye-opening pro day performance, but the Arizona Cardinals actually traded up to select him. If I would have said that three months ago, the majority of the fan base would have laughed.

While additional Gators were drafted higher, and understandably so, I'm going with Wilson due to the odds that were stacked against him. It couldn't have played out any better for him, while the Cardinals are just as pleased with how everything unfolded as well. Kudos to Wilson.

“I would say, based on need, going into the weekend and how things fell, Marco Wilson,” Kingsbury said when asked which player was the biggest steal in their draft. “His athleticism, his workout, what we think of him as a staff and as a personnel department, he’s a big-time talent to get where we got him.”

de la Torre

I’ll go with Kyle Trask. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set at quarterback with Tom Brady, so Trask won’t be pressed into action right away. Instead, Trask gets the opportunity to sit behind the best quarterback the NFL has ever had and learn. It’s truly a unique and immeasurably valuable opportunity for a rookie quarterback.

Brady is 43 but coming off of his seventh Super Bowl victory. How much longer will Brady be able to play? Trask, meanwhile, has plenty of experience waiting his turn. A backup in high school and then for four years in Gainesville, this is the best possible landing spot for him. Just go to work every day with a notepad and pick Brady’s mind as much as you can.

Clarke

I would have to say Kyle Pitts is walking into the best situation. He is good as they come when you talk about having an offensive weapon who can completely change the complexion of a game. Running a 4.4 forty at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Pitts has long arms and the ability to high-point the ball with his over 30-inch vertical, which makes him one of the biggest mismatches in football. When you pair his freakish gifts with the fact he is walking into a loaded receiver room that had at least three pass catchers record 750-plus yards in each of the last three seasons, it's not difficult to understand why Pitts is my choice.

Atlanta could be looking to deal Julio Jones because of his age, cap hit, and the addition of Pitts, but I think Kyle benefits regardless of what happens. The Falcons' passing offense has ranked in the top five for each of the last three years, and Pitts should only help that. Regardless of what the Falcons decide to do, Pitts won’t be asked to be the No. 1 option in year one because Calvin Ridley and Julio ones (if he remains in Atlanta) are two of the more dynamic receivers, and because of that, Kyle should get plenty of one-on-one opportunities, a situation we saw all last season.

They say a tight end is a quarterback’s best friend, and I expect Matt Ryan to make that statement ring true during Pitts' rookie season.