Week 16 power play provides the best example for Dolphins set up by Kyle Pitts

Week 16 power play provides the best example for Dolphins set up by Kyle Pitts

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

If the Miami Dolphins can not facilitate a dissertation of the overall number 3 in the NFL Draft 2021, the team’s options will be best limited to these candidates. Miami, a team that needs an offensive boost, will do well to add everyone – the argument could be made to set up any of the group.

But the prospect who currently wants the most momentum is Florida TE Kyle Pitts; a freak athlete who ran somewhere around 4.50s in the 40-yard race (he would tell you it was a 4.46s run) at 246 pounds.

Pitts is a phenomenal athlete regardless. But some will doubt the benefits of a ‘tight end’ ‘being a top-three overall choice, as opposed to setting up an attacking tackle or a wide receiver. But if you’re looking for the best argument for the Dolphins to indeed field Pitts if they stay in step with overall number 3, look no further than the second biggest Miami recent football game in Week 16 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Miami won the game with a bit of Fitzmagic – but almost saw their hopes slip through the cracks, largely thanks to one of the prospects Pitts mostly compares to: Raiders’ tight end Darren Waller.

The man who had to cover Waller that night? Defensive rugby Eric Rowe – generally one of the most solid cover-ups against opponents in all of football. Rowe scored an opponent of 76.9 against him in the coverage according to Pro Football Focus that year and allowed only once in the coverage. In 14 of Miami’s 16 games in 2020, Rowe allowed less than 40 yards of coverage, while covering mostly opposing crabs.

But in Week 16 against Darren Waller? Rowe was targeted 9 times and conceded 7 deliveries for 120 yards – Waller was unstoppable. And it’s a good reminder of what a player of his (and Pitts’) caliber is offensively capable of. The only other tight end prop in the NFL that Rowe could mark for big numbers in 2020 was Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. The games against the Raiders and Chiefs recorded 231 (115.5 ypg) of Rowe’s 508 total yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

Against teams that had the best finals? Rowe allowed 115.5 yards per game. Over the other 14 games on the season, he received an average of 19.8 yards. So let the performance serve Dolphins fans with a reminder of what a player in the model of a Darren Waller or Kyle Pitts is capable of. And then one has to ask oneself: why would you not want it?

If Miami ranks at No. 3 overall, it’s probably the only chance for the team to field Pitts. But the recent history against players cut from the same canvas suggests that this is actually no decision.

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