Jaguars could use TE Kyle Pitts but trading for him wouldn’t be easy

Would you trade the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft for Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts if you were the Jacksonville Jaguars? That’s the question someone posed not long ago on social media and while the premise sounds silly at first, it’s one that is actually worth exploring. The short answer is no, the Jaguars shouldn’t outright exchange the top pick for the Pro Bowl tight end but they should consider doing it at the right price. However, a trade would be hard to pull off.

To begin with, there are no credible reports the Jaguars want to indeed trade for Pitts but if they did, any potential trade package should also include the No. 8 pick, which the Falcons currently own. Also, Atlanta should throw in a second-rounder, maybe the one next year.

Make no mistake, Pitts is pretty talented. In fact, former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer wanted to get him. In the end, the tight end went fourth overall last year and went on to amass 68 catches for 1,026 yards and one touchdown. If the Falcons were to trade him, they should definitely ask for retail compensation but the top pick in the draft might be too much. That’s why they should also offer the No. 8 selection to the Jaguars.

Even though the Jags just signed Evan Engram to a one-year deal worth $9 million with a max value of $10 million, they could surely use Pitts. The Jaguars have made a significant effort to get Trevor Lawrence better weapons this season and the former Florida Gator would be the cherry on the top.

The Jaguars would have a hard time getting Kyle Pitts from the Falcons.

Atlanta just traded Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, so they could undergo a rebuild in the upcoming years but they aren’t holding a firesale by any means. They just signed Marcus Mariota, who will have a shot at showing he can be a starting quarterback in the league. With Russell Gage signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Calvin Ridley suspended for a year, Pitts would be Mariota’s top weapon, that’s why it might not make sense to trade him.

Also, it’s unlikely that Atlanta wants to give up the No. 8 pick and even if they did, who are they going to draft? Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal or Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson? Both are fine prospects, and the two of them will both likely go in the top 5 but trading Pitts and a couple of high draft picks for the right to take either one seems excessive.

When you take everything into account, the trade wouldn’t benefit the Jags or Atlanta. There’s no way Jacksonville would swap the top pick for Pitts, and the Falcons won’t give him up and a couple of premium draft selections to move up a few drafts spots. The premise sounds appealing on the surface but it isn’t happening, at least now how it was presented.