Getty Did the Falcons take the right pass-catcher in the 2021 NFL draft?
Kyle Pitts proved worthy of a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL draft by setting all sorts of records for the Atlanta Falcons as a rookie. The Falcons should be happy with Pitts, but that doesn’t mean they can’t stop and think what if they’d drafted a wide receiver who is now set to be one of the stars of Super Bowl LVI?
Like Pitts, this wideout set rookie records and earned league-wide honors. He would have made the perfect replacement for Julio Jones, after the Falcons traded the franchise receiving leader to the Tennessee Titans last offseason.
It’s the scenario laid out by one NFL writer who has re-drafted the entire 2021 class ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Los Angeles Rams in this season’s Super Bowl on Sunday, February 13.
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OROY Would Have Seamlessly Replaced Jones
The Falcons looked beyond Pitts to take LSU pass-catcher turned Bengals’ star, Ja’Marr Chase, in a re-drafting by Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton. He cited a lack of premier wide receivers as the reason why the Falcons should have chosen Chase: “Following the departure of Jones, coupled with the uncertainty around Ridley, the Falcons need a go-to receiver, and they would have a chance to take the best one in this class at No. 4.”
Mentioning Calvin Ridley’s situation is a little bit of hindsight is 20-20. Ridley stepped away from the Falcons and football during the season to look after his mental wellbeing. Now, he’s a candidate to be traded, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Yet, before Ridley took time away from his career, he was a legitimate No. 1 receiver, whom the Falcons could be confident would offset the departure of Jones. The latter had been great, but Jones was showing signs of slowing down during his final few seasons with in Atlanta.
Taking Chase, who ironically was chosen one pick after Pitts in reality, had merit for the Falcons if they’d partnered the eventual Super Bowl LVI headline act with Ridley. Certainly, Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan could have had no complaints.
Ryan would enjoy launching vertical strikes to a receiver who PFF noted has already made stretching the field his forte:
Ja’Marr Chase: 8 receiving TDs on 20+ yard throws in his rookie season
Most in the NFL ⭐️
📸: @Bengals
Ryan throwing to a Chase and Ridley double act would have given the Falcons a passing game to fear.
Defenses have been scared stiff of Chase during a breakout debut season in the pros. He amassed 81 receptions for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns to earn the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, per NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread.
Among Chase’s many accomplishments, he broke the Bengals’ franchise record for receiving yards in a season. He also set a single-game rookie record with 266 yards in a Week 17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Goodbread.
Chase inspired the Bengals to an unlikely Super Bowl appearance, something no ORPOY has done in 45 years, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Ja’Marr Chase wins the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, becoming the first player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year in the same season his team made the Super Bowl since 1977 (Tony Dorsett on the Cowboys).
You could forgive the Falcons for thinking what if?
Falcons Need a Chase-Pitts Double Act
Okay, so the Falcons can’t go back and take Chase. Yet that doesn’t mean general manager Terry Fontenot shouldn’t look for the next Chase in the 2022 NFL draft.
Finding that player and pairing him with Pitts would give the Falcons the most dynamic receiving tandem in the league. Pitts has already cemented his status as an explosive weapon at this level.
He made a fast start to his pro career, shattering one NFL record as early as October, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports:
More records followed, including Pitts surpassing a franchise mark set by Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez for the Falcons in 2012:
Pitts is exceptional, but he’ll need more help from Atlanta’s wideouts next season. Help looks to be in short supply since Russell Gage and Cordarrelle Patterson are among the Falcons’ pending free agents.
The draft is likely to feature more attainable solutions for Fontenot. He could take Arkansas’ standout Treylon Burks eighth overall, an idea posited by Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema back in January. Or Fontenot could opt for Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, the way he does in this mock draft from Josh Edwards of CBS Sports.
Fontenot and the Falcons have options in their search for a new game-breaking wide receiver defenses will have to make special plans to stop. If they need motivation for using a top-10 pick to take one, just remember the Bengals did that and went all the way to the Super Bowl.