NFL rookie report: Updating the progress of Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney
Florida’s stellar 2020 offense broke practically every single-season passing record in school history, so it shouldn’t be a major surprise that quarterback Kyle Trask‘s two favorite targets found themselves as first-round NFL draft picks. Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney went fourth and 20th overall, respectively, and both are expected to revitalize the passing games for their teams.
Neither has played so far in the preseason, so all we have to go off for both are camp observations. Still, we have at least some idea how each is coming along so far at the professional level.
Here’s what ESPN’s team of NFL writers had to say about them.
TE Kyle Pitts - Atlanta Falcons
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Pitts has yet to play a preseason game -- a rarity for rookies -- but part of the reason is that first-year head coach Arthur Smith has said Pitts is "right on schedule" with the progress the team is seeking from him. In practices, Pitts has been consistently good minus the occasional dropped pass. Atlanta will use Pitts all over formations to try to find exploitable matchups. Tight ends often struggle as rookies, but he has the makeup of being an impact player from Week 1.
We don't really need to see Pitts in the preseason to know he's going to be a stud. Enough highlights from Falcons camp have surfaced to see just how much of a mismatch Pitts remains to be, even at the professional level. He may not be quite as dominant right away as he was at Florida, but he should be a major part of Atlanta's offense this season. [vertical-gallery id=48039]
WR Kadarius Toney - New York Giants
Syndication: The Record
The problem with Toney is that nobody has seen him do much in live drills (for a variety of reasons) since the day he was drafted. Toney was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list prior to training camp, and he has spent the past couple of weeks working with the rehabbing players with what appears to be a minor injury. It has undoubtedly slowed his acclimation. Coach Joe Judge said that Toney is "progressing," but until he gets on the field regularly, it's impossible to predict what (or if) he will contribute early this season.
Toney has certainly struggled to stay on the practice field this offseason, and it's made the rookie a bit of an enigma at Giants camp. A speedster with a tremendous arsenal of moves who improved as a route-runner significantly at Florida in 2020, Toney could be the cure for what has plagued quarterback Daniel Jones during his first two years in the league. But we'll need to see a lot more from Toney before we can comfortably say that will be the case. [vertical-gallery id=43193]
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