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Former NFL HC: 'I Don't Know How You Cover' Florida Gators TE Kyle Pitts

Former NFL and college head coach, defensive coordinator Jim Mora stops by to break down one of his favorite prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft, Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts.

You can watch AllGators' full interview with former NFL and college head coach and defensive coordinator Jim L. Mora about Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts above.

We've heard a lot of talk about former Florida Gators and current NFL Draft tight end prospect Kyle Pitts from local and national media, his college coaches, fans, and analysts alike over the past year and a half since his original breakout during the 2019 season.

As Pitts prepares to make a jump to the pros, however, how do NFL-caliber evaluators view Pitts and his skill-set? In speaking with one - former NFL and college head coach and defensive coordinator Jim L. Mora - he's just about as amazed by Pitts' talent as everyone else.

"[Pitts is] a matchup nightmare," Mora, who spent over 30 years coaching, told AllGators on Tuesday. "I was a defensive coordinator in the NFL for a long, long time, and when you were getting ready to gameplan and you saw a guy like this on tape, you said 'Oh my goodness, how are we gonna handle this guy? What type of athlete do we have on our defense that we can match up to a guy like Kyle Pitts?'"

Following in the footsteps of Pitts' college head coach at UF, Dan Mullen - who considers Pitts as a "unicorn" - Mora continued likening Pitts to an animal by comparing the 6-foot-6, 246-pound tight end to a "chameleon," given the numerous football characteristics that he brings to the table.

"At 6-6, 250, let's just call him 250, and a guy that can run like that, has great hands, you say 'Okay, well if I put a linebacker on him,' he's probably going to out-athlete him, you know, Kyle's going to out-athlete that linebacker," said Mora. 

"If you put a safety on him, then he's gonna out-size him, and he might even out-run most safeties," Mora continued. "You certainly can't put a corner on him, we see what happens in Dan Mullen's offense when they out him out at the widest receiver on a single side and he runs a fade or a slant, nobody can cover him." 

Mora went on to suggest that if he were in such a position to make the selection, he would take Pitts with a top-five pick in the NFL Draft. Mora has observed the growth in value of the tight end position for some time, dating back to Kellen Winslow Sr.'s emergence in the 1980s with the San Diego Chargers and his time with quarterback Steve Young and tight end Brent Jones with the San Francisco 49ers in the late 1990s. 

Pulling from his own observations and experiences, there's no reason to believe Pitts - whom Mora considers the "most unique" player in the class - won't offer a similar target to his next quarterback, much less a whole lot more.

"Steve always talked about late in a down, when things broke down, how fast his eyes tried to find Brent Jones, the big target over the middle that was dependable - catch the ball, get the first down," Mora recalled. 

"In Kyle Pitts, you've got that magnified ten times ... I don't know how you cover the guy, I don't know."