Kyle Pitts is perhaps the most anticipated tight end prospect in modern NFL history. The Florida star, who was selected No. 4 overall by the Atlanta Falcons, is the highest-drafted tight end of the common draft era, and the first player at the position selected in the top five since 1972.
But he's still not getting his original choice of jersey number. On Good Morning Football, Pitts said that he originally wanted to keep his college number, but something got in the way.
"I wanted to stick with 84 but Cordarrelle Patterson has it and he's a vet," he said, noting that he did not want to have to buy the number from his new teammate. "I was talking to coach Smith and he said to just go with 8, so I thought about it. I kind of pictured my pads in it because sometimes people can't wear certain numbers. So, once I seen myself in it -- we put a little edit together -- I thought this could be something. I want to start a new legacy as 8."
Despite the avalanche of praise showered on his skill set during the run-up to the draft, Pitts isn't really buying into it.
"Now that I'm drafted, I feel like all of that is gonna fall by the wayside a little bit," Pitts said, referring to the hype surrounding his prospect status. "I'm just ready to get in and work and make a name for myself."
Pitts plays his first NFL game against his hometown team, the Philadelphia Eagles. He noted that he wants to "make a splash early," and he'll certainly have the opportunity to do that in what figures to be a high-scoring game between two teams with a lot of firepower on offense.
