Looking back at past NFL drafts can hurt. If your team selects a bust, looking through the other picks can remind you of who else was on the board.
Sometimes, though, you look at a draft and are thankful that your team avoided disaster, drafting a stud instead of swinging and missing with another prospect.
In PFF’s 2021 re-draft, the Vikings find themselves somewhere in between. Christian Darrisaw lands at pick 8 with the Carolina Panthers. The Vikings, with no viable tackle to select at pick 14, take tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts may not have lived up to the hype of a typical No. 4 overall pick, falling short in a stacked draft class, but that doesn’t mean he’s been a bust. He has still produced 1.22 PFF WAR over the past four years, which ranks 10th among all tight ends.
2024 was Pitts’ worst season by PFF receiving grade, but the best may still be yet to come for the talented tight end with Michael Penix Jr. now at quarterback in Atlanta. He would have fit in well in Minnesota’s offense in 2021.
The selection would have filled a need, as 2019 second-round pick Irv Smith, Jr., was being counted on to replace Kyle Rudolph at tight end. But Smith suffered a knee injury in camp, prompting the Vikings to trade a fourth-round pick for Chris Herndon. In 16 games, Herndon started five games and caught four passes for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Minnesota traded for Hockenson in 2022 when Smith failed to live up to the expectations they had. Pitts would have filled the role and may have found even more success with Kirk Cousins as his quarterback from Day 1.