The Falcons used the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL draft on Kyle Pitts, the highest a tight end has ever been selected, and only the second time one has been taken in the top five. But as rare as it may be to use a first-round pick on a tight end, most analysts have had nothing but good things to say about Atlanta’s pick. In fact, Pitts looks like one of the surest things in this year’s class.
Let’s go back through NFL draft history and look at every tight end taken in the first round since the year 2000.
Kyle Pitts – Atlanta Falcons (Pick 4)
Noah Fant – Denver Broncos (Pick 20)
T.J. Hockenson – Detroit Lions (Pick 8)
Hayden Hurst – Baltimore Ravens (Pick 25)
David Njoku – Cleveland Browns (Pick 29)
Evan Engram – New York Giants (Pick 23)
O.J. Howard – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Pick 19)
Eric Ebron – Detroit Lions (Pick 10)
Tyler Eifert – Cincinnati Bengals (Pick 21)
Jermaine Gresham – Cincinnati Bengals (Pick 21)
Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions (Pick 20)
Dustin Keller – New York Jets (Pick 30)
Greg Olsen – Chicago Bears (Pick 31)
Marcedes Lewis – Jacksonville Jaguars (Pick 28)
Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers (Pick 6)
Heath Miller – Pittsburgh Steelers (Pick 30)
Ben Watson – New England Patriots (Pick 32)
Kellen Winslow – Cleveland Browns (Pick 6)
Dallas Clark – Indianapolis Colts (Pick 24)
Daniel Graham – New England Patriots (Pick 21)
Jeremy Shockey – New York Giants (Pick 14)
Jerramy Stevens – Seattle Seahawks (Pick 28)
Todd Heap – Baltimore Ravens (Pick 31)
Anthony Becht – New York Jets (Pick 27)
Bubba Franks – Green Bay Packers (Pick 14)
