The NFL has a Tight End Problem different than the one you think.

Sure, defenses still can’t figure out how to develop linebackers fast enough or cornerbacks big enough to offset the mismatches created by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Darren Waller, Zach Ertz and the rest of the top tight ends. But the bigger issue is teams are not identifying the correct game-changing weapons in the NFL draft.

“It’s because we put too much emphasis on productivity stats,” ESPN analyst Matt Miller of nfldraftscout.com told The Post of how those elite playmakers slipped through the scouting cracks. “When I evaluate tight ends now, let’s focus on traits and not production because it is so scheme-dependent.”

Florida’s Kyle Pitts is set to become the first tight end since 1970 drafted in the top five picks. Critics who say it is too high are likely those who say the same about running backs. But scouts say that Pitts, like Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey, is more of an “offensive weapon” than beheld to a traditional position — and he will take far fewer career-shortening hits than those who carry the ball 200-300 times per season.

The Patriots just reminded the NFL how valuable tight ends are by signing Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith in free agency. But they paid top-dollar to do so. Drafting tight ends is a bargain. If done correctly.

Since 2014, after Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez retired, six tight ends have been named all-pros by the Associated Press and six others by various outlets.

Of those 12, Greg Olsen, Vernon Davis and T.J. Hockenson, were drafted in the first round, Rob Gronkowski, Ertz and Henry in the second, Kelce and Jimmy Graham in the third, Jordan Cameron in the fourth, Kittle in the fifth, and Waller and Delanie Walker in the sixth. Selected No. 8 overall in 2019, Hockenson is the highest drafted tight end since Davis in 2006.

“T.J. Hockenson was high-character, but he is nowhere close to the talent Kyle Pitts is,” an NFL scout said. “We are so focused on a blocking tight end. Kelce is not a killer. Kittle is a good blocker now, but he doesn’t win every matchup. Pitts is a willing blocker — he isn’t soft — but I’m not wasting time with a passing play where Pitts is sitting in a six-man protection.”

Over that same time frame, Eric Ebron, O.J. Howard, Evan Engram, David Njoku, Hayden Hurst and Noah Fant were first-rounders. Ebron and Engram made one Pro Bowl apiece, but none of the six has made an indelible mark. Some supplied big production. Some had remarkable scouting traits. Going back further, three of the four tight ends on the 1990s and 2000s NFL All-Decade Team were no better than fifth-rounders.

How high is too draft a tight end? NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Pitts as the No. 2-overall prospect in the class, so pick No. 11 to the Giants isn’t a reach. Actually, anything beginning with No. 4 — the first three picks will almost certainly be quarterbacks — is logical.

“This kid is so much better than all those other guys,” Jeremiah told The Post. “Just simply as a receiver, he’s so much better. If you have a hang-up with missing on tight ends, swap out the ‘TE’ to ‘WR’ next to his name to sleep better at night.”

Pitts was coached at Florida by Tim Brewster, who discovered future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates off of a basketball highlight tape in the early 2000s. Brewster, then the Chargers tight ends coach, confirmed his belief that Gates was a hidden gem during a workout at Kent State lightly attended by NFL personnel but still couldn’t convince the Chargers to use a pick on him.

When Gates went undrafted and chose the Chargers in free agency, Brewster couldn’t believe his good fortune. The biggest comparison point between Gates and Pitts is “amazing athleticism,” Brewster said.

“You talk about 50/50 balls? Kyle is 90/10,” Brewster said. “He is going to go over you because of ability to contort his body. He’s got strong, large hands able to rip the ball from a 50/50 situation.”

Each case is a little different. Kelce was a former quarterback whose stock was hurt by off-field concerns. Waller had an injury history. Kittle had 48 career catches in college and wasn’t a weight-room grinder. And so on. All add up to the same idea: The NFL missed on them.

Pitts is can’t-miss.

“We played ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with Pitts on every play,” Brewster said. “By formation, motion and shift, we were looking to create matchups that were advantageous to us. He’s as good as any receiver in college football — and he’s the best tight end.”