Yet again, Falcons’ tight end Kyle Pitts is off to a slow start. Through four games, the former Florida Gator has caught just eight of his 15 targets for only 105 yards and one touchdown. He is on pace for another disappointing year, and his days as an electric weapon are suddenly looking pretty small in the rearview mirror.
Expectations have been high for Pitts since the Falcons drafted him fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He lived up to those expectations, and set the bar even higher, in his rookie campaign. Catching passes from Matt Ryan in the quarterback’s final season in Atlanta, Pitts logged 68 receptions for 1,026 yards. He scored just one touchdown in that season, but popular sentiment assumed he would become a more effective red zone target in future campaigns.
What has Pitts done since the best passer in Falcon history left the franchise? Through 29 Ryan-less games, he’s caught 89 passes for 1,128 yards and six touchdowns. In terms of production, it’s taken him 2 seasons and a change to only just eclipse the marks of his rookie year.
It begs the question, who is at fault for the downfall of Kyle Pitts?
Maybe Kyle Pitts is the Problem in Atlanta
Cousins is a TE-friendly passer
In 2022 & 2023, the scheme was the biggest scapegoat for Pitts’ lack of production. It’s a reasonable hypothesis, but Atlanta took the tight end fourth overall. A player taken at that level should be a gamebreaker, regardless of scheme.
The scheme explanation also doesn’t account for his start to this season. Kirk Cousins has quarterbacked this offensive scheme for a long time in the NFL, and tight ends have thrived when catching passes from him.
In Washington, Jordan Reed played in 32 games with Cousins as the starter. He averaged six receptions, 57 yards, and half a touchdown per game. TJ Hockenson benefitted greatly from having Cousins at quarterback when he came to Minnesota as well. In 2022, he caught 60 balls (six per game) for 519 yards (52) and three touchdowns (0.3) all career highs, on his way to the Pro Bowl.
In contrast, Kyle Pitts is catching just two passes for just 26 yards and 0.25 scores per game. It’s a small sample size, but he’s a veteran receiver in the NFL now. After a full offseason and now a month of regular season football to absorb the offense, he shouldn’t still be this ineffective.
Falcons Are Winning Despite Kyle Pitts
After Atlanta’s 26-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints, head coach Raheem Morris was asked about Pitts lack of production. His answer was a simple, “he had a couple targets,” punctuated with the quote that went viral. “Stats are for losers”.
Pitts is struggling to live up to his high expectations as an offensive weapon, and Atlanta is simply not the franchise that is going to make figuring that out a priority. The NFC South is a very winnable division. With two great running backs, a stout defense, a veteran quarterback, and a slew of talented young weapons, the Pitts problem is simply not a primary concern for this team. The energy in Flowery Branch is not centered around the Pitts problem right now. Morris and Co. are focused on winning games, not on fantasy numbers.
If Pitts is going to be the kind of weapon that everyone expected him to be, the onus is on him. He has to be the guy who gets open. The great tight ends like Kelce & Kittle are experts at getting open. That pair provides a lofty benchmark, but when you’re drafted fourth overall, that’s the group you’re expected to join.
The Verdict?
In the three years since his promising rookie season, Kyle Pitts has played for multiple quarterbacks in multiple schemes. He’s failed to produce at a high level with all of them. Does that make Kyle Pitts a bust? Not quite yet. The jury is still out on the tight end.
This is, however, a massive season when it comes to rendering that verdict. Pitts may heat up as the season goes on, and we finally see him at his full potential. He’s playing with the best passer he’s had since Ryan, and perhaps a little more time in the scheme will bring out the best in him.
However, should Pitts stay at this pace, it’ll be time to start reckoning with a difficult truth. He simply may not ever be the player we thought he’d be.
Maybe it’s not Arthur Smith’s fault. It may not be Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder or Zac Robinson’s either. Perhaps the real problem at the center of the Pitts problem is Kyle Pitts himself.
Main Photo: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
