Falcons still believe in Kyle Pitts, but can he be trusted in fantasy this season?
The reasoning for this prediction is that Pitts had one touchdown catch in his rookie season, two in his second season, three in his third season and four last season in his fourth season. It's been just about the only stable thing in the talented tight end's time in the league.
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The Falcons drafted Pitts fourth overall in 2021. It remains the highest a tight end has ever been picked. Since then, he has caught 196 passes for 2,651 yards and 10 total touchdowns. It's not what fantasy managers (or Falcons fans) expected.
Pitts is the 13th-highest scoring tight end (based on PPR scoring) since he's been in the league, and the numbers are even worse after subtracting his rookie season, when he had career highs in catches (68) and yards (1,026).
In the last three seasons, Pitts is 20th among tight ends in fantasy PPR scoring. After an injury-shortened 2022 season, he was 13th in tight end fantasy scoring in 2023 and 15th last season.
OMG KYLE PITTS TD!!!
📺: #ATLvsWAS on NBC/Peacock📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8sE8kkub9Y
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024
The good news from a fantasy perspective is that Pitts enters the fall as the Falcons' starting tight end, and he's their only option at that position. Atlanta has five other tight ends on the training camp roster. Backup Charlie Woerner has 18 catches in five seasons, and free-agency addition Feleipe Franks has one catch in his career. The other three players are long shots for the 53-man roster.
That roster construction illustrates the Falcons' seemingly never-ending patience with Pitts, who will be playing on his fifth-year option this season. Just as he did last offseason, coach Raheem Morris has expressed optimism that Pitts could be on the verge of a breakout.
'He's done such a great job of all the things we have asked him,' Morris said. 'He's been absolutely outstanding to be around.'
Pitts was fourth on the team last season with 602 receiving yards and fifth in catches with 47. His reception percentage (catching 47 of 74 targets, 63.5 percent) ranked 30th among tight ends, but the Falcons talk as if they plan for him to be a bigger part of the offense in 2025.
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'Kyle has always had the same role, as a big-time matchup problem,' Morris said. 'He's one of those guys that, on third down, is absolutely able to move the chains. Most of the time, his big-time role has been in the pass game.
'Last year, he grew a little bit in the run game. He's developed his role as he's gone and become more of a complete tight end. I have a lot of belief in him.'
Complicating projections for Pitts is the fact that he sat out minicamp practices due to a foot injury, but he did return for the start of training camp.
Pitts will make almost $11 million this season. His market next year, and whether the Falcons will be interested in being a part of it, will be determined mainly by what he does this season, which could serve as motivation for some fantasy managers to draft him, hoping for a contract-year bump.
'He's super talented,' Morris said. 'That's always going to be the thing that gives you hope with Kyle.'
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