After four NFL seasons, those around the league are unsure what to make of Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts. The former No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft had one of the best rookie seasons ever by a rookie tight end but has failed to match that production over the last few years.
This is partly due to the knee injury Pitts suffered during his second season, along with the team trading away quarterback Matt Ryan in 2022. Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder failed to seize the starting job, which led to Atlanta signing Kirk Cousins and drafting Michael Penix Jr. last offseason.
Pitts caught a wide-open touchdown in Week 1 but had an overall quiet 2024 season, finishing with 47 catches, 602 receiving yards and four touchdowns. While those aren’t bad numbers for a tight end, they aren’t up to par for a former top-five pick.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot was asked about Pitts during his Tuesday press conference at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Fontenot understands the frustration but said he wasn’t willing to give up on Pitts yet.
“When you take a player that high, we know there’s an expectation –probably an unreal expectation — for all those players, but we believe that Kyle is going to put everything he can do into it to be the best player he can for us and we are going to do the same for him,” said Fontenot.
“We know there’s a really high expectation for him.” Terry Fontenot on Kyle Pitts, said he wants to reinforce that the Falcons are going to continue “to pour into him and he’s going to do the same with us.”
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) February 25, 2025
The Falcons tight end is entering his fifth season in Atlanta and set to make over $10 million in the final year of his rookie deal. While some have speculated about Pitts being traded, it may be worth seeing how the 24-year-old performs with Penix as his quarterback for the entire season.
Penix’s first career touchdown pass was a fourth-down strike to Kyle Pitts, which sent the Falcons’ Week 17 game against the Commanders into overtime.
Over four NFL seasons, Pitts has 196 catches, 2,651 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.