Why Kyle Pitts hasn’t lived up to his lofty expectations

The Atlanta Falcons had a key decision to make during the 2021 NFL draft: Would they select a quarterback like Justin Fields with the No. 4 overall pick or use it on the player they thought was the best available?
First-year general manager Terry Fontenot made his decision. After quarterbacks went with the first three selections, the Falcons stayed put and gave Florida tight end Kyle Pitts the honor of being the first non-signal-caller chosen.
Pitts looked like a potential stud during his time with the Gators. He performed well as quarterback Kyle Trask’s No. 1 target and used his unique combination of size and speed to become a matchup nightmare at the college level.
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The early returns on Pitts at the NFL level demonstrated promise. He recorded a 1,000-yard season as a 21-year-old rookie and figured to trend up from there.
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Instead, Pitts has struggled to reach that level of production again. Some blamed former Falcons coach Arthur Smith for those issues, but Pitts’ plateau has continued under the leadership of new head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. And that’s despite the Falcons adding Kirk Cousins – Pitts’ best quarterback partner since Matt Ryan in 2021 – to the fold.
Does that make Pitts a bust? Here’s a look at his pre-draft scouting report, draft class and career to date as the Falcons grapple with that key question.
Pitts entered the 2021 NFL draft as one of the most productive tight end prospects in recent memory. He made plenty of plays as a downfield threat at Florida and finished his third and final college season with 43 catches, 770 yards and 12 touchdowns. The impressive part about those numbers? He logged them in just eight games during the COVID-19-impacted college campaign.
Naturally, Pitts’ eye-popping ability as a vertical playmaker caught the eye of NFL talent evaluators. His 6-6, 245 pound frame coupled with his speed made him look like a potential matchup nightmare, as he would be too big for defensive backs to cover and too fast for linebackers to contain.
That allowed Pitts to draw a notable and fairly ubiquitous player comparison ahead of the draft: Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein mentioned this comparison – along with Darren Waller and Tyreek Hill – in his scouting report on Pitts.
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Fontenot offered a similar assessment of Pitts’ skill set and upside in a news conference held after the first night of the 2021 NFL Draft.
“You just look at his skill set,” Fontenot said when asked why Pitts was the best player available. “His size, the athleticism, the body control, the way he separates, the way he adjusts to the ball. Again, he’s a tough, competitive player. He’s a mismatch.
“He’s 20 years old. He’s got a high ceiling. He’s still getting better. He does have a rare skill set. I keep emphasizing it, but the makeup that he has, the makeup that the young man has, we know what we’re bringing into this building. That’s what gets us so excited about him.”
The Falcons certainly had reason to be excited, but Pitts’ production hasn’t exactly matched expectations during his three-plus seasons with the Falcons.
Pitts entered the 2024 NFL season having recorded 149 catches for 2,049 yards and six touchdowns in his first three years with the Falcons. Below is a year-by-year breakdown of his stats.
This marked Pitts’ best season with the Falcons. It is the lone campaign during which he broke the 1,000-yard mark and was also the only season he played with quarterback Matt Ryan.
Many expected Pitts to make a leap between his first and second seasons in Arthur Smith’s offense. Instead, he struggled throughout the first half of the season before suffering a torn MCL that caused him to miss the final seven games of the season.
Pitts worked exclusively with Marcus Mariota as his starting quarterback in 2022. Mariota made 13 starts before being replaced by Desmond Ridder in the final four games of the season.
Pitts upped his production in his third season, but he produced a career-low 12.6 yards per reception while working with Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. He logged a career-best three touchdowns but still hadn’t developed into the red-zone threat the Falcons envisioned when selecting him.
Pitts entered Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season having logged just eight catches through his team’s first four games. He had his first career zero-catch game in Week 4, but new head coach Raheem Morris didn’t seem too worried about his lacking opportunities, proclaiming that “stats are for losers.”
Pitts may just be taking time to develop chemistry with Cousins, his new quarterback, but his production – or lack thereof – over the last two-plus seasons has become a trend.
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It’s hard not to consider Pitts a bust at this juncture in his career. He’s in his fourth season with the Falcons but hasn’t yet developed into the mismatch weapon they hoped he’d be when they spent a top-five selection on him.
Pitts’ middling production is especially painful considering the Falcons selected him one pick before Ja’Marr Chase, who has logged 1,000-yard seasons and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three campaigns, and five picks ahead of cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who was named an AP All-Pro in 2022.
That said, there’s still time for Pitts to pan out. He may just be taking time to adjust to Robinson’s offense – a West Coast system that requires him to run short routes – so if things eventually click for him, he could break out in the second half of the season. That may be a long shot, as Pitts hasn’t shown an ability to consistently gain separation on non-vertical plays at the NFL level, but the Falcons may still hold out hope that he can make strides over the duration of his contract, which runs through the 2025 season.
It’s also possible that Pitts could find success with another NFL team. He is in just his age-24 season and still has the frame and athleticism needed to make him a mismatch vertical threat in the right offensive system. He could even be a top trade target if the Falcons decide they want to part with Pitts’ potential and get a better blocking tight end.
As such, there is still hope for Pitts’ career. It’s just more likely, at this point, that any of his success would come outside of Atlanta, which would make him a disappointing Falcons bust.