Falcons Not Ready to Quit on First-Round Pick

The Atlanta Falcons did something pretty rare in the 2021 NFL Draft when they drafted University of Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the fourth-overall pick. He was supposed to transform the offense with his athleticism that couldn’t be covered by a linebacker or safety.

That hasn’t exactly happened. After a promising rookie year where he caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards and one touchdown, he has since fallen off dramatically. The closest he’s gotten to a 1,000-yard season in the following three years was when he got 2/3 of it (667 yards) two years ago.

Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson would like that to change in 2025 and hopefully get Pitts back to what made him such a high pick in 2021. Specifically, Robinson would like him to stop overthinking it and just rely on his pure athleticism.

“I think for Kyle, it’s just how can he take that next step … next level of details, next level of consistency, all those things that we’ve talked about with him and have talked about in the past,” Robinson said. “He’s in Year 2 of the system, and I think the thing we’ve always talked about with Kyle is just play fast. No matter what, play fast, take the thinking out involved with it.”

Too early to call Pitts a bust

Some, such as James Dator of SB Nation, have been labelling Pitts a “bust,” but that might be a bit harsh.

“The excuses for his lack of production have run out, it’s become impossible to justify his lack of production, and now Pitts finds himself as an odd man out in an NFL which has changed drastically in the time since he was drafted,” Dator writes.

There were indeed some trade rumors around the 2025 NFL Draft that saw Pitts being moved for picks or a trade up, but nothing ever materialized so for now, he’s still a Falcon.

After his rookie season, Pitts only played in 10 games in his second year, catching only 28 balls for 356 yards and two touchdowns. And while his overall production in 2023 (53 receptions, 667 yards, three touchdowns) and 2024 (47 receptions, 602 yards, four touchdowns) wasn’t good enough, there is a bit of hope as his touchdowns were up a bit. A bit.

Robinson would like to see that trend continue.

“That’s more of what we’re looking for from Kyle is just that next level of understanding of the offense and just the intent of what we’re trying to get done and then ultimately, just play fast no matter what,” he continued. “That’s what we’ll coach him up on when we hit the field next week and we’ll continue to coach him up.”

Tight ends historically aren’t drafted that high

It’s very rare that a tight end is drafted in the top of five of an NFL Draft. In fact, Pitts is the highest tight end taken in any draft since the Green Bay Packers took Ron Kramer as the fourth-overall pick in 1957. They weren’t even called “tight ends” back then, they were just “ends.”

Two other tight ends were taken as high as five in previous drafts, with the Chicago Bears selecting University of Pittsburgh tight end Mike Ditka in 1961 and the Denver Broncos selecting University of Houston tight end Riley Odoms in 1972. Ditka went on to become a Hall of Famer, while Odoms did play for 12 years, but he’d require some Google or ChatGPT searches.

Vernon Davis is the most recent example of this position warranting a high draft pick and maybe one that Falcons fans should cling to regarding Pitts’ future. In 2006, the San Francisco 49ers selected University of Maryland tight end Vernon Davis with the sixth-overall pick. And while he played 14 years and was a phenomenal player, he didn’t hit his stride until his fourth year in 2009. Davis famously battled head coach Mike Singletary (who once called Davis out following a 2008 game against the Seattle Seahawks) and was treated as a bust – very much like Pitts – at that point in his career.

It remains to be seen how the Falcons will use Pitts this season, but everyone knows that a good tight end can be a young quarterback’s best friend. And, first-year starter Michael Penix, Jr. could certainly use a reliable safety valve.