Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was drafted in the first round in 2021 because of his potential to make explosive plays in the passing game, but there haven’t been as many of them as the team hoped to get.
Pitts had 68 catches for 1,026 yards as a rookie, but has not matched either number over the last three seasons and there has been plenty of offseason discussion each year about what Pitts needs to do in order to meet expectations. This offseason is no different and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said this week that the key for Pitts is to show that he fully grasps the team’s offense.
“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 Two 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. That’s more of what we’re looking for from Kyle is just that next level of that understanding of the offense.”
The Falcons exercised their fifth-year option on Pitts’s contract because they believe he is capable of bigger things, but he’s running short on time to show that reality can live up to the hype.
