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TE Kyle Pitts, ATL (2 Viewers)

Kyle Pitts caught 3-of-7 targets for 62 yards in the Falcons' Week 9 win over the Saints. 

Facing a heavy dose of Marshon Lattimore, Pitts could have had a bigger statistical output, but he dropped an early down-field target after smoking Lattimore down the left sideline. He got Lattimore for a 39-yard gain not too long after, but the Saints largely held the Falcons' fearsome rookie weapon in check. Pitts has had back-to-back quiet days since Calvin Ridley stepped away from the team to focus on his mental health. It's fair to say Pitts probably misses Ridley drawing defensive heat. Pitts can hopefully bounce back against the Cowboys in what will could be a faster-paced, higher-scoring Week 10 affair.

- NBC SportsEDGE
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Kyle Pitts caught 3-of-4 targets for 29 yards in Atlanta's Week 11 loss to the Patriots. 

He was bracketed on occasion by New England, and also was the target on Matt Ryan's first interception, on a route it looked like he cut short of what Ryan was anticipating. Pitts also just simply wasn't on the field for whatever reason on a few early plays. Pitts will look to regain fantasy momentum after four-straight sub 65-yard games against the Jaguars in Week 12, in what should be a good matchup for him. 

Nov 18, 2021, 11:35 PM ET
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Sam Quentin said:
Jags, Bucs, panthers, Niners, lions coming up….I expect it to get better
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 Well it can't get much worse.

I was high on him coming into the season, but as I told a friend "I'm tempering my expectations, as most 1st year TEs just don't perform that well".

 Man this is far worse than I'd imagined.   I was AT LEAST hoping for low end TE1 numbers, but this is abysmal.

Weeks 5 and 7 he was great, but the rest of the season he has been a team tanker at TE.

 You would have figured he'd stumble into a few more decent games, especially without Ridley, but this has been brutal.

 TZM

 
Sam Quentin said:
Jags, Bucs, panthers, Niners, lions coming up….I expect it to get better
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It's gonna get worse if the O-line gets Ryan hurt.
Josh Rosen has as many completions to the D as he does to the O so far
Feleipe Franks just completed his first pass ever, to the wrong team!

These are not guys Pitts wants throwing to him.

 
TZMarkie said:
 Well it can't get much worse.

I was high on him coming into the season, but as I told a friend "I'm tempering my expectations, as most 1st year TEs just don't perform that well".

 Man this is far worse than I'd imagined.   I was AT LEAST hoping for low end TE1 numbers, but this is abysmal.

Weeks 5 and 7 he was great, but the rest of the season he has been a team tanker at TE.

 You would have figured he'd stumble into a few more decent games, especially without Ridley, but this has been brutal.

 TZM
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You do know he is currently TE5, right?

 
TheWinz said:
You do know he is currently TE5, right?
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Depending on format.

 But that speaks to the position more than anything else.   I have him in one specific " .25 per reception" league, and he hasn't bested  6 points in THAT league but 5 times all season, and that includes his "big two weeks" in week 5 and 7.

In similar scoring, you could have gotten Hunter Henry or Mike Gesicki far later in drafts and gotten better numbers.

It is what it is, and I blame Matt Ryan (who at times looks washed), no threat of Ridley, and other than Patterson, no real ground and pound run game.  So its likely a combination of factors, but this is certainly not what many were hoping for.

I do expect it to get a bit better though.

 TZM

 
TZMarkie said:
Depending on format.

 But that speaks to the position more than anything else.   I have him in one specific " .25 per reception" league, and he hasn't bested  6 points in THAT league but 5 times all season, and that includes his "big two weeks" in week 5 and 7.

In similar scoring, you could have gotten Hunter Henry or Mike Gesicki far later in drafts and gotten better numbers.

It is what it is, and I blame Matt Ryan (who at times looks washed), no threat of Ridley, and other than Patterson, no real ground and pound run game.  So its likely a combination of factors, but this is certainly not what many were hoping for.

I do expect it to get a bit better though.

 TZM
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Was just pointing out, as we all know, rookie TE's tend to have a longer learning curve than RB's or WR's.  And Pitts, as bad as he is doing, is on pace for a 73/1080 season.  What sucks is I left off the TD's on purpose, because, well, you know why.

 
Pitts really misses Ridley.  Teams can focus on him now.  Of course the qb situation is a mess, really needs to be addressed after the season.

 
TheWinz said:
Was just pointing out, as we all know, rookie TE's tend to have a longer learning curve than RB's or WR's.  And Pitts, as bad as he is doing, is on pace for a 73/1080 season.  What sucks is I left off the TD's on purpose, because, well, you know why.
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“First year tight end” has nothing to do with this

Pitts is playing well.  The fantasy production piece has more to do with the team performance.  

 
Thats the first time I really watched Atlanta - what a mess.  They are on Jets level of disaster - complete teardown needed - coach didnt impress me either....I still think Pitts has talent to be a big time TE but in that state of that O no one can produce elite numbers.  

 
Kiddnets said:
Thats the first time I really watched Atlanta - what a mess.  They are on Jets level of disaster - complete teardown needed - coach didnt impress me either....I still think Pitts has talent to be a big time TE but in that state of that O no one can produce elite numbers.  
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Except they beat the Jets. 

 
Wise Old Owl said:
They just don't have an offense. This is two games now where they were behind late and couldn't even get garbage time points. They just kept throwing INTs instead. 
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Yes, very troubling.  Perhaps they can do better against not quite as good competition as they have faced the last two weeks.

 
Kyle Pitts caught 4-of-7 targets for 48 yards in Atlanta's Week 13 loss to the Bucs.

Pitts was targeted twice on Atlanta's opening drive and did a majority of his damage on a 29-yard gain on 3rd-and-long in the first half. He was still out-targeted by Russell Gage 12-7 and, through five games without Calvin Ridley, 38-32. Similar to the crop of low-end TE1s who are ranked as such simply for being on the field for every play, Pitts, who has not scored a touchdown since Week 5, is glued to that range until further notice.

Dec 6, 2021, 7:03 AM ET
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Pitts is on pace to become just the 2nd TE in the past 20 years to finish in the top 10 while scoring only 1 TD (Chris Cooley 2008).

 
Funny how bc he hasn’t caught the TD’s you’d expect (one of the most volatile stats from year to year) with a mediocre QB, no one is really talking about the fact that unlike every other “generational” TE prospect in recent memory he’s actually lived up to the hype as a rookie. The dude is sensational and essentially he’s young Mike Evans playing in your TE spot, mostly lining up out wide. And he’s still going to be 21 until a month into next season. 

 
ConnSKINS26 said:
Funny how bc he hasn’t caught the TD’s you’d expect (one of the most volatile stats from year to year) with a mediocre QB, no one is really talking about the fact that unlike every other “generational” TE prospect in recent memory he’s actually lived up to the hype as a rookie. The dude is sensational and essentially he’s young Mike Evans playing in your TE spot, mostly lining up out wide. And he’s still going to be 21 until a month into next season. 
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Not to mention the fact that the Falcons offense is a mess as a whole, with a below average OL, and Calvin Ridley bagging the season early on (so defenses can double Pitts, which is crazy for a rookie TE) and he's *still* produced pretty well, considering. 

The future is very, very bright, and I'm very happy to have him on my Dynasty roster. There simply isn't another TE in the NFL with his upside for the future. 

 
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Nobody had Ridley retiring after a few weeks into the season on their draftboards this year. Or bingo card or whatever. I think it is fair to say Pitts would have produced (even) more if Ridley were there playing like the Ridley we have known. Pitts has produced very well despite his absence. And Matt Ryan. 

 
I confess I am disappointed at the lack of TDs regardless of how many yards he has.  But then he plays on a bad team so not all his fault.

 
Was Kyle Pitts Too Low on PFF's Top 101 List?

Excerpt:

Next is rookie phenom Kyle Pitts at No. 94. He was expected to be a star and he did not disappoint, but for a generational talent who nearly broke the all-time rookie receiving record for a tight end, is he too low on this list?:

The best tight end prospect to enter the NFL draft in years, Pitts quickly became a tight end in name only, lining up either in the slot or out wide on 78.2% of his snaps in 2021. He effectively became the Falcons’ No. 1 receiver, catching 63.6% of the passes thrown his way and generating 2.0 yards per route run. He had only one touchdown catch, fittingly following in the footsteps of Julio Jones as an elite playmaker for Atlanta with a curious aversion to the end zone. 
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I think this delays him a year or two.  He will still be good.  But until next year when they draft a QB, then give him a year to be a rookie(the qb), finally after that he will blossom.  

 
Mingooch said:
I think this delays him a year or two.  He will still be good.  But until next year when they draft a QB, then give him a year to be a rookie(the qb), finally after that he will blossom.  
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Maybe - MM should lean on him & CPat plenty. PPR-wise, he should have a fine season. I kind of expect his year 2 to be opposite year one - less yardage, more receptions & more TDs. MM isn’t afraid to throw into the end zone. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Maybe - MM should lean on him & CPat plenty. PPR-wise, he should have a fine season. I kind of expect his year 2 to be opposite year one - less yardage, more receptions & more TDs. MM isn’t afraid to throw into the end zone. 
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I agree here. Pitts was TE8 as a rookie, despite the fluke of scoring only 1 TD. Even with a QB downgrade, just regression to the mean suggests that he should score a lot more TDs. I don't see the 110 targets going away. 

 
travdogg said:
I agree here. Pitts was TE8 as a rookie, despite the fluke of scoring only 1 TD. Even with a QB downgrade, just regression to the mean suggests that he should score a lot more TDs. I don't see the 110 targets going away. 
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IIRC he had a couple overturned on review (stepped out at the 6” mark on one) and a couple called back for penalties.

I don’t know if Ryan actually ever targeted him in the end zone - threw to him short hoping for the YAC TD.

He’s statistically likely to score a handful this year, given his usage. They still need receivers though. 

 
Kyle Pitts said there is a "night and day" difference with how he feels now vs. his rookie offseason. 

Spoiler alert, we know, but we had not gotten a Pitts update out there since he closed his excellent debut campaign. “I feel like I have matured a little in my life, on the field and off the field,” Pitts said at OTAs. “I feel like Coach (Arthur) Smith did a great job introducing me to the NFL, and I feel like this year will be the next step.” Part of Pitts' "next step" will be operating as the Falcons' unquestioned top pass catcher following the indefinite suspension of Calvin Ridley. Russell Gage also departed in free agency before USC's Drake London was selected at No. 8 overall. London will be Pitts' top competition but still clearly behind the second-year tight end. With Matt Ryan also departed, it is possible the Falcons' new quarterback combo of Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder will be more willing to pull the trigger on tight red zone throws and get Pitts some touchdowns. That was not Mariota's M.O. in Tennessee. 

SOURCE: The Athletic 

Jun 4, 2022, 7:04 PM ET
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Hot Sauce Guy said:
Maybe - MM should lean on him & CPat plenty. PPR-wise, he should have a fine season. I kind of expect his year 2 to be opposite year one - less yardage, more receptions & more TDs. MM isn’t afraid to throw into the end zone. 
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Yeah didn't Mariota have good rapport with his TE in TEN?  I think Pitts finishes as a top-3 fantasy TE this year.

 
nirad3 said:
Yeah didn't Mariota have good rapport with his TE in TEN?  I think Pitts finishes as a top-3 fantasy TE this year.
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in 2018 (his last season with TN) Jonnu and Firkser combined for 39 catches and < 500 yards.  Might be misremembering but I think Delanie Walker was hurt that year. 

in 2017 Walker had 74/807/3 stat line.   Jonnu had 18/157/2 the same year.  

 
nirad3 said:
Yeah didn't Mariota have good rapport with his TE in TEN?  I think Pitts finishes as a top-3 fantasy TE this year.
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With that OL, and a dearth of receiving weapons, MM should be the king of the dump off / short throw to Pitts. Either that or he’ll be taking off running for his life. 

i shall dub this offense, the “dink & scoot”.

:shrug:  

 
wlwiles said:
in 2018 (his last season with TN) Jonnu and Firkser combined for 39 catches and < 500 yards.  Might be misremembering but I think Delanie Walker was hurt that year. 

in 2017 Walker had 74/807/3 stat line.   Jonnu had 18/157/2 the same year.  
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Suffice to say Pitts is a cut above those guys, but yeah - he didn’t really do anything huge with his TEs in TEN. That offense was pretty shaky from what I recall.

 
wlwiles said:
in 2018 (his last season with TN) Jonnu and Firkser combined for 39 catches and < 500 yards.  Might be misremembering but I think Delanie Walker was hurt that year. 

in 2017 Walker had 74/807/3 stat line.   Jonnu had 18/157/2 the same year.  
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Yeah I was thinking about the Delanie Walker numbers.  I thought they were more impressive but Pitts definitely tops Walker athletically.  We'll see what happens.

 
nirad3 said:
Yeah I was thinking about the Delanie Walker numbers.  I thought they were more impressive but Pitts definitely tops Walker athletically.  We'll see what happens.
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You could frame in a way were it looks like he and Delanie had a big connection. Walker led NFL in TE targets in MM"s first full year, got 100+ targets every year and was #5 in TE targets during their 3 full mainly full season's together.

The problem with that is Delanie had similar usage the year before MM arrived and that year. And that year he led the NFL in TE targets was a little like the Lamar/Andrews situation from this past season. Mariotta got hurt in second quarter of week 15 and in just a little over 6 quarters Zach Mettenberger went nuts throwing it 28 times to Delanie.

So for me no real evidence exists that MM did anything for Delanie.

But as you and others are saying Pitt's is a different guy both in talent and in how he plays the game so that he's almost more comparable to a WR.

 
menobrown said:
But as you and others are saying Pitt's is a different guy both in talent and in how he plays the game so that he's almost more comparable to a WR.
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Don't say that too loudly - @TripItUp will come tell you a ridiculous number of why Kyle Pitts will never be worth his high draft capital in dynasty drafts because his dedicated position is TE. 

 
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