It's that time of year when we get reports of who is or isn't at OTAs. These are voluntary, supposedly, but if you're not there it gets widely reported, speculating that you're angling for a new contract or whatever. Which brings us to Kyle Pitts.
The tight end didn't show up for the start of OTAs, and since he's entering the final year of his rookie contract, the speculation is he's looking for a new deal. Maybe, but why? You'd think he would want to maybe have a better season before fielding an offer.
Pitts went over 1,000 yards as a rookie, hinting that maybe he'd be the tight end everyone was hoping for when he was drafted early in the first round. But his three years since have been disappointing, a combination of injuries, Arthur Smith offensive structure, and Pitts' seeming aversion to actually scoring any touchdowns.
Over his four-year career, Pitts has caught a total of 10 touchdowns. That's after having a relatively good year in 2024, with 4 TDs. But he also averaged his fewest catches (2.8) and yards (35) per game.
The past four years, there have been 49 tight ends to start at least half the time and average at least 2 receptions per game. (I'm adding in that element to include tight ends who are actually part of their team's passing game, rather than just blockers.) Of those 49 players at the position, only 7 have averaged fewer touchdowns per game than Pitts has. Table sorted by touchdowns.
| TIGHT ENDS PER GAME, 2021-2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Rec | TD | FPG |
| Mark Andrews | 59 | 4.7 | 58.1 | .55 | 13.9 |
| Sam LaPorta | 33 | 4.4 | 48.9 | .54 | 12.5 |
| George Kittle | 59 | 4.6 | 64.0 | .53 | 14.2 |
| Travis Kelce | 64 | 6.1 | 66.7 | .47 | 15.7 |
| Zach Ertz | 51 | 4.2 | 39.4 | .36 | 10.3 |
| David Njoku | 57 | 4.2 | 43.7 | .35 | 10.6 |
| Isaiah Likely | 38 | 2.4 | 27.6 | .34 | 7.2 |
| Dalton Schultz | 64 | 3.9 | 39.9 | .32 | 9.8 |
| Dawson Knox | 58 | 2.4 | 27.6 | .32 | 7.1 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 61 | 3.6 | 35.9 | .31 | 9.0 |
| Hunter Henry | 64 | 3.1 | 34.5 | .30 | 8.3 |
| T.J. Hockenson | 54 | 5.2 | 53.9 | .30 | 12.4 |
| Juwan Johnson | 44 | 2.9 | 31.8 | .30 | 7.8 |
| Cole Kmet | 68 | 3.4 | 34.5 | .25 | 8.4 |
| Gerald Everett | 46 | 3.4 | 31.4 | .25 | 8.1 |
| Dallas Goedert | 51 | 4.2 | 51.4 | .24 | 10.7 |
| Logan Thomas | 36 | 3.1 | 28.2 | .23 | 7.3 |
| Cade Otton | 47 | 3.1 | 30.8 | .22 | 7.5 |
| Evan Engram | 58 | 4.8 | 43.1 | .22 | 10.5 |
| Tyler Higbee | 47 | 3.8 | 35.6 | .21 | 8.7 |
| C.J. Uzomah | 40 | 2.0 | 19.6 | .20 | 5.1 |
| Trey McBride | 41 | 5.3 | 54.0 | .20 | 11.9 |
| Darren Waller | 32 | 4.2 | 50.2 | .19 | 10.4 |
| Jonnu Smith | 64 | 3.0 | 31.3 | .19 | 7.3 |
| Foster Moreau | 51 | 2.1 | 24.8 | .18 | 5.6 |
| Mike Gesicki | 62 | 3.1 | 31.6 | .17 | 7.2 |
| Jake Ferguson | 31 | 4.2 | 40.5 | .16 | 9.2 |
| Kyle Pitts | 61 | 3.2 | 43.5 | .16 | 8.5 |
| Tyler Conklin | 67 | 3.4 | 33.1 | .15 | 7.7 |
| Hayden Hurst | 39 | 2.6 | 22.5 | .15 | 5.8 |
| Austin Hooper | 56 | 2.4 | 24.7 | .15 | 5.8 |
| Noah Fant | 64 | 3.1 | 32.3 | .14 | 7.2 |
| Chig Okonkwo | 46 | 2.9 | 30.6 | .12 | 6.8 |
| Will Dissly | 61 | 2.0 | 20.2 | .11 | 4.7 |
| Robert Tonyan | 42 | 2.0 | 18.7 | .10 | 4.4 |
Things have trended up for Pitts, at least. He caught 1 TD as a rookie, 2 in his second season, 3 in his third, and 4 last year. Doing some quick math, he seems to be on track to catch 5 TDs in his fifth season.
But it's hard to get excited about him in fantasy leagues. He's playing for a new contract and he's got an intriguing young quarterback in Michael Penix. But the former No. 4 overall pick has at no point looked deserving of that pick. Not a player I'll be looking to roll the dice on. Especially in TD-heavy formats.
--Andy Richardson