One of the decisions the new Falcons braintrust will have to make is on Kyle Pitts. He's frequently been a disappointment since being drafted with the earliest pick ever used on a tight end. But not in 2025.
In PPR leagues last year, Pitts finished as the No. 2 overall tight end, trailing only Trey McBride. The Cardinals tight end basically lapped the field, catching 38 more passes than Pitts (and at least 44 more than anyone else). But looking at just each player's last six games, it was a lot closer (and Pitts was head and shoulders above almost everyone else).
Using the search tools at pro-football-reference.com, you can look at a span of games for each player during the season. It was those last six games (with Kirk Cousins in at quarterback replacing injured Michael Penix, hmm) where Pitts really exploded. He caught at least 6 passes in five of those games, and went over 80 yards three times. In Standard scoring systems, he outperformed McBride; in PPR, he was 2nd, and he and McBride averaged at least 3 points per week more than anyone but George Kittle.
| TIGHT ENDS IN THEIR FINAL SIX GAMES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Std | PPR |
| Trey McBride, Ari. | 60 | 46 | 442 | 4 | 68.2 | 114.2 |
| Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 51 | 39 | 469 | 4 | 70.9 | 109.9 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 45 | 36 | 444 | 4 | 68.4 | 104.4 |
| Harold Fannin, Cle. | 44 | 28 | 309 | 4 | 59.6 | 87.6 |
| Brock Bowers, L.V. | 43 | 32 | 297 | 4 | 53.7 | 85.7 |
| Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 33 | 24 | 349 | 4 | 58.9 | 82.9 |
| Colston Loveland, Chi. | 44 | 30 | 335 | 3 | 51.3 | 81.3 |
| Sam LaPorta, Det. | 32 | 27 | 351 | 3 | 53.1 | 80.1 |
| Hunter Henry, N.E. | 34 | 26 | 346 | 3 | 52.6 | 78.6 |
| Colby Parkinson, LAR | 35 | 24 | 244 | 5 | 54.4 | 78.4 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phi. | 32 | 24 | 235 | 4 | 47.5 | 71.5 |
| Dalton Schultz, Hou. | 34 | 30 | 280 | 2 | 40.0 | 70.0 |
| Brenton Strange, Jac. | 31 | 21 | 243 | 3 | 42.3 | 63.3 |
| Dawson Knox, Buf. | 24 | 20 | 222 | 3 | 42.2 | 62.2 |
| Juwan Johnson, N.O. | 35 | 28 | 352 | 0 | 33.2 | 61.2 |
| Zach Ertz, Was. | 38 | 27 | 275 | 0 | 27.5 | 54.5 |
| Chigoziem Okonkwo, Ten. | 33 | 21 | 183 | 2 | 30.3 | 51.3 |
| Cade Otton, T.B. | 28 | 22 | 191 | 1 | 25.1 | 47.1 |
| T.J. Hockenson, Min. | 25 | 20 | 197 | 1 | 25.7 | 45.7 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 36 | 22 | 177 | 1 | 23.7 | 45.7 |
| Tyler Warren, Ind. | 38 | 21 | 155 | 1 | 21.7 | 42.7 |
| Mason Taylor, NYJ | 31 | 20 | 161 | 1 | 22.1 | 42.1 |
| Gunnar Helm, Ten. | 25 | 20 | 141 | 1 | 20.1 | 40.1 |
Most likely, the Falcons will be franchising Pitts, either working out a long-term deal or maybe making him prove it one more year. Regardless, his 2025 finish makes it seem like he'll be one of the first few tight ends selected in drafts next year. Just hope they use him as much with Penix back in the lineup, and with a new coaching staff under Kevin Stefanski, as they did late last season.
--Andy Richardson
