Sometimes, no matter how great a receiver is, it can take a minute to develop a connection with a new quarterback. That was the case for rookie Kyle Pitts, the Falcons’ first-round pick in 2021, and the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history. Pitts was a true unicorn in college even with current Buccaneers backup Kyle Trask throwing him helium balls all over the place, so with Matt Ryan as his NFL quarterback and new head coach/offensive play-caller Arthur Smith making the most out of two- and three-tight sets as he did when he was the Titans’ offensive coordinator, you would not be faulted if you took the over all all possible Pitts projections.
Through Atlanta’s first four games, though, that didn’t really happen. Pitts had just 15 catches on 29 targets for 189 yards and no touchdowns. The “bust” alarms weren’t going off yet, but there was room for concern.
Unless you talked with Ryan this week about Pitts’ potential in this offense, which I was fortunate to do.
Ryan was quite effusive about how Pitts was fitting in so far, and that went back to the Falcons’ Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers, and their Week 3 win over the Giants. Pitts caught four passes on nine targets against Washington’s leaky defense in Week 4, but Ryan was unperturbed about the potential.
Perhaps all that was needed was a change in continent. In a 27-20 win over the Jets at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday morning, Pitts went off for nine catches on 10 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown, and another 29-yard catch that was negated by a holding penalty. The Falcons were without their two top receivers in Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, so Pitts had to make his mark. Which is exactly what he did.
“I just thought we had the right guys who were going to step up,” Ryan told Melissa Stark of the NFL Network right after the game. “Kyle Pitts played the best game he’s played all year for us. He’s going to be a special player. He’s continued to get better as the year goes along. When we needed it the most, Kyle made the play that got us jump-started.”
That might have been Pitts’ first NFL touchdown, a two-yard score with 1:42 left in the first quarter that made the score 10-0.
ROOKIE'S FIRST SCORE HAPPENS ACROSS THE POND! @kylepitts__#DirtyBirds | @NFLUK
đź“ş: #NYJvsATL on @NFLNetwork
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/BFGGRRNSUc— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2021
Less than optimal coverage from the Jets, and as Ryan said after the game, the Falcons were ready to take advantage of Gang Green’s decision to play a ton of man coverage.
At other times, it was unclear exactly what the Jets were doing. When you have a 6-foot-6, 246-pound tight end who can run a 4.44 40-yard dash and vaporize late coverage on a deep post, you might want to watch out for that.
Jets just letting Kyle Pitts fly by on the post… coulda been six with a better ball. The Pitts breakout game is here (9 receptions, 119 yards, TD so far). pic.twitter.com/VVApWUPeXH
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) October 10, 2021
“I was just patient all through the week, and tried to have a great practice every day,” Pitts told Stark. “Trying to be the best I can be every day.”
It finally paid off for Pitts, but his quarterback knew beforehand that the explosion was coming.