When it comes to evaluating rookies in the NFL, snap judgments are far too common. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith wants fans and analysts to keep perspective when watching this year’s rookie class make its debut during Friday’s preseason opener against the Titans.
“It’s all about keeping perspective,” stated Smith. “Everyone wants to be so quick to make snap judgments and label this and you get narratives going that are just not true.
Whether it happens Friday night, a guy has eight catches, I’ve seen that, or quarterback throws 350 yards. Well, it may have been a soft two minutes, may have been down three possessions. There’s a lot of narratives being built, but ultimately the story will be told as the season’s over and hopefully when these guys have long careers.”
Rookie performances can vary for a lot of reasons, one of them being the quality of the competition in the preseason. As the talent level drops off late in games, the production should be taken with a grain of salt.
Falcons first-round pick Kyle Pitts is entering the season with extremely high expectations after the team passed on drafting a quarterback at No. 4 overall. However, it is important to remember that this is the very first professional action of Pitts’ career.
Smith was quick to remind reporters that it won’t just be highlight moments for Pitts, and that the young tight end will see his share of trials along the way.
“It’s not going to be perfect for him,” Smith explained. “It’s a foreign environment. Everybody’s pretty good in the NFL, the guys that play on Sundays, and you want to see how they adapt and it’s not overreacting, keeping the big picture in sight, and you want to make sure that they’re improving, and they’re not just all of a sudden reaching a point where you’re getting diminishing returns.”
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