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Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts came into the league with a lot of pomp and circumstance, and there were expectations he would be the next great, big tight end, perhaps challenging the Kansas City Chiefs’ Jason Kelce one day for the best in the league. That hasn’t exactly came into fruition, at least not yet.
In 2 NFL seasons across 27 games played, Pitts has managed 96 receptions and 1,382 receiving yards, but he has found the end zone on just 3 total occasions across the 2 campaigns.
It isn’t all the fault of Pitts. In 2021, with now-retired QB Matt Ryan, the tight end had a 1,000-yard season with 110 targets and 68 grabs. Yes, Pitts found the end zone just once, but he looked to be everything as advertised come out of the University of Florida.
However, in Year 2, Pitts really struggled with former QB Marcus Mariota, and a knee injury knocked him out in November before he was able to work with QB Desmond Ridder in game action. As it stands, Pitts had devolved into a TE2 before the injury, but that could be good news for fantasy managers in 2023.
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Kyle Pitts’ ADP: 68.71
(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)
The truth of the matter is the tight end position in fantasy football is Kelce (7.83), Baltimore Ravens’ Mark Andrews (32.25) and then San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (48.89), then it gets awfully sketchy after that.
Pitts had a 1,000-yard campaign in his rookie season, and he could be a bona fide high-end TE1 if he can stay healthy, and he can get just a little bit better quarterback play.
Among tight ends, Pitts’ ADP in redraft leagues is 7th, just behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ Dallas Goedert (63.86). Pitts’ ADP puts him ahead of Jacksonville Jaguars’ Evan Engram (80.08), Pittsburgh Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth (90.09), Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku (99.22) and Buffalo Bills’ Dalton Kincaid (99.29).
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Kyle Pitts’ 2022 stats
Games: 10
Receptions | targets: 28 | 59
Receiving yards: 356
Receiving touchdowns: 2
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Where should you draft Pitts?
Pitts is still smack dab in the middle of the TE1 conversation in fantasy football despite falling off dramatically in 2022. Fantasy managers know that the potential is there for big production.
However, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the Atlanta offense. Will rookie RB Bijan Robinson eat up a lot of the short to intermediate range targets catching balls out of the backfield, serving as Ridder’s safety valve? Can Pitts average more than 1.5 receiving TDs in a season, and be more of a presence in the red zone? And will Ridder elevate his play to make all of the receivers around him better?
If you miss out on the likes of Kelce, Andrews and Kittle, the second-tier of tight ends in fantasy is rather interchangeable. There are a lot of intriguing players with upsides. However, Pitts has a 1,000-yard season on his NFL resume already, and he could easily join that elite tier if his QB play is a little better, and if Pitts steps up his production in the red zone.
He is currently going anywhere from Round 6 through Round 7, and that’s a fine spot if you miss out on the elite TEs. Pitts has the potential to be exactly what he was in 2021, going over 1,000 yards. If he can get into the 6 or 7 TD area to go along with that yardage, he could be instrumental in winning you a fantasy championship. No, seriously.
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