Can Pitts elevate his game within an offense on the upswing?

Will McFadden

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. The 2025 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror and for the first time in Terry Fontenot's run as general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, the team did not select an offensive player in the first round.

That streak ended after four consecutive drafts, and it began with a player whose reputation among Atlanta fans is quite mercurial. In the four intervening years since he was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Kyle Pitts has shown brilliant flashes and gone dark for stretches.

As the 24-year-old tight end prepares to enter the final year of his rookie contract, a familiar word hangs in the air.

"I think the biggest thing for Kyle, we talk about it all the time, too, it's just about his consistency," Falcons tight end coach Kevin Kroger said.

Pitts had four straight games with at least 65 yards from Weeks 5-8 last season, and he capped off that run with his first career multi-score game. Through eight weeks, Pitts had 419 yards and three touchdowns. It was ostensibly the greatest eight-game start of Pitts' career.

His finish wasn't quite so strong.

During the final nine games of the season, Pitts gained 183 yards and scored one touchdown.

"He's really a big play tight end," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said in Week 15 of the 2024 season. "And when he gets an opportunity to get those things, he goes off and explodes. I compare him to almost, I know it's a completely different position, it's a completely different human, but he reminds me of when I was with DeSean Jackson. DeSean Jackson could have two catches for 180 yards and then he can disappear the rest of the day."

Greater consistency is something the Falcons will need more of from Pitts, especially with the offense expected to take a jump in the second year under offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and with Michael Penix Jr. behind center. The quarterback position can't be entirely excluded from the Pitts conversation, though.

It's no secret that Atlanta has had a revolving door at quarterback in each of Pitts' first four seasons. His first year working with Matt Ryan also proved to be his best thus far, highlighting the importance of that connection. Of course, the flip side of that argument is that Pitts has not emerged as the top option despite working with several different quarterbacks.

Those discussions are beside the point in Atlanta's tight end room, though.

"I tell him, 'We create our own reality. Nobody else, we do it on our own,'" Koger said. "You can't point to one position or another, you just have to look internally and see what we can do better, and put the best product out there that we can."

So, how are the Falcons helping Pitts put the best product on the field?

Consistency at the tight end position can be harder to achieve than at others. The dual nature of the role means that there greater responsibilities for tight ends than other skill positions. Even for a player like Pitts, who entered the draft viewed as a tight end with the skill set of a top-flight wide receiver, the split responsibilities can't be avoided. They are an important lever for modern offenses.

Building consistency on a big-picture level means executing the smallest details on a regular basis. There may be more details for a tight end to execute, but that's the job.

"He knows what he needs to work on," Robinson said. "The details and some of the fundamentals, techniques, the consistency down in and down out. Those are things we talk about with him, coach Koger talks about with him all the time It is those finer details and that next level that he can take as a player."

The flashes have been spectacular. Like the41-yard touchdownagainst Tampa Bay on a fourth-and-3, or any timehes ever run a corner route. Internally, though, the belief is that focusing on the granular should create more opportunities for the spectacular.

Carrying a "generational" label as Pitts did as a draft prospect immediately broadens the scope of expectation and evaluation. Before a player ever sets foot on an NFL field, opinions have taken hold, and it's easy to get caught up in noise. But while fans and media pundits debate all-time lists and season-long accomplishments, Atlanta's coaches want to narrow the focus.

"Just day in and day out and understanding there's a process to it," Koger said. "If you look at the entirety of the picture from a 10,000-foot view, you get overwhelmed."

It's not hard to get excited about what the Falcons' offense could become in 2025. The offensive line will return four starters;Drake London and Darnell Mooneyformed one of the league's best receiver tandems last year; the same canbe said about Atlantas running backsand now Penix Jr. will join the mix at quarterback.

In that formula, Pitts represents a major x-factor. His role is not quite so clear as it was, say, when he was a rookie on a team with diminished receiving options. But that cloudy role brings him closer to the true nature of the position and why it remains important for any offense.

"You are involved in essentially all parts of the offense: run game, pass game, pass protection," Koger said. "So, we have to know it all. I tell those guys in the room, 'Our job as a tight end is to make it right.' It's not always going to be perfect. Football is an imperfect game. For us, we have to be able to operate in a grey area."

Pitts was one of the first key pieces in this next chapter of Atlanta's offense, but his future in it beyond the 2025 season remains in doubt. Can Pitts elevate his game within an offense on the upswing?

There are a lot of reasons to believe Pitts can become that impact player for the Falcons. He's still got more than enough talent, four years of experience and enters his second season in Robinson's offense. Delivering on that promise, though, will boil down to the details.

"I am expecting Kyle to take a big jump in Year 2 of the system," Robinson said. "Year 2 of understanding what we are trying to do offensively, all those things that come with it. So, expecting a lot of good things from Kyle."

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