It was a foregone conclusion that Kyle Pitts would hear his name called well inside the top-10 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft. In fact, he was the odds-on favorite to be selected exactly where he went, pick four to the Atlanta Falcons. Some draft pundits were expecting the Falcons to trade down, but it turns out they were just fine taking one of the best tight end prospects in NFL history.
Landing Spot Outlook
What does this mean for his short-term outlook? Well, incoming head coach Arthur Smith (a former tight ends coach and Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator) loves to use his tight ends. In fact, no team utilized 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs) more than Arthur Smith’s Tennessee Titans last year. Multiple tight ends were on the field over 50% of the time. Smith uses his tight ends as fullbacks, in-line, out of the slot, everywhere. Over 130 targets went to tight ends for the Titans last year. However, no individual tight end saw more than 70 targets. So will Kyle Pitts’ talent be enough to warrant a larger chunk of the tight end targets in Atlanta?
Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley could easily garner 250-plus targets by themselves. Hayden Hurst, still there at tight end, just saw nearly 90 targets head his way last year. That doesn’t leave a ton of targets to go around unless the Falcons intentionally funnel things his way. The good news is, given his production profile, athletic profile, and overall top tier status among the all-time tight end greats, he still might be good enough to earn some targets early.
