Star Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts seemingly took a jab at former quarterbacks and coaches when discussing what it would take to give new quarterback Kirk Cousins their No. 8 jersey.
Pitts, who has been with the Falcons since being the No. 4 overall pick in 2021, has had an underwhelming career thus far. Many do not blame Pitts for the lack of statistical output. Rather, they blame his former coach Arthur Smith along with the former quarterbacks for not targeting Pitts enough.
Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts just wants targets
Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts explained that the only thing he wants in exchange for the No. 8 jersey is targets.
Kyle Pitts just wants his targets 😅 https://t.co/b3Q1rQSudl pic.twitter.com/Fu1DqJc1jV
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) March 14, 2024
Pitts has played under former head coach Arthur Smith for the entirety of his NFL career. Many fans, especially those who participate in fantasy football, blame Smith for the dropoff in targets Pitts has seen in the last few years.
Smith has also caught the blame for star running back Bijan Robinson’s underwhelming production. Robinson was one of the best rookies in the league in 2023, but many thought he could’ve been much more productive without Arthur Smith.
With Cousins at QB and the bad man Arthur Smith gone, is Kyle Pitts finally not going to be a fantasy bust???
— Acme Packs (@AcmePacks) March 11, 2024
He’s highkey been sneak dissing Arthur Smith a lot😂😂😂😂😂😂
— Devon (@DevonTalton) March 7, 2024
Arthur Smith and Desmond Ridder can’t terrorize falcons fans and the fantasy community anymore 🙏🏻
— Bunj (@buckguy21) March 13, 2024
Atlanta Falcons tight end coach at the time, Justin Peelle, said that Kyle Pitts was a much better player in 2023 than he was in his rookie year in an ESPN article. Despite this, Pitts saw a reduced target rate along with reduced production.
“In my mind, I still say that he’s a better football player right now than he was his rookie year,” tight ends coach Justin Peelle said. “Just with the experience and then becoming an NFL professional and all those things that come with it.”
Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts has dealt with lackluster QB play since the departure of Matt Ryan
Kyle Pitts went from having 110 targets and over 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie to a much lighter workload in his second and third years in the NFL. He only had 59 targets in 10 games in 2022, but he had just 90 targets in a full 2023 season.
Kyle Pitts had fewer receiving yards in the last two seasons than he did in his entire rookie year. He did have legendary quarterback Matt Ryan throwing to him in 2021. Ryan was replaced by Marcus Mariota for a large portion of the 2021 season. Mariota was then replaced by young quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Pitts’ production dropped off hard without Matt Ryan at the helm, amassing just 356 and 667 yards receiving in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
While new quarterback Kirk Cousins has only won one playoff game in 12 years, he has had no trouble feeding his star wide receivers and tight ends. Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has played all four of his years in the NFL with Kirk Cousins and he hasn’t had less than 1,000 yards receiving once.
Tight end T.J. Hockenson had just under 1,500 yards receiving in 25 games with the Vikings. Cousins, who suffered an Achilles tear in 2023, wasn’t the quarterback for all of those games. Regardless, Hockenson was getting fed at a much higher rate than Pitts when Cousins was present.
Hockenson had less than eight targets just five times in 2023. Four of those five instances came after Cousins suffered his season-ending injury.
Plenty of question marks remain about Cousins since he is coming off of such a severe injury, but Kyle Pitts will likely get his wish and see an increased target rate in 2024.
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