Kyle Pitts entered the league in 2021 with pomp and circumstance as the best TE prospect in years. He had a solid rookie season, finishing as TE7 with 1,026 yards receiving on 110 targets. The sad thing about that season was that he only had one TD. Pitts’ fantasy football managers were frustrated, and there was much feeling about what could have been if he had just had a few more TDs.
The next year was a letdown as Pitts did not play a full season and finished as TE33, but managers were hopeful again heading into 2023.
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Kyle Pitts Rest-of-Season Fantasy Outlook
The success of Pitts rests upon the success of QB Desmond Ridder and the play-calling of head coach Arthur Smith. Smith and the Falcons have run the ball the ninth-most in the NFL in 2023 so far, coming off a year where they ranked third in yards ran in 2022. The Falcons’ offense flows through the run game, with rookie Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier pounding the pavement.
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This doesn’t look to stop too soon, as Ridder does not look to have the talent to carry an NFL team with his arm. In Week 1, Ridder only had 18 attempts. The attempts went up in the next two weeks, but in Week 3, Ridder only passed for 201 yards and did not throw a TD. Pitts is averaging a 20% target share so far this year, but if Ridder only throws 20-25 times in a game, that is not many targets.
Should I Cut Pitts?
For Pitts to have value, Ridder has to throw the football more. Not only does he have to throw more, he has to throw better.
Pitts is an elite weapon with incredible athletic ability whose talent is being wasted in Smith’s system. According to our PFN Consensus Rankings, he is TE13 this week, and you can feel comfortable dropping him and streaming the position moving forward.