Kyle Pitts

Kyle Anthony Pitts (born October 6, 2000) is an American football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won the John Mackey Award in 2020.

Not to be confused with Kylie Fitts.

Kyle Pitts
refer to caption
Pitts with the Atlanta Falcons in 2021
No. 8 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (2000-10-06) October 6, 2000
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pennsylvania)
College:Florida (2018–2020)
NFL Draft:2021 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2023
Receptions:121
Receiving yards:1,680
Receiving touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Pitts was selected fourth overall by the Falcons in the 2021 NFL Draft, making him the highest drafted tight end in NFL history. He was later named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie, the first at his position to do so in two decades.

Early years

Pitts originally attended Abington Senior High School in Abington, Pennsylvania before transferring to Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania in 2016.[1] He played tight end and defensive end on the football team. Pitts played in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game.[2] He committed to the University of Florida to play college football.[3][4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Kyle Pitts
TE		 Warminster, PA Archbishop Wood 6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 4.70 s Jul 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career

Pitts played in 11 games as a backup his true freshman season at Florida in 2018. He finished the year with three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.[5] In 2019, he took over as the starting tight end. Pitts played in all 13 games his sophomore season at Florida in 2019. He finished the year with 54 receptions for 649 yards and 5 touchdowns. Pitts earned First-team All-SEC for the season.[6][7][8]

During the 2020 season, curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitts scored 12 touchdowns in eight games while gaining 770 yards on 43 receptions.[9] He was named a unanimous All-American and won the John Mackey Award as the most outstanding tight end in college football for the season.[10]

Statistics
Season GP Receiving
RecYdsAvgTD
2018 1137324.31
2019 135464912.05
2020 84377017.912
Career321001,49214.918

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 5+5⁄8 in
(1.97 m)		 245 lb
(111 kg)		 33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 10+5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		4.44 s1.55 s2.59 s4.35 s7.12 s33.5 in
(0.85 m)		10 ft 9 in
(3.28 m)		22 reps
All values from Pro Day[11][12][13]

Pitts was selected in the first round with the fourth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2021 NFL Draft, making him the highest drafted tight end in NFL history.[14] He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $32.9 million, on June 29, 2021.[15]

2021 season
Pitts scores his first career touchdown against the New York Jets in his rookie season.

In his NFL debut, Pitts had four receptions for 31 yards in a 6–32 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.[16] In Week 2, Pitts had five catches for 79 yards in a 25–48 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[17] In Week 5 against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pitts caught nine passes for 119 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the 27–20 win.[18] In Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins, Pitts finished with 163 receiving yards as the Falcons won 30–28. His 163 receiving yards set the Falcons franchise record for receiving yards in a single game by a tight end.[19]

In Week 16 against the Detroit Lions, Pitts had six receptions for 102 yards in the 20–16 win.[20] In that game, Pitts surpassed Tony Gonzalez for the Falcon franchise record for the most receiving yards in a single season by a tight end.[21] In Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills, Pitts joined Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.[22]

Pitts finished the season with 68 receptions for 1,026 yards and a touchdown.[23] He was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl, making him the first rookie at his position to make the Pro Bowl since Jeremy Shockey in 2002.[24] He was named to the 2021 PFWA All-Rookie Team.[25] He was ranked 91st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.[26]

2022 season

In Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks, Pitts had five receptions for 87 yards in the 27–23 win.[27] Pitts was ruled out with a hamstring injury for Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[28] Pitts returned from injury in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers and had his first touchdown of the season.[29] In Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, Pitts had 5 receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in the 37–34 overtime win.[30] In Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, Pitts suffered a knee injury in the second half. He was placed on injured reserve the following day for a torn MCL.[31] On November 30, 2022, Pitts was ruled out for the remainder of the season after having surgery to repair the MCL in his right knee.[32]

Pitts finished the season with 28 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns.[33]

NFL career statistics
Legend
Bold Career best
Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GPGSRecYdsY/RLngTDAttYdsY/ALngTDFumLost
2021ATL 1715681,02615.161100—0000
2022ATL 10102835612.733200—0000
2023ATL 752529811.93911−4−4.0−4000
Career34301211,68013.26141−4−4.0−4000

References
  1. Young, Ryan (June 26, 2018). "Once miscast at QB, 2018 signee Kyle Pitts found a home at TE and eventually at Florida". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. Gallen, Daniel (January 4, 2018). "Archbishop Wood TE Kyle Pitts starts, makes catch to set up touchdown in Under Armour All-America Game". PennLive.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  3. Lourim, Jake (July 20, 2017). "Archbishop Wood's Kyle Pitts commits to Florida". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  4. Gallen, Daniel (July 20, 2017). "Archbishop Wood tight end Kyle Pitts commits to Florida over Georgia, Virginia Tech". PennLive.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  5. Sammon, Will (April 15, 2019). "How Florida is developing Kyle Pitts into a hybrid 'mismatch nightmare'". The Athletic. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  6. Andreu, Robbie (October 16, 2019). "Pitts having breakout season". St. Augustine Record. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  7. Hall, Graham (September 24, 2019). "Kyle Pitts emerges in UF's passing game". Ocala.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  8. Thompson, Edgar (October 17, 2019). "UF tight end Kyle Pitts rapidly making his name as a key weapon for Gators". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  9. Schlabach, Mark (December 20, 2020). "Florida Gators TE Kyle Pitts says he will enter NFL draft, won't play in bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  10. Harvey, Demetrius (January 7, 2021). "Gators TE Kyle Pitts Wins Mackey Award, Named Unanimous All-American". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  11. "Kyle Pitts Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  12. "Kyle Pitts, Florida, TE, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  13. "Kyle Pitts 2021 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  14. Rothstein, Michael (April 30, 2021). "Kyle Pitts to Atlanta Falcons with No. 4 overall pick in NFL draft, highest-selected TE in history". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  15. Patra, Kevin. "Falcons sign No. 4 pick Kyle Pitts to $32.9M rookie contract". NFL.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  16. "Eagles vs. Falcons - Game Recap - September 12, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  17. "Falcons vs. Buccaneers - Game Recap - September 19, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  18. "Jets vs. Falcons - Game Summary - October 10, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  19. Farner, Keith (October 24, 2021). "Kyle Pitts breaks franchise record, has huge game for Atlanta Falcons". Saturday Down South. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  20. "Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons - December 26th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  21. Rhim, Kris (December 26, 2021). "'He's different': Kyle Pitts sets franchise record in win over Lions". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  22. Gordon, Grant (January 2, 2022). "Falcons' Kyle Pitts becomes second rookie TE ever with 1,000-yard season". NFL.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  23. "Kyle Pitts 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  24. Rothstein, Michael (December 23, 2021). "Atlanta Falcons' Kyle Pitts first rookie Pro Bowl tight end in almost two decades". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  25. "2021 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  26. "2022 NFL Top 100". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  27. "Falcons vs. Seahawks - Game Recap - September 25, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  28. Shook, Nick (October 7, 2022). "Falcons rule out TE Kyle Pitts (hamstring) for Week 5 vs. Buccaneers". NFL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  29. "49ers vs. Falcons - Game Recap - October 16, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  30. "Panthers vs. Falcons - Game Recap - October 30, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  31. Shook, Nick (November 21, 2022). "Falcons TE Kyle Pitts believed to have suffered torn MCL vs. Bears, placed on IR". NFL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  32. Rothstein, Michael (November 30, 2022). "Falcons' Pitts has knee surgery, out rest of season". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  33. "Kyle Pitts 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
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