The Falcons hope their chain linking Kyle Pitts to the quarterback and play-caller is the strongest it’s been since 2021
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix came out after his first training camp practice, talking up both his desire and ability to get tight end Kyle Pitts the ball. Such confidence massively increases hopes that 2025 will mark a critical “re-breakout” year for Pitts as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
Penix’s arm strength and confidence in Pitts are essential factors for the latter’s success this year. The arm could help unlock Pitts’ greatest asset: his field-stretching potential. And the confidence is key, as we’ve watched a revolving door of quarterbacks in Atlanta since Pitts arrived in 2021, which certainly hasn’t helped build a rapport with anyone.
But confidence and arm talent alone won’t be able to unlock Pitts fully. Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also figures to be a huge part of the equation.
Essentially, there are three links in the chain for Pitts’ success: the tight end himself, the quarterback, and the play-caller. One of the main reasons why Pitts hasn’t quite lived up to the billing as the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history boils down to at least one of those links breaking.
The exception was his rookie year, when all three links in the chain worked. You had a play-caller in head coach Arthur Smith going out of his way to feature Pitts as the main weapon. The Falcons had a veteran quarterback in Matt Ryan, who could get him the ball whenever he was featured. And you had a young, hungry Pitts eager to show what he could do as a rookie.
Yet, the following season in 2022, the quarterback was the weakest link in the chain, given that the Falcons used Pitts as a vertical threat, and Marcus Mariota was one of the NFL’s least efficient downfield passers.
Pitts also suffered a significant knee injury in 2022, which lingered into 2023, weakening the link in the chain represented by the tight end himself. Quarterback Desmond Ridder’s play and Smith’s play-calling weren’t good enough to compensate for Pitts essentially playing on one leg.
Then, in 2024, with the hiring of Robinson and the signing of quarterback Kirk Cousins, expectations were high that those links were solidified. However, neither side quite lived up to the billing.
Cousins and Pitts never seemed to develop the connection necessary, some of which is owed to some poor route-running from the tight end. That was combined with Cousins’ poor play in the second half of 2024, which also didn’t help.
Yet, Robinson rarely seemed interested in involving Pitts in the offense, especially in the rarely used play-action passing attack. According to Next Gen Stats, Pitts ran just 14 routes last season on play-action pass plays. The average among the other top 32 most productive tight ends in the NFL was 68. Among the five Pro Bowl tight ends, it was 96 routes via play action.
So while Penix’s confidence in Pitts is certainly meaningful, it means little if the Falcons tight end continues to get a fraction of the opportunities of his peers. However, the early returns from camp suggest that Robinson and the Falcons’ coaching staff have learned from their mistakes. Pitts’ impressive first practice and the extra work he and Penix appear to be actively putting into reinforcing their bond are strong indicators that those links in the chain will only continue to strengthen. If Robinson emphasizes the play-action passing game, it should help unlock more of Pitts for the first time since 2021, securing all three links in the chain.
In light of Darnell Mooney’s recent shoulder injury and the unknown timetable for his recovery, it only emphasizes the need for the Falcons to get more out of Pitts sooner versus later.
But we’ve been here before when there is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Pitts during the summer that fizzles once we hit the fall. Still, this is the last time you need to buy the hype, because if it doesn’t pay off this year, then Pitts will be gone in 2026. If it does, the Falcons may be well on their way to fulfilling the promise and potential of having one of the NFL’s best offenses.