The Atlanta Falcons look to make great strides in 2023, after finishing the last two seasons at 7-10. It will be head coach Arthur Smith's third season at the helm, where it seems now he has a team more to his fitting, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, his specialty. He will have to navigate through a second season quarterback, Desmond Ridder, who has little playing time as a starter. That's why, for the Falcons, one of Ridder's weapons could be crucial in the evolution of the team, to where it's a make or break season in 2023.
Kyle Pitts
You might see that name and think, Kyle Pitts, surprising player? Or, maybe even the opposite of, Kyle Pitts is going to make or break the Falcons this season? It would be reasonable to see how there could be skepticism from both sides of that. But let's check it out.
For one, where no surprises from this team comes is that they're going to rely on running the ball and being creative with their backfield. That seems evident with their No. 8 overall draft pick in Bijan Robinson, who is an all-out versatile back that not only can run but catch out of the backfield. They also have last year's starter and 1,000-plus yard runner in Tyler Algeier. And then, of course, you a swiss-army knife player like Cordarrelle Patterson who Smith has used in a multitude of ways since he came to Atlanta. So, yeah, the Falcons will be getting the use out of their backs. It's their pass-catchers that will be interesting.
How Smith will help Ridder adjust in his second year with his receivers will be intriguing, but nothing more so than with his use of tight end Kyle Pitts. Drake London is bound to be the wide receiver number one, where Smith and his offensive staff will hope he can make jump in year two of his progression. His 866 yards and four touchdowns from his rookie season last year were solid, but it's certainly not enough for a No. 1.
Pitts, on the other hand, is coming off a rather disappointing year, where he only accounted for 356 yards on 12 targets with two touchdowns. He only played 10 games due to an MCL injury. Yet, it was still concerning how the Falcons couldn't find ways to get Pitts that ball, especially deep down in the redzone.
This is why Pitts is such a surprising player to make or break the Falcons' season this year.
Kyle Pitts looking healthy, returning to form
The former Florida Gators tight end came into the Falcons as one of the best prospects in the entire draft two seasons ago. He finished his career in Gainesville with 18 touchdowns and 1,492 yards. After being drafted No. 4 overall by Atlanta in the 2021 draft, he was thought to be one of the cornerstones to what the Falcons were building under Smith. But Smith has still yet to figure out how to fully utilize him in his offense as of yet. Granted, some of that is due to bad quarterback play, where Pitts started his career with an aging Matt Ryan in his first season and then last year with Marcus Mariota, who is now a backup for the Philadelphia Eagles. So, needless to say, Pitts hasn't been on the best rosters at the beginning of his career, but this season looks very promising.
As far a his injury goes, luckily, it's said that he's recovering nicely, looking to be back to his peak-performance and that'll he be good to go by the start of the season.
In fact, in a 7-0n-7 drill at a recent practice, Ridder's first two target completions were to Pitts, signifying what we could be seeing a lot of for the Falcons this season.
“Felt pretty good,” Pitts told ESPN's Michael Rothstein. “It was fun being back out here with the guys.”
Pitts has 1,382 yards and three touchdowns for his career, which is exceedingly low for what was expected of him after he was drafted. The fact that he's already connecting with Ridder is a positive sign that those numbers will move upward in 2023.
Ridder, who still lacks experience, will likely be looking Pitts way a lot, or at least he should, using the big-bodied tight end in crucial situations, particularly down in the redzone. With his strong hands and route running that he possessed coming out of Florida, Smith can hopefully position Pitts for Ridder's advantage as a necessary target. This is why Pitts will be a catalyst for this Falcons team this year, where they will hope to finally sneak into the playoffs, or maybe even downright win the lowly NFC South.
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