Michael RothsteinESPN Staff Writer3 minute read
ATLANTA — Kyle Pitts was one of the last Atlanta Falcons to leave the field Sunday afternoon. The third-year tight end came to life as he walked to the locker room. He had good reason to be so.
Sunday’s game was like his rookie year — 11 targets, seven catches, 87 yards — unlike his injury-plagued second year. In recent months, head coach Arthur Smith has described Pitts’ recovery after knee surgery as a “long road.”
Things improved against Houston. Pitts looked similar to the player he was as a rookie when it came to speed, route running and difficult catches. Quarterback Desmond Ridder kept going to him and it worked.
But Pitts said he doesn’t necessarily need to see those games to know he’s improving.
“Selfish, no,” Pitts said. “I just wanted to get back in the win category. More importantly, get a win and move on to the next week.”
Now, the next step in Pitts’ journey is “consistency.” The last time Pitts had three consecutive games of 50 or more receiving yards was from Dec. 19, 2021 to Jan. 2, 2022: 77 yards against San Francisco, 102 yards against Detroit, and 69 yards against Buffalo. Recorded yards. Before Sunday, his last game with 50 or more receiving yards was on Oct. 30, 2022, against Carolina.
This is misleading, as he injured his knee three games later and had already played most of the 2022 season with a hamstring injury.
“Everyone is different, and when it clicks, it clicks,” Smith said. “Look at how he’s feeling this week. It’s not like, people forget, they get callous to the fact that they’re coming back from injury, I mean, they look like superheroes sometimes. I know, but they’re human.”
“And it was great to see. He got into a rhythm and made some great plays for us.”
Pitts had five catches of 10 yards or more against the Texans, all on second or third down. Three of the four passes he didn’t catch were also attempts of more than 10 yards, indicating the Falcons are at least trying to get him involved in the intermediate passing game.
Four of his 10 longest targets of the season came against Houston, and half of his 16 targets of 10 yards or more came against the Texans.
It also could tell a lot about how the Falcons use Pitts in 2023.
Of the 140 routes he ran, 47 routes lined up in the left slot (10 targets, 10 receives) and 37 routes lined up in the right slot (8 targets, 5 receives), according to ESPN Stats & Information. We lined up. 22 players lined up wide on the left (3 targets, no receivers), and 19 lined up wide on the right (7 targets, 3 receivers).
Pitts ran routes from the tight end spot on 15 plays, but had only three targets and no catches.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Pitts has been on the field for 225 offensive snaps and 211 plays this season, 103 times in the slot, 64 times as an out, and 49 times as a tight end. .
This is a difference from 2022, when Pitts lined up 185 snaps at tight end, 144 snaps in the slot, 95 snaps at wideout, and 7 snaps in the backfield, and Pitts lined up 300 snaps at tight end and 238 snaps in the slot. It’s almost the same as 2021 when I played . Tight end and 229 out wide.
The Falcons continue to use Pitts everywhere, which is no surprise in Smith’s offense, but where he lines up most often has changed.
“There’s no perfect timeline,” Smith said a week ago about when players will be fully healthy. Pitts said last week that there were times this season when he reached that point.
“I see him doing really well right now,” Smith said before the game against the Texans. “There are certain things that were a journey back for him to get there.
“I hate to put a percentage on it, but I felt like I had to acknowledge that.” [against the Jaguars], there were some that looked as fast as a rookie on the outside. So it’s getting closer. ”