Kyle Pitts

Last updated

Kyle Pitts
Kyle Pitts Atlanta Falcons West Point Visit 52306771409 (cropped).jpg
Pitts in 2022
No. 8 – Atlanta Falcons
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Born: (2000-10-06) October 6, 2000 (age 24)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 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 13, 2024
Receptions:184
Receiving yards:2,543
Receiving touchdowns:9
Stats at Pro Football Reference

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

Contents

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 life

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]

College recruiting information
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeight40Commit date
Kyle Pitts
TE
Warminster, PA Archbishop Wood6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m)235 lb (107 kg)4.70 sJul 20, 2017 
Star ratings: Rivals: 4 stars.svg     247Sports: 4 stars.svg     ESPN: 4 stars.svg
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-Southeastern Conference 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]

College statistics

SeasonTeamGPReceiving
RecYdsAvgTD
2018 Florida 1137324.31
2019 Florida 135464912.05
2020 Florida 84377017.912
Total 321001,49214.918

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 5+58 in
(1.97 m)
245 lb
(111 kg)
33+12 in
(0.85 m)
10+58 in
(0.27 m)
4.40 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]

2021 season

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]

Pitts scores his first career touchdown against the New York Jets in his rookie season. Kyle Pitts TD Falcons-Jets 2021.png
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 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]

2023 season

In the 2023 season, Pitts had 53 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns. [34]

2024 season

On April 29, 2024, the Falcons picked up the fifth-year option on Pitts' contract. [35]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer best
YearTeamGamesReceivingRushingFumbles
GPGSRecYdsY/RLngTDAttYdsY/ALngTDFumLost
2021 ATL 1715681,02615.1611000000
2022 ATL 10102835612.7332000000
2023 ATL 17155366712.63931−4−4.0−4000
2024 ATL 10103448514.3523000000
Career 54501832,53413.76191−4−4.0−4000

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References

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  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.
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