# Kyle Pitts NFL player. Position: **TE**. Team: **ATL**. ## Quick Facts - **Position:** TE - **Team:** ATL (Atlanta Falcons) - **Bye week (2026):** 13 ## 2026 Outlook 25-year-old Falcons TE entering career year under new OC Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski's previous offenses (Browns, Steelers) threw 27.2% of passes to tight ends (167 targets/season), and he joins Atlanta's Aaron Rodgers-led offense. Viewed as a disappointment due to high draft expectations, but Pitts has 3,579 receiving yards (4th among all TEs since being drafted) and battled injuries while struggling in red zone. Stefanski's scheme should unlock potential. If healthy, Pitts projects to 1,000+ receiving yards and finish as top-5 TE. (per 2026 Fantasy Football: Heath Cummings' Breakouts 1.0) Pitts' opportunity expands considerably under Stefanski, who built his reputation featuring tight ends prominently in his passing game. At Cleveland (2022-2024), Stefanski's offenses targeted TEs at elite rates, with Harold Fannin Jr. leading Cleveland in receptions as a 2025 rookie—a blueprint Pitts could follow in Atlanta's explosive offense (per 2026 NFL Preview: Which 10 Players Are Most Likely To Benefit From Coaching Change?). QB situation shift: newly-signed Tua Tagovailoa (3-year, $67.5M in Miami) landed in Atlanta on a cheap $1.2M deal and is competing with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job. At May OTAs, Tua connected with Pitts on red-zone opportunities, with both looking sharp in team drills (per Falcons OTAs: Tua Tagovailoa finds Drake London, Kyle Pitts). If Tua wins the competition, Pitts' red-zone touch rate could improve significantly given Tua's mobility and play-action passing experience. The Penix competition should clarify by late July. Pitts is on the 2026 franchise tag ($15.1M) and sits 609-779 yards away from the top 3 TE receiving yards in team history, putting him on track to break a Falcons TE record in 2026 (per Bijan Robinson, Drake London among Falcons looking to make franchise history in 2026). Franchise tag designation opens trade possibility — teams inquired about acquiring Pitts before the 2026 draft, though Falcons signaled no imminent deal (per Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts signs franchise tag, trade incoming?). New offensive coordinator Tyler Rees (age 34, first-year play-caller from Cleveland) will command the offensive strategy for Pitts alongside Bijan Robinson and Drake London as part of an elite, all-draft-pick skill unit (per 10 first-year NFL coordinators under most pressure in 2026). Rees' success in maximizing all three could define his reputation early in his play-calling career. Pitts' 2025 performance contained wildly divergent splits depending on Drake London's availability: when London played, Pitts averaged 4 receptions for 42 yards across 12 games, but when London was absent, those numbers exploded to 7 receptions for 84 yards. This volatility, combined with the off-season uncertainty about whether Pitts would remain in Atlanta (trade rumors persist), keeps him in boom/bust territory despite his exceptional 2025 resurgence. The question of whether 2025 represents a sustainable return to form or an outlier hinges on offensive continuity under Stefanski (per 2026 Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Preview: Will Bijan Robinson be the RB1?). Kirk Cousins' arrival in 2025 (replacing Michael Penix) was pivotal to Pitts' resurgence, but with Cousins now in Las Vegas backing up Fernando Mendoza, Pitts faces uncertainty with either Penix (should he return healthy) or Tua Tagovailoa taking snaps, keeping him in TE8 range despite elite upside (per 2026 Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Preview: Will Bijan Robinson be the RB1?). Pitts signed a 3-year, $54M contract extension (signed June 24), locking him into the Falcons long-term and removing trade uncertainty. The deal is worth $18M/year average—third-highest among all NFL tight ends—and follows his successful 2025 campaign (88 catches, 928 yards, 5 TDs) and reinforces team's commitment to their highest-drafted TE in modern history. The extension represents the largest three-year deal for a tight end in NFL history. Contract security should boost his ADP and fantasy outlook for 2026, though his production ceiling remains tied to offensive coordination and QB stability (per 2026 NFL Offseason Buzz: Bills Legend Jim Kelly Opens Up About Recent Health Scare, NFL Network: Falcons TE Kyle Pitts agrees to three-year, $54M contract). **Sell signal heading into 2026:** Pitts topped 10 fantasy points in only 6 of 17 games in 2025, with 4 of those games occurring when Drake London was sidelined. His "hot streak" over the final 8 weeks (when he was the TE3 in average scoring) was driven largely by injury luck rather than sustainable opportunity. With London healthy entering 2026 and the Falcons adding new weapons like rookie WR Zachariah Branch, Pitts' downside risk is elevated. Dynasty league managers should consider capitalizing on his elevated name value post-contract-extension to trade him before he regresses to his pre-2025 form. (per Fantasy Football: Players you should be selling off in dynasty leagues right now - Yahoo Sports) **Expert outlook vs. market:** CBS Sports' Fantasy Football World Cup expert Heath Cummings is "very excited for Kyle Pitts in his first season in Kevin Stefanski's offense" and rates Pitts two spots ABOVE Davante Adams in his top-200. Cummings' confidence stems from Stefanski's historical usage of tight ends (27.2% target share in Cleveland/Pittsburgh offenses) and Pitts' dual-threat potential with Rodgers. The Falcons' move to add Pitts puts them in contention over the Rams in expert matchup analysis, contingent on Atlanta getting "slightly better" QB play than Pitts has experienced previously. This suggests upside exists if the QB competition (Penix vs. Tua) resolves favorably. (per Fantasy Football World Cup: Crowning the NFL team with the best offensive talent for 2026 - CBS Sports) ## Role / Depth Chart Projected starter at TE for Atlanta once healthy. ## Injury Status Healthy (88 catches, 928 yards, 5 TDs in 2025). ## Recent News - 2026-06-23 — Falcons, star TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal (Falcons, star TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal) - 2026-06-23 — Sources: Falcons, TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal (Sources: Falcons, TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal) - 2026-06-23 — Falcons extend Kyle Pitts on $54 million deal, making him one of the NFL's... (Falcons extend Kyle Pitts on $54 million deal, making him one of the NFL's...) - 2026-06-22 — Ranking the NFL's biggest offseason losers: Patriots, Packers facing questions (Ranking the NFL's biggest offseason losers: Patriots, Packers facing questions) - 2026-03-09 — Tennessee Titans free agency tracker live updates, free agent signings, top NFL... 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