Will the Falcons pick up Kyle Pitts’ 5th year option?

There’s a major decision looming for this team and their young tight end.

Through three seasons, Kyle Pitts is keeping some impressive company. Just 16 tight ends in NFL history have more yardage through those first three years than he does—and that’s with Pitts missing several games and recovering from injury in 2023—and just 19 have more receptions. The low touchdown totals thus far have been disappointing, but if Pitts were just any tight end, we’d be thrilled with the production we’ve seen from him thus far.

But Pitts is not just any tight end. Selected fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Pitts was selected to be the ultimate weapon for this Atlanta Falcons passing attack, a move-him-anywhere threat and a red zone chaos causer because of his height, speed, and ability. No tight end had ever been drafted that high before, and thus expectations for the Florida product’s career have been sky-high since the moment he entered the league.

We enter his critical fourth season at somewhat of a crossroads, then. Pitts had a terrific rookie season but couldn’t find a rapport with Marcus Mariota in 2022 and then got hurt, while the 2023 season saw him dealing with more poor quarterback play and a recovery from a PCL/MCL injury that clearly impacted him throughout the season. Ostensibly set to be fully healthy going into 2024 and with a new coaching staff and quarterback on the way, it’s possible that Pitts will finally rocket to the kind of high-end production we all hoped for since the moment he was drafted.

The problem for the Falcons is that they can’t wait to see that production before they make a big decision regarding Pitts’ future in Atlanta. His fifth-year option must be picked up by early May, clocking in as it does at a little over $10 million, which means the Falcons have to figure out if they want Pitts playing for them in 2025 or not right this moment.

I don’t think it’s a terribly difficult decision, myself, but I don’t pretend to know which way the team is leaning. For perspective’s sake, the $10.5 million we’re talking about here would rank 12th in annual average for tight end salaries in 2024, and Pitts was 11th in targets and receiving yards at the position in 2023. You can’t know that Pitts will be healthy and contributing at a top 12 level among NFL tight ends in 2025, but if you’re confident in his recovery and your ability to field an offense that better maximizes his obvious talent, you can make a strong bet that he’ll put up that kind of production. I’d bet, if the Falcons figure out quarterback, on Pitts being closer to a top five tight end in 2024 and 2025.

Even if the Falcons with their new coaching staff are deciding that Pitts isn’t necessarily a long-term piece of the puzzle in Atlanta, having him under contract for 2025 at a less-than-outrageous sum will do nothing to hurt his trade value. With the tight end position so unsettled in Atlanta and Pitts’ talent so readily evident even after the past two seasons of vaguely-to-fully disappointing production, I would not consider this a particularly difficult decision for our Falcons.

I suspect that’s the conclusion they’ll land on. Terry Fontenot drafted Pitts and is still here, while Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson are surely going to want to give their next quarterback high-end talent to work with to ensure his success. A productive tight end leaving a recovery year behind him with terrific size, speed, and potential who is just 23 years old should absolutely be a piece of the puzzle for the Falcons.

I don’t expect there to be much intrigue here, barring a surprise trade out of town for the Falcons to pick up draft capital to take a big swing at this year’s class. The Falcons should pick up Kyle Pitts’ fifth year option, and I suspect they will.