The Atlanta Falcons have had one hand tied behind their back this offseason. They need to improve their roster after missing the playoffs last season but they’ve had limited resources to do so. Kirk Cousins contract is one boulder that has yet to be moved and the Falcons have spent most of free agency swapping average starters.
At some point, the Falcons are going to need to make a splash and what better time than the NFL Draft? But after losing a fifth-round draft pick for tampering with Kirk Cousins and a third-round pick in an ill-fated trade for Matthew Judon, they have just five draft picks to build around second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
This means that the Falcons are going to need to get creative to enhance their draft capital and it could mean a playmaker is as good as gone as Atlanta heads into the draft.
Kyle Pitts Is On Falcons’ Chopping Block Ahead of NFL Draft
Kyle Pitts was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft with the expectation of being a game-changer. After catching 97 passes for 1,419 yards and 17 touchdowns in his final season at the University of Florida, draft analysts tossed around words like “unicorn” and “generational talent” before he played a down in the NFL.
Pitts lived up to that hype during his rookie season, making the Pro Bowl with 68 catches for 1,026 yards and a touchdown in 17 games. But the past three seasons have been a dramatic cliff, catching an average of 43 passes for 542 yards and three touchdowns per year.
There are several reasons why Pitts hasn’t panned out. The first is the Falcons ineptitude at quarterback which has seen Pitts catch passes from Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke and a version of Kirk Cousins that was at less than 100% throughout the 2024 season. The second is that Pitts hasn’t helped his case, posting a 7.8% drop rate that was nearly double his previous career-high (4.2%) from his rookie season.
Pitts has a supporter in Penix, who would like to have a 6-foot-6 tight end to throw to in case of emergency last year. But the 24-year-old’s contract situation may force the issue as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
Trey McBride signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week and Pitts’s camp would be foolish not to chase a similar deal even with a lower level of production. With the Falcons having other salary-related issues to deal with, shopping Pitts in exchange for cap space and draft capital would be a solid idea to replenish their resources.
This may not mean that Pitts’ days in Atlanta are numbered. But he could be somebody that is on the way out as the NFL Draft approaches.