ATLANTA -- Kyle Pitts shook a defender, proceeded with his route, caught the pass from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and got a few extra yards to boot. The play went for a first down late in the fourth quarter that sealed a 34-27 win for the Atlanta Falcons over the Washington Commanders in Week 4.
It was the kind of play Pitts, the Falcons tight end, made in training camp frequently. But Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said he was reluctant to bring it up.
"Nobody really wanted to believe it and I was kind of hesitant to even talk about it because you just wanted to let him go do it, right?" Morris said earlier this week.
Such is the Kyle Pitts experience. The expectations have been sky high -- and rightly so -- since he was drafted No. 4 in 2021. Those hopes only increased after his 1,000-yard season, the first for a rookie tight end in 60 years.
Since then, though, Pitts has been plagued by injury and inconsistency with everyone waiting for when, or if, he could ever return to that first-year form. Which is why Morris would rather have had Pitts prove it on the field. And he has, for the most part, through four games.
Pitts is fourth in the league among tight ends in receptions (20) and sixth in receiving yards (205). He's fifth among NFL tight ends in reception EPA (9.7). Against the Commanders, Pitts had five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
The third-down catch late is one that stood out to Morris. The coach said offensive coordinator Zac Robinson told Penix over the headset that the Commanders defense was likely going to play man-to-man coverage and he should look to Pitts in his reads.
"Kyle won big time and kind of man-to-man with Kyle, when we talk in our meetings, it's like, 'Good luck to you whoever you are,'" Morris said. "That's a big part of our installs."
Pitts said he didn't have "the year I wanted to" in 2024 and wanted to "take it up" this season. Pitts had 47 catches for 602 yards last year with three touchdowns. The former two numbers were lower than 2023 when he had the combination of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke as his quarterback.
In 2025, Pitts said he believes the only one he has something to prove anything to is himself.
"It's my play here," Pitts said. "Got a quarterback, got a fresh-start offense and just getting ready to hoop."
Pitts said the knee injury he suffered in his second year in the league is "perfectly fine." This also happens to be a contract season for him. The Falcons picked up the fifth-year rookie option for Pitts, but after this season he'll be a free agent. Pitts said it's not something that's on his mind.
"I think that's something at the end of the year I maybe think about, but just playing games, it's about how I'm going to contribute [as much] as I can to score as many touchdowns, and keep catching them and moving forward," Pitts said.
He figures to remain a big part of the Falcons offense. Pitts and Penix have developed a close friendship off the field. They're golf buddies and drive to games together.
The Falcons are also dealing with injuries to their wide receiving corps. Darnell Mooney missed all of training camp and then Week 1 with a shoulder injury. He came out of the Commanders game in the second half with a hamstring injury. Casey Washington missed two games with a concussion but returned against Washington.
Atlanta has its bye in Week 5 before returning for "Monday Night Football" at home against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 13. After that, the Falcons travel to the San Francisco 49ers for another prime-time game on "Sunday Night Football" on Oct. 19. It's a key stretch for a team that went into the bye at 2-2 despite a disastrous 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3.
Penix will likely have to lean on Pitts, as well as top receiver Drake London, if Mooney misses more time. Morris believes Pitts is more than up to the task.
"He has been extremely impressive," Morris said. ... "I mean, it is not just him catching the football, it was him blocking. Watch him lead up on a couple plays [in Week 4] and block for some of our runs him and work combinations with tackles and do some of the different things that he was able to do and get excited about. It was really fun to watch and he's really fun to watch go out there play."