But, with all of that being said: the fact that Pitts currently finds himself with a top-50 average draft position (ADP) in most fantasy football leagues absolutely smacks Burks as the WR1 for your Dynasty roster is a risky strategy going into the next season. Once Mariota arrived in 2015, Walker elevated to a top-5 tight end. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: fantasynews | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | In my view, Chase is landing spot-independent, able to produce in Year 1 no matter the QB. The Atlanta Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts with the 4th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, making Pitts the highest-drafted tight end ever. Were the Falcons to select Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, as I had them doing in my most recent mock, it would make Pitts the highest-picked college tight end in the history of professional football.The Rams took LSUs Billy Cannon with the first overall pick in the 1960 draft, Cannon chose to play with Draft Pick Analysis: The balance of a Dynasty startup draft is knowing when to prioritize youth versus capitalizing on value for veterans. Otherwise, more run plays will mean fewer targets for him. His 20 percent target share ranked third among tight ends and he was just one of three to see five or more targets in 15 games. He produced modest receiving statistics by fantasy standards, with the Pro-Style offense heavily focused on its running game. As well as two 1s next year (likely 2 mid firsts) . I doubt it. Before we dig in, keep in mind that he does not have the benefit of facing vanilla competition. I am blown away with his junior highlights. Pitts would transfer to Archbishop Wood at the conclusion of that season. However, not all target shares can be compared evenly. There is a bit of an unknown with Ridder, but you do always hear that a strong tight end provides a nice safety blanket for a QB. Kyle Pitts will be better in 2023 than he was in 2022. This was a major disappointment after Pitts came However, there was an expectation that he could have finished as one of the very best tight ends in the sport, not just among rookies. QB play will be the limiting factor wherever Pitts is drafted. Pitts has done his best to change that. For now, I pretty strongly prefer Bryce Young to C.J. Anthony The Falcons got their guy at pick Number 4 when they made Kyle Pitts the highest drafted tight end in NFL history. Before we dig into the story on Kyle Pitts, lets touch on the difference-making potential in fantasy from truly special performers at the tight end position.For anyone with a reasonable amount of fantasy experience, one thing is remarkably clear: the dearth of consistent production 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. All the same, it will allow other playmakers to benefit. Kyle Yates breaks down 18 rounds of a 1QB Dynasty Startup Mock Draft before 2023 NFL Free Agency. As I said, though, the dip in Pitts upside comes from the Falcons offense without quarterback Matt Ryan. In 1.5 PPR TE scoring leagues, you are taking Pitts first overall, and not looking back. 59 overall, 8/12 half-PPR 10-team: Round 6, No. If I had finished second last year, I'd be far more interested in adding a back that could make all the difference. Before we dig into the story on Kyle Pitts, lets touch on the difference-making potential in fantasy from truly special performers at the tight end position. pin. Unknown. There's a slight possibility that Pacheco sees some competition added to this backfield this offseason, which is why I would have favored Dillon if he were still on the board, but the upside is certainly present. tweet. His production in year one led to some happy fantasy managers, which included this impressive line of stats among tight ends in 2021: Those lined up with my predictions for Pitts from my article on him before last season, so lets take a look at what Pitts can do for your fantasy team this season. By the end of his recruiting cycle, Pitts had been offered by Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Miami (FL), and 15 other programs. "Footballguys is the best premiumfantasy football We simply cannot expect first-round TEs to be handed featured targets based on draft capital alone. 59 overall, 7/7 Superflex mock: Round 6, No. pic.twitter.com/E80uVePnwK, Be honest should I have done this trade? Thats not uncommon tight ends tend to take more time to develop at every level (how often do rookie TEs put up big numbers in the NFL?). Waller was listed as a WR for Georgia Techs former triple-option offense at 6-foot-6, 241 pounds. He is one of just two rookie tight ends since 1967 to top 900 yards, let alone 1,000. As for the top question, in 10-team leagues I more aggressively pursue elite players. The Crimson Tide were fortunate to have escaped that game with the victory. my predictions for Pitts from my article on him before last season. 6 to draft Florida tight end Kyle Pitts Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts (84) during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Pitts is a much better option than the next tier of tight ends, which features Dalton Schultz, Dallas Goedert and T.J. Hockenson. 7.11 - Zach Evans (RB - 2023 Rookie) 7.12 - Mike Williams (WR - Los Angeles Chargers) Draft Pick Analysis: The balance of a Dynasty startup draft is Some want to paint the narrative Pitts He's probably past the point you'll get much more than a mid-2023 1st for him, and that's simply not worth sacrificing your window for. His 20 percent target share ranked third among tight ends and he was just one of three to see five or more targets in 15 games. Evan Engram is fast. By slim21 Nov 20, 2022, 3:00am PST Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images The Atlanta Falcons will host the Chicago Bears in Week 11 of the NFL season. The video closes with a multitude of examples with Pitts on inline targets: 7:49, 8:06, 8:47, and 9:08. Pitts destroys the mismatched 5-foot-11, 181-pound Bryce Thompsons jam attempt in man coverage. It wasnt until he attended a camp at Temple University that the FBS scholarship offers started pouring into his mailbox. Rookie tight ends typically dont make much of a fantasy impact. As for Kittle and Waller, theyve each finished as top-three tight ends twice in the last three seasons. 54 overall, 8/6 PPR Superflex mock: Round 5, No. He's behind Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens The combined group has averaged 4.96 targets/game and 79.3 targets/season nearly half of the target rates from Kelce and Waller this season. But I don't believe James Cook is getting enough love. If anything, I would be looking to buy Kyle Pitts. While I know I say this a lot, it's the worst place to be. To summarize, with a very promising incoming class of tight ends, in addition to landing in a perfect situation, we hope to see: Unfortunately, the fifth factor cant be evaluated into existence. Several veteran quarterbacks have been linked to this team, and whichever one ends up in town is going to provide Wilson with the stability that he didn't have in his rookie campaign. If he sees an uptick in targets which is expected and efficiency, he could provide league-winning upside.. The Atlanta Falcons will receive a visit from one of the 2023 NFL Draft's top tight ends in Iowa's Sam LaPorta. sms. After his rookie year, it looked like he would He averaged only 6.2 fantasy points per game and Lastly, the biggest thing in fantasy sports is draft cost. No exaggeration. Where should he go in your drafts? Pacheco showed phenomenal things in his rookie season for the Super Bowl champions. And if anything, I may be lower than the consensus that seems to be he's already RB1 overall. Yes, he lets the ball get into his body. You don't draft a tight end fourth overall if you don't think he'll be a star. Hopefully, your team (or injury luck) will make that clear. It's not easy to do a draft that's often 20+ rounds and to navigate the draft board to find the best value selections throughout. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2021 Panini Chronicles Draft PICKS Kyle Pitts RC Flux Silver Prizm Falcons at the best online prices at eBay! While the Falcons let Russell Gage walk, they also drafted Drake London with the eighth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Guys like A.J. Draft Pick Analysis: Running back was a priority with the first two selections, but it was put on the back burner for the next several rounds. Kyle Pitts 2023 Fantasy Outlook. Along with being the highest-drafted tight end ever, he may be the most hyped tight end prospect ever, and with that comes some lofty expectations for his rookie season. (4) Proper coordination to motion across the formation to maximize mismatching purposes? 3 behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Single But Pitts was determined to make his way on offense, specifically at TE. Kyle Pitts weekly ceiling was extremely unimpressive last year, and this was when he was catching passes from Matt Ryan. The difficult choice is if you're in the dreaded middle. The Colts have cycled through multiple different quarterbacks during Pittman's tenure with the franchise, which has prevented him from reaching his ceiling from a fantasy standpoint. An additional example is shown at 3:46. He also ranked second in air yards at 1,110, second in air yard share (28 percent), second in air yards per target (10.1), third in deep targets, tenth in red zone targets (15), and fourth in routes ran (467). The offensive line took a step backward, the quarterbacks couldn't complete a pass, and Taylor was dealing with a nagging injury for most of the season. That is something scouts questioned coming out of high school. The added benefit to select him as the WR1 for my Dynasty roster is that the Jets are in line to get a massive quarterback upgrade this offseason. His massive catch radius, ball skills and strong hands should immediately make him Atlanta's No. Pitts target competition is rookie Drake London, Bryan Edwards, Auden Tate, Damiere Byrd, and running back Cordarrelle Patterson. Devlin fell in love with Pitts ability, so much so that he played him on both sides of the ball. Pitts path to college was much of the same. Mariota should once again expect to heavily rely on his tight end in this system., There is also the chance that we see a change in QB as the Falcons drafted Desmond Ridder in the third round as the second QB in this year's NFL Draft. However, prior to film study, I was utterly convinced no one would challenge Chase for my rankings. 61 overall7/28 full-point PPR mock: Round 5, No. 4 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. 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I cant see him putting up numbers like Kelce or Andrews, but the lack of top-end talent at the position makes Pitts a very safe bet to be a top-five fantasy tight end. Currently, on FFPC his ADP is 19th overall. Kelce also led NFL TEs with 12.6 FPG, or 57%, of his scoring on plays where he was in motion. We all know that the path for Pitts played out perfectly in his favor, but his body development was still in the works during his true freshman season. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for Kyle Pitts Rookie 2021 NFL Prizm Draft Picks RC Green Prizm Card #108 at the best online prices at eBay! Dynasty Draft Profile: Kyle Pitts Wes Huber Follow February 16, 2021 2:00pm EST Kyle Pitts TE | Florida Gators | 6-5 | 239 lbs. I cannot even begin to envision how much his stock will skyrocket leading up to the draft. There is enough talent around Pitts that should help take some defensive coverage away from him, but not enough to funnel volume away. Mariota also has a track record of elevating his tight ends. Also notable was how comforting the Travis Kelce pick turned Devin Singletary is a free agent, so that should help. Pitts would play the majority of his 11 games on special teams in 2018. As an RB3 on my roster, I can live with the potential range of outcomes. Without question. NFL TEs averaged well over half of all routes run from that Kelce quartet, nearly the identical number on Wallers most common routes. These guidelines are far from perfect, but they do provide us with a starting point. That number jumps slightly to an average of seven touchdowns when you raise it to 110 targets. pin. Kyle Pitts is chasing stardom 1071 49 Pitts is among the top five tight ends in the league. Ads help us pay RotobBaller's award-winning writers as much as possible they are vital to the site's operations and team. Kirk's coming off of a fantastic year in Jacksonville this past season, and the chemistry that he developed with At still just 24 years old, there's no reason Taylor should fall outside of the Top 5 of Dynasty startups, and he can remain a cornerstone building block. However, I do not feel he will need as much time for his route running, receiving production to translate. Pitts is no longer the main big-body target in Atlanta. While it will also read as obvious, it is still of monumental importance when evaluating TE prospects. By: Matt Levine, Projecting 2023 Western Conference Playoff Matchups, 2023 NFL Combine Defensive Linemen/Linebacker Winners and Losers. share. At this time last year, Pitts wasn't getting out of the top-15 picks in Dynasty Startups, which makes the fact that he was still on the board here astonishing. Unfortunately, his 2022 season was a nightmare for fantasy players. The very next season, he was an All SEC First-Team selection by the Associated Press. Touchdowns can vary greatly year-to-year and a player with Pitts's ability and size (66, 245 pounds) has the potential to not only reach seven touchdowns, but double-digits is well in his range of outcomes.. Draft Pick Analysis: Wilson showcased his ridiculous talent all last season, despite woeful quarterback play for the majority of the year. Pitts suffered a left foot injury during the game against Texas A&M. The pair also finished first and second in air yards/game (93.0 for Kelce, 76.3 for Waller). but you'll have to sign up in order to access our other articles and content! And even more important should you be willing to buy back into Pitts this season? Should You Draft Pitts? Kyle Pitts (ATL) Pitts had a solid rookie season. Free shipping for many products! 10 team ppr superflex. Waller led all NFL TEs this season with a 27% target share. At that cost, he would have to deliver WR2 numbers to meet value. Speed measurements are always worthless without film backing up the ability and that is precisely what Pitts put on tape at Archbishop Wood. Only Engram averaged more than 8.0/game (2019) or more than 7.0/game (2017). What to do with Kyle Pitts? He should be drafted as a top-six TE with the kind of upside that could challenge the top-three at the position, even as a rookie. And theyve been treated as such. Its one of the top football schools in Pennsylvania ranked No. At this point, we can see that Pitts has recognized just how much difficulty opposing defenses are having in coverage. Now with a year under his belt, there is plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Pitts., After what Pitts did as a rookie, there should be plenty of optimism about what he could do as a sophomore in the NFL. Cook was a Round 1 rookie pick you may be able to acquire for an early second-round rookie pick right now. Fantasy Value. 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Part of what gets some of us so excited about Pitts is the state of the tight end position in Fantasy. Pitts was the first rookie tight end to finish a season with 60-plus catches and over 1,000 receiving yards. With only four drops the entire season, we really havent seen Pitts suffer from consistently allowing the ball into his body. Prior to Mariotas arrival, Walker had never finished better than the ninth-best fantasy tight end. That would be a mistake.. Pitts and London are in a position to each see a very high target share in this offense. While Robinson is younger, I actually believe Lamb should be a productive player for longer, and I definitely expect him to be more impactful in 2023. I plan on taking at least 1 of Stroud or young in the draft. If everything goes right, Howell could go from an afterthought to borderline top-12 this season. By James Bassil March 2, 2023 6:00 am. At some point, you won't be buying at his floor -- and that point has already likely come as a fourth-round pick -- but he's one of the highest upside players at any position you can get in his range. Skipping past all of the Towson footage (which is of little value, given the competition level) we see Auburn CB Roger McCreary (6-foot, 188 pounds) in man at 2:09. Before we dig into the story on Kyle Pitts, lets touch on the difference-making potential in fantasy In the 12 weeks following wide receiver Calvin Ridleys absence, Gage averaged about one more target than Pitts. I have picks 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12 in the rookie draft. If Keenan Allen gets released, Palmer could be looking at 125 targets in 2023. For the record, Kyle Pitts, the former Florida standout tight end, ran a 4.44 40-yard dash before being selected in the top-5 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Judging from these Archbishop Wood highlights, to say I am blown away by Pitts would be a massive understatement. He runs the 40-yard dash at a 4.46 (99th percentile). If he's still available by Round 5, take him in seasonal leagues. His Average Draft Position on CBS Sports is at 51.34 overall, and I'm not sure he should be drafted in Round 5. He will turn 30 years old during the 2023 season. If Pitts remains healthy, the only factor I can envision limiting his rookie upside is landing with a team that refuses to leave him on the field full-time, while his run blocking develops. Many of his catches during his junior season are on crossers over the middle. And to be honest, I have those same questions in a couple of my own leagues. However, adding him as a WR3 - as I did here - is an excellent way to balance your roster. Pitts will be asked to play these inline snaps in the NFL. Rob Gronkowski did it in 2011 (20.7) and Travis Kelce submitted the second such result with 22.2 FPG this season. Just look at what he does at 3:42. 7.11 - Zach Evans (RB - 2023 Rookie) 7.12 - Mike Williams (WR - Los Angeles Chargers) Draft Pick Analysis: The balance of a Dynasty startup draft is knowing when to prioritize youth versus capitalizing on value for veterans. So what the heck does that mean for Pitts? The most notable difference is the growth within his frame. If you had to give up 1.02, I'd probably try to get by with adding two second-round picks, but could be talked into 1.02 and 1.11 for Robinson. Kelce ran 245-of-606 (40%) routes out wide this season. At 1:11, Tennessee is masking Cover 6 as Cover 3, a mistake against Pitts he takes full advantage with excellent recognition from Kyle Trask. Tight End ADP Report: Kyle Pitts, Cole Kmet Poised For Breakouts Evaluating tight end average draft positions to assess value, upside and risk. All Rights Reserved. Nobody compares to Zeus as to what essentially amounts to a 6-foot-5, 260-pound WR who previously ran a 4.61 40 time at his University of Cincinnati Pro Day in 2013. He's also a player with a questionable role and spotty injury history. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2021 Panini Chronicles Draft PICKS Kyle Pitts RC Flux Silver Prizm Falcons at the best online prices at eBay! In fact, 27 percent of his throws with the Titans went to tight ends. I still believe in the talent, he'll still be just 22 years old at the start of the season, his situation is unlikely to get worse, and his price has never been lower. The fact that he doesnt snag this with his hands can be considered preference. Walker showcased exactly why he had insane hype coming out of Michigan State in his rookie campaign, and he completely took over this backfield as the season progressed. Make sure to follow Michael on Twitter, @MichaelFFlorio. I think it really depends on who is throwing Pitts the ball come game day. share. Which player that is under the radar currently could you see being a breakout in the near future at their position. We want to see him collecting these with his hands, but sometimes that option can be eliminated by the coverage defender. Jumping ahead to footage of Pitts sophomore season with the Gators, how can we not love the hitch against man at 0:25? One of the most significant factors fueling top TE results is not from a bloated AY/T average, it can be attributed to featured involvement within the offense. Pitts appears just as fast with three more inches of height to him, with additional room to add muscle. I have Jonathon Taylor, Kenneth Walker and Deandre Swift as my main RBs. Below, we look at Kyle Pitts 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him. Waller and Engram may seem like close fits, but they simply fall short of the unified skillset from Pitts. The Falcons moving on from Julio Jones should only help Pitts' cause both from an overall target share standpoint and with his role inside the red zone. For example, there is a perception by some that, Pitts was one of just three players to see 100 or more targets and catch one touchdown or less the others were, Pitts was not just good when compared to rookie tight ends. Kyle Pitts start or sit: Week 11 fantasy football advice We break down the fantasy football outlook of Kyle Pitts ahead of the Falcons Week 11 matchup against the Bears. 4 overall pick Kyle Pitts has fantasy superstar written all over him -- but history hasn't been kind to rookie TEs. Waller has to compete with Davante Adams for that honor. I don't ever know for sure what kind of responses I'm going to get when I put out the call for Dynasty Fantasy Football questions on Twitter. sms. Its only an issue when they lead to drops.