Back Healthy, Kyle Pitts Draws Rave Reviews from New Falcons Coaching Staff

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is ready to turn the page on two years of frustration.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is eyeing a resurgence in 2024. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- When Atlanta Falcons tight ends coach Kevin Koger met his star student, Kyle Pitts, for the first time this spring, his eyes saw what his mind previously didn't register.

"I didn't realize how large of a human being he is," Koger told FalconsSI during OTAs. "He's listed at 6-6, and you've been around guys that are 6-6, and you walk up on him and you're like, 'Wow, you're all of 6-6.'"

Then, Koger saw Pitts, with his 33 1/2-inch arms, 10 5/8-inch hands and an 83 3/8-inch wingspan, take the field for practice. He had a similar moment of surprise.

"You see him go out there, you see him move around, you're like, 'Oh wow, a guy that tall shouldn't be able to move like that,'" Koger said.

For Pitts, this means a few things.

One, he was healthy and back on the field for OTAs and minicamp, which wasn't the case last year. Pitts rehabbed the knee injury that abruptly ended his 2022 season after Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson hit him in the open field from behind in the knee during a Week 11 Falcons win.

And two, the player commonly referred to as "The Unicorn" because of his size, athleticism and skill set is getting closer to returning to the level that made him the highest-drafted tight end in league history in 2021, an honor followed by a 1,026-yard season that was second best all-time among rookie tight ends.

The Falcons are hoping to see Pitts return to that form, but for the past two years, it's eluded him due to a combination of injuries and subpar quarterback play. He caught passes from Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, each of whom are slated to be backups this year.

In 2022, Pitts caught 29 of his 58 targets while compiling 358 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 10 games before suffering a knee injury that caused both MCL and PCL surgery. He followed suit with a stronger yet unsatisfying 2023, catching 53 passes for 667 yards and three scores across 17 games.

Pitts said the lingering effects of the knee injury weren't bad during games, but he dealt with soreness and tightness through the week leading into Sundays, which required the former University of Florida product to grind through the 18-week season.

But Atlanta is optimistic Pitts, now healthy, can put the struggles behind him. In late April, the Falcons picked up Pitts's fifth-year option, giving him two more years to prove himself in Atlanta - and Pitts is ready to capitalize.

"It's a blessing for the upstairs people to still have faith in me," Pitts said. "Try and show them I can do something different this year."

Pitts has an assortment of new factors around him to create different results.

The Falcons hired a new head coach and offensive coordinator in Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson respectively. A month and a half later, they signed four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins and complementary receiver Darnell Mooney, drawing attention away from Pitts and No. 1 receiver Drake London.

The changes have resulted in an evolution-filled environment that leaves Pitts excited for what's to come. Robinson is eager to utilize the talents of one of the game's most physically talented tight ends.

Perhaps most notably, Robinson believes Pitts can shake the tag of being a receiver in a tight end's body.

That label has been well earned to this point in his career. PItts has only lined up as an in-line tight end 19.9% of his snaps in three years with the Falcons according to Pro Football Focus. 80% of his time has been spent in the slot or out wide.

"There's so much in there," Robinson said. "You see the athletic traits and what he can do when the ball is in the air, what he can do with the ball in his hands. I'm excited about him as a blocker - I think that's untapped. He's willing and he wants to do it.

"He wants to be a complete tight end, which is what he's preached from the jump."

Robinson said his mind as a play-caller can go many different ways with Pitts, who will move around the formation and be used across the board, be it as an in-line blocker, outside receiver or big slot.

Versatility is one of Pitts's most appealing traits, Robinson believes, though his position flexibility has required significant off-field work.

Robinson credited Koger and offensive assistant Patrick Kramer for helping Pitts make "awesome" strides, but Pitts has several voices of influence around him due to the manner he's being used in Robinson's offense.

"He's learning basically two different positions, because there's some tight end and some receiver, and so he's got a lot on his plate," Robinson said. "He's handled it really well. So, just excited to see him continue to get more comfortable in the system.

"The sky's the limit for what kind of season he can have."

Pitts had the luxury of being drafted by the Falcons during the first offseason of head coach Arthur Smith's tenure. As such, he learned a new offense alongside everyone else, and played in the same scheme for the first three years of his career.

But now, it's all new. He again finds himself at square one with the rest of the roster, but with 44 games of perspective to boot. Still, it's back to the basics for the 23-year-old who's four-months younger than first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr.

"I would say I'm a super rookie," Pitts said. "I'm not a rookie-rookie, but we're all in this new offense, new regime, new schedule. So, we're all in this fresh, but learning a new offense is always fun."

And as Pitts learns the offense, the new coaching staff is learning him. Koger leads the meetings in the tight ends room and spends more time around Pitts than perhaps anyone else on Atlanta's staff.

The 34-year-old Koger, who played collegiately at the University of Michigan from 2008-11, spent the past three years as the Los Angeles Chargers' tight ends coach. He knows about the highs and lows of an NFL season and how to foster bonds.

For Koger, with how long the season lasts, creating an environment where players enjoy being around each other is crucial. The easiest way to make a long season even longer is by dreading going into work.

So, Koger has stressed the need for each player to be more of whoever they are off the field. He doesn't want them to feel the need to act a certain type of way, instead showing their true character each day.

Pitts has done that, finding more comfort and improved health with the new offseason and staff - and as the spring turned to summer and the tight ends room spent more time with one another, Koger grew fond of Pitts's personality.

"He's a very interesting guy," Koger said. "There's things in his life he wants to do off the field. He's so much more than a football player. There's things in his life that are important to him, that drive him, are the reasons why he's doing what he's doing now.

"It's been cool just to sit down with him, get to know him, his background and where he's coming from. So, it's been a joy."

But for as much as Pitts has impressed Koger away from football, the 2021 Pro Bowler's on-field skill set remains most noteworthy. Koger is no stranger to successful tight ends; over the past four years, he's been on staffs that saw Robert Tonyan and Gerald Everett have career years.

Still, Pitts is a different animal. Koger watched film on him before arriving in Atlanta but said there are parts of his skill set you can't truly sense or appreciate until you see him on the field.

"It's been really impressive to be able to watch him in the way he operates," Koger said. "Sometimes you feel like he's not running but you stop, you look at the film - he's so tall, so long and he's such a smooth athlete, sometimes it may not feel like to people that he is running, but he covers a lot of ground really quickly."

Pitts fully participated in OTAs and minicamp for the Falcons, a status he didn't reach until the middle of August last year. He's formed strong chemistry with Cousins and served as an unofficial, unaffiliated recruiter prior to the start of free agency.

So often over the past two years, Pitts has seen his role fluctuate come gameday. With Cousins, there's reason to believe Pitts will be more consistently involved - even on plays when he's not the primary option.

"The ball is gonna go where it's supposed to go based on the coverage," Robinson said. "Kirk can click through progressions so well that (Pitts) might have six targets in a game, seven targets in a game - two he was the primary and the other where he was the backside.

"It just depends on the coverage."

Regardless, the topic surrounding Pitts is once again football - not injuries, and not past disappointments. Instead, it's shifted to what he can become: The Kyle Pitts of old.

Or is it the Kyle Pitts of new? After all, with a new head coach, new offense, new position coach, new passer and new teammates in the tight ends room, everything else is reinvigorated, turning the page to a new era in Atlanta.

And the same may ultimately prove true for Pitts this fall.

"We're all in this fresh," Pitts said.