QB ready to provide more opportunities?

Anyone with Falcons TE Kyle Pitts on their fantasy teams knows just how disappointing a 2nd season he's been having. QB Marcus Mariota says he carries some of the blame. "Well, first and foremost, I can do a better job of giving Kyle more opportunities with the ball," Mariota said Wednesday, according to NFL.com. "I think sometimes I've been a little too safe, a little too conservative where I'm putting the football, so giving him a chance to go get it. I think that'll help some of his target numbers." That acknowledgement could portend some extra opportunities for Pitts on Thursday night against a Panthers defense that Football Outsiders rates 28th in pass-defense DVOA. Mariota delivered 9.0 yards per pass attempt and a 71.4% completion rate in the Week 8 meeting with Carolina. See where Pitts sits in our Week 10 fantasy football rankings.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts believes the knee he injured in 2022 remained a factor throughout the 2023 campaign. He had surgery on November 29, 2022 to repair MCL and PCL damage to his right knee, missed most of the offseason program, and was limited at the start of training camp. "It's a continual growth in terms of coming off an injury," Pitts said. "So each week was trying to get better, keep getting stronger and, you know, just doing what I need to do to get back to the bionic knee that I used to have. That natural knee, you know, after surgery." Pitts had two of his four best fantasy outings of 2023 over the final five weeks of the season. Hopefully healthier in 2024 and with HC Arthur Smith finally out of the way, Pitts has obvious bounce-back potential.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts was quiet for the majority of Sunday's game vs. the Bucs, catching just two balls in the first 59 minutes. But he broke loose for a 39-yard catch and run with under a minute to go to set up K Younghoe Koo's game-winning FG. Pitts was the victim of a run-heavy attack from the Falcons. QB Desmond Ridder threw it just 25 times, with four of those (16%) going to Pitts. That's the risk with any part of this Falcons passing game. The good news is that Week 8 brings a Titans defense that's much tougher against the run than the pass. That should push Atlanta to throw it more than usual. Pitts remains a lower-end TE1 going forward.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts had easily his best game of the season in the Week 5 win over the Texans. He led Atlanta with 11 targets, seven catches, and 87 yards. Pitts benefitted from the Falcons running 74 plays and throwing it 38 times. But his 28.9% target share was a season-high. The strong game comes just a few days after HC Arthur Smith admitted that Pitts still isn't back to 100% after last November's knee injury. He looked as healthy as he has all season in this one, though, making catches of 16, 18, and 20 yards. He won't get this type of passing volume most weeks, but Pitts is still capable of helping fantasy squads if he's past that knee issue. Next up is a Washington defense that just got smoked by the Bears.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said this week that TE Kyle Pitts is still working back to full health from the PCL injury that ended his 2022 season. "There are no perfect timetables," he told reporters. "But there are certain things ... he's doing really well right now. And there are certain things that he can't. It's been a journey back. He's going to get there." As for when Pitts might get back to full health, Smith could only say that he's "getting close." He did add that Pitts "looked as fast as he did as a rookie" on "some things outside." Does all of this mean that Pitts is approaching a big rebound? Not necessarily. But it's likely playing at least a part in why Pitts' playing time is down a bit vs. last year; and why Jonnu Smith has seen just one fewer target and caught four more passes through four games. Pitts remains stashable in most fantasy formats, though he's also not a must-hold if you need that roster spot for something more helpful. We'll keep watching for signals of some rebound for the not-yet-23-year-old.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts led the team in Week 3 with nine targets -- the second most of his career. He caught five of them but totaled just 41 yards. QB Desmond Ridder looked Pitts' way downfield a few times, but the duo was unable to connect. Another frustrating outing for the talented TE. Pitts has at least seen 14 targets over the last two weeks, which is enough to support him as a low-end TE1. But he needs to get better QB play -- and better play calling -- if he's going to come close to reaching his fantasy ceiling.