FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Kyle Pitts jumped up for a Kirk Cousins fade pass in the back right corner of the end zone and hauled it in over his teammate, Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III. It was July 31, six days into Atlanta Falcons training camp, and it provided a reminder of how Pitts, the 6-foot-6 tight end, can dominate against smaller defensive backs.
Even ones as good as Bates, who just hours before was announced as the top-rated safety in the latest NFL video game.
"Hey Kyle," Falcons coach Raheem Morris shouted after the play. "Let him know his Madden rating can't help him out here."
Perhaps no Falcons player has been under the microscope more in recent years than Pitts. He was drafted No. 4 overall in 2021, the highest any tight end has ever been selected. The former University of Florida standout followed that with a historic rookie year, joining Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends ever to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards. Pitts was named to the Pro Bowl, the first rookie tight end since Jeremy Shockey in 2002 to accomplish that.
After that, Pitts' production has cratered, courtesy of injury issues (including a torn MCL in 2022) and the Falcons' trouble finding a quality quarterback. But with Kirk Cousins under center, Pitts is beginning to find himself -- and the end zone -- again.
Pitts is fourth in the league among tight ends in receiving yards (419), ninth in receptions (29) and his three touchdown catches already equals his career-high. Cousins found Pitts for touchdown passes of 36 and 49 yards on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the latter of which became Pitts' career-long TD catch.
"This year, when you got a leader like Kirk Cousins that can push Kyle Pitts and continue to put the belief in him, I think the sky's the limit for Kyle," Bates said after the game Sunday. "Kyle is a unicorn. He's a unicorn from Day 1 when he got drafted in here."
Pitts has the size and the speed -- he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the combine -- to be a matchup nightmare, especially in an offense that has wide receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney and running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Cousins said he's been on Pitts since training camp to unlock those skills on a consistent basis.
"That's his game, being able to really run and pull away and use his length and size, and that was my message to him all through camp," Cousins said. "It was if you play fast and play at the absolute ceiling with your speed and then play big, that's where you're gonna be the most dangerous."
Pitts had a slow start to the season. He was limited in practice during Week 2 with a hamstring issue, which caused a fervor on social media. Due to the expectations set by his draft spot and his unbelievable rookie year followed by subsequent disappointing seasons, Falcons fans and fantasy managers have developed something of a complex when it comes to Pitts. He had to take to X (formerly Twitter) to address the controversy, writing he only missed two plays during the practice.
"Damn 2 less plays in a rack got y'all concerned," Pitts wrote.
Pitts, 24, almost caused another public meltdown on the 49-yard touchdown catch from Cousins that almost wasn't. Pitts started coasting close to the end zone and the ball was knocked out of his left hand by Bucs cornerback Antoine Winfield Jr. It looked in real time like the ball never crossed the goal line, but the touchdown call was confirmed by replay, which happens on every scoring play.
Pitts said after the game that he would never do something like that again and thanked the "tight end gods," since the game happened on the NFL's Tight End Day.
"[The replay review] felt almost like 20 minutes," Pitts said. "I was like, 'Oh Lord, this is not looking good.' But like I said, the tight end gods saved it, and we got the touchdown."
Pitts said his main goal is to just contribute his part to the offense. Morris said he's proud of him for how he's been able to grow this year as a professional, and Pitts is playing the right way "other than that one almost lapse of his mind."
"That's how you want Kyle to play," Morris said. "You want him to play fast, you want him to play physical. He's bigger, he's faster, he's stronger."
It took a bit for Pitts to get fully integrated into the team's new offense under new coordinator Zac Robinson, who is calling plays for the first time this season. Pitts has never played this much 11 personnel, which makes him the only tight end on the field. Previously, under coach Arthur Smith, Pitts would play in 12 personnel or 13 personnel, which would make him one of two or three tight ends, respectively, on the field during a play.
"It's different," Pitts said. "It's a little team, a little different mindset and type of game plan."
Pitts said 11 personnel is working for him in terms of matchups, "because there's a lot of fast people around me, so they kind of take some of the other fast [defensive backs]."
Cousins developed connections with Mooney and London at first, but Pitts has 21 receptions for 314 yards over the last four weeks, plus those two touchdowns against the Bucs.
Pitts joked that he's gotten bigger, stronger and faster, as Morris said, from eating his "beanies and weenies."
"I am that, and I just want to showcase it each week," Pitts said.
The Falcons offense has been clicking for the most part. Cousins is third in the league in passing yards (2,106), London is tied for third in touchdown catches (5) and Bijan Robinson is fifth in all-purpose yards (784). Pitts regaining his rookie form gives Atlanta another dimension.
"Lethal," London said, when asked what the Falcons offense can look like with Pitts at the top his game. "If Kyle keeps doing the things that he's doing, we're gonna go right there with him."