Every fourth Sunday of October, the NFL celebrates National Tight Ends Day. It originated when Jimmy Garoppolo made a joke while hyping up his team saying, "What is today, National Tight Ends Day?" after throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Celek.
This joke would soon become a reality when the NFL adopted it as a holiday when more and more tight ends--like George Kittle--embraced the idea. Having been a tradition since 2019, this event--now in its 8th year--has seen Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts take the field the majority of its existence and happens to be the days that Pitts plays his best football.
Across five National Tight End Days, Kyle Pitts has averaged around 5.6 receptions, 88 yards, and an explosive 15.7 yards per catch with multiple recorded breakout games. In 2021, during his rookie season, Kyle Pitts accounted for 7 receptions for 163 yards, helping lead a victory over the Dolphins.
In 2024, he stood out again on a huge two-touchdown game where he went for over 90 yards against the Bucs. He also won games, like a 39-yard one-handed catch-and-run by in the final minute of the 2023 game also against the Bucs, which set up a game-winning field goal from Younghoe Koo.
He's been an X-factor during these games for Atlanta and with questions about identity, Tommy Rees may be looking to get this great safety valve extra targets on Sunday, especially in a tough matchup.
The Atlanta Falcons need to get Kyle Pitts going in Week 7 despite the tough matchup
Although the Falcons have been falling out during their last two games, Kyle Pitts has performed very well in the losses. Combining for three touchdowns on 10 targets and over 100 yards, Pitts has gone from a non-factor, who had started the first four games with just five receptions for 67 yards, to someone to look out for heading into Week 7 against the 49ers.
Atlanta will face former head coach Raheem Morris, now the defensive coordinator for the 49ers. He and Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich are good friends and longtime collaborators, meaning they could locate the weaknesses in each other's schemes.
This bodes well for both sides of course and means if Atlanta needed to find ways to get Kyle Pitts the ball, they may be able to. San Francisco isn't going to make this easy for Atlanta though.
The 49ers almost cut Kyle Pitts's average yardage per National Tight Ends Day in half only allowing 41.8 receiving yards a game to tight ends this seasn. They also haven't allowed a touchdown to a tight end all year. With this knowledge it would be a stretch to say he'd have another breakout day but there's still ways he could thrive nonetheless.
The issue is that the 49ers' defense under Morris has been third in the NFL in pressure rate in each of the last two weeks, and we all know Michael Penix Jr. typically doesn't perform well under pressure. But that could be a good thing for Pitts, as it means Penix will have to get the ball out quick and have to rely on him in the short game--and we saw him do damage as a YAC threat last weekend.
I believe that Kyle Pitts has a possibility to make some impact plays during this game. He doesn't have to break out, or take full control, but just make plays where he can and contribute. Kyle Pitts has proven that if the Falcons are forced to pass the ball, he can be a viable target, and someome Atlanta can get involved on short-yardage plays
Now as the Falcons look to lean more into the run game, it's time for Tommy Rees to accept heavier sets, match bodies with the defense, and say "stop us at our game". With that, working off play-action, blocking on screens, and short routes for YAC off boots, the Falcons should have plenty of ways to keep Kyle Pitts in the mix, even against the 49ers on National Tight Ends Day Sunday.
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