Since the Falcons took Kyle Pitts ($5,600) with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he has been a polarizing fantasy football figure. He seems loaded with potential and playmaking ability, but has continually disappointed and frustrated his fantasy backers with lack of opportunities and production. If you signed up for the Pitts experience this season, should you start or sit him this week against the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football? Let’s take a look.
Coming into this season, there was some hope that the arrival of Kirk Cousins ($8,600) and a new offensive system would get Pitts rolling. He had over 1,000 receiving yards in his rookie year, but has been limited by injuries and bad QB play since then. Cousins made T.J. Hockenson a great TE option in Minnesota, so surely he could do the same for Pitts in Atlanta, right?
So far: Nope.
Pitts has eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Not bad for a single game, yet that’s his production for four games. Last week, he didn’t get a single catch against the Saints, although he did get three targets.
There is some reason for optimism this week, though. Pitts has played the Bucs four times in his career and has posted at least three catches and 45-plus yards in each contest. This year, Tampa Bay has given up an average of four catches per game to opposing tight ends for an average of 38 yards per game. It let Dallas Goedert go for 62 yards on seven catches last week.
In Week 5, I still have Pitts ranked in my top 10 TE for this week, meaning I think he is a starting option in most formats. If you drafted him, I get that you don’t feel great about it, but I’d give him another week. The position doesn’t have a ton of depth as a whole this season and better options probably aren’t available on your waiver wire.
I do think his counterpart Cade Otton ($4,000) is also startable and probably a little safer. Otton has gotten more targets lately, although he isn’t the same down-field, high-ceiling threat that Pitts is.
Pitts’ Falcons are 1.5-point favorites at home against the Bucs on Thursday Night Football, and Pitts is +250 to score a touchdown and +160 to get 40+ receiving yards.
He’s a boom-or-bust play with monster upside. He’s a high-risk, high-reward option for single-game Showdown DFS contests like the NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st] (TB @ ATL). However, he seems a little overpriced to me in DFS at just under $6,000, and I prefer some of the other options around his price point.
Start or Sit Kyle Pitts? Start.
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