Kyle Pitts 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
Fantasy Football Outlook
The 2022 season was a massive disappointment for Kyle Pitts. Pitts fell from TE6 in 2021 to TE33 in 2022. A knee cut his disappointing season short. This injury may have just ended the pain for fantasy football managers as Pitts up disappointing week after disappointing week. Seen as the best tight end prospect to enter the NFL in years, is it time to start wondering if Pitts will ever deliver on the hype?
2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
To examine Pitts’ 2023 fantasy prospects, we need to study what went wrong in 2022. Knee injury aside, I can sum up Pitts’ main problem using two words: Marcus Mariota.
26% of Marcus Mariota’s passes were deemed uncatchable last season.
Here is a bunch of plays where he missed Kyle Pitts.
pic.twitter.com/im39hVxuBV— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) April 18, 2023
Mariota was laughably bad when targeting Pitts last year. As a result, Pitts only delivered three games last year with double-digit fantasy points. The good news for Pitts is Mariota can do no further damage as he is now in Philadelphia backing up Jalen Hurts. Desmond Ridder is primed to take over at quarterback, and while he was only slightly more accurate than Mariota, he does bring hope that he can get Pitts’ career back on track. If Ridder can make the classic Year 2 leap, it’s easy to see a scenario where Pitts improves upon his rookie numbers.
Last year, Pitts was a catastrophically bad pick, being taken in the third and fourth rounds of most drafts. This year, Pitts is going off draft boards at 65th overall and the TE5, according to Fantrax’s average draft position (ADP). This is a more palatable price.
We have to remember that Pitts is the first tight end to reach 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie since Mike Ditka in 1961. That did not happen by accident. Additionally, Pitts is the same prospect who ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at his Pro Day and demonstrated rare athletic traits.
So while the reactionary move would be to avoid Pitts altogether, savvy drafters are buying the dip on elite talent. Despite the concerns, Pitts still has the athletic ability to be a difference-maker at a very thin position.
Dynasty Outlook
Look, 2022 was awful for Pitts. There’s no sugarcoating it. However, we need to keep in mind there were extenuating circumstances. Pitts doesn’t turn 23 years old until October. For perspective, Bills rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid turns 24 in October. We need to show more patience for Pitts as he is still very early in his career. For your dynasty fantasy football leagues, Pitts is still extremely valuable.
In my leagues, I have seen managers hitting the eject button for some laughable packages. Pitts is easily one of the top two tight ends in all dynasty leagues. He may not quite live up to the hype that surrounded him following the 2021 NFL Draft, but to give up on an uber-talented player after two seasons is a massive mistake. Check out just how high we have him ranked in our up-to-date dynasty rankings.
In dynasty leagues, it’s always smart to bet on talent.
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