Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr threw a potential dent in the hope of many fantasy football managers with a three-touchdown night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on TNF
23:23 ET, 11 Dec 2025Updated 23:25 ET, 11 Dec 2025
Kyle Pitts posted the best game of his NFL career…..just in time for the fantasy playoffs(Image: Getty Images)
2025 has certainly been an NFL season full of wonkiness. The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos sit atop the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens seem poised to miss the playoffs, and the Chicago Bears — at long last — will finish with a winning record.
Variance in fantasy football hasn’t been quite as random: Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are the top two quarterbacks. Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey are the top two running backs, and Trey McBride is the top tight end.
Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Sr entered Week 14 having his best campaign since his historic rookie 2021 campaign, when he became the second first-year tight end to top 1,000 receiving yards. He then left fantasy fans disappointed with his middling play from 2022 to 2024 after many tabbed him as a top pick.
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Pitts’ status as a let-down for many fantasy football owners has been well-known in the last few years. So it was fitting and slightly ironic that he ended up tearing up what was the first half of the first round of NFL Fantasy Football playoff matchups in many leagues.
Pitts entered Week 14 as the fifth-ranked tight end in half-point PPR fantasy football (cumulative), but he may be climbing up that list with a monster first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football.
The former Florida star caught seven passes for 117 yards and two scores, building off a strong first 13 games where he has 62 catches, 631 yards, and a touchdown. Pitts added another touchdown in the fourth quarter, hauling in a Kirk Cousins throw in acrobatic fashion.
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“Kyle Pitts’ career-high fantasy game was 26.9 PPR points… all the way back in Week 5 of his rookie year. He just broke that in one half tonight with 29 fantasy points!” tweeted the Sleeper NFL account.
Week 14 also marked the start of most fantasy football league playoffs. For many who trusted Pitts in the past (and likely abandoned him this season), his strong play may be bittersweet.
Pitts has long been a bogeyman for fantasy football managers(Image: Getty Images)
The real football implications are different, especially considering Pitts is in the final year of his rookie deal. “The Kyle Pitts breakout happening in the final month of a contract year while the team is 4-9 would be deeply upsetting to me as a Falcons fan,” tweeted Robert Mays of The Athletic.
“Kyle Pitts’s free agent market is going to be fascinating this offseason,” wrote Bill Barnwell of ESPN on X. “Falcons have to give serious thought to franchising him for $15.8 million if he continues to play this way.”
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Pitts won’t be the only big-name tight end available in free agency. Travis Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs lifer, is available. So if Dallas Goedert, David Njoku, and Darren Waller.
The Falcons tight end quadroupled his touchdown output in Week 14 alone, however, potentially leaving potentially buyers worried about regession.