Kyle Pitts Fantasy Football Outlook 2022 (Targets Will Be There for Another Top-5 Finish)

There was a lot of pressure on Kyle Pitts' shoulders after he was taken fourth overall by the Atlanta Falcons at the 2021 NFL Draft. Fortunately, the young tight end had no issue living up to and exceeding those expectations, finishing as the TE6 in PPR formats.

Fast forward to 2022 and Pitts has become the only legitimate playmaker that the Falcons are fielding. With Marcus Mariota taking over for Matt Ryan under center, can the former University of Florida product still finish among the best TEs in fantasy?

Kyle Pitts Fantasy Football Outlook

Some pass-catchers can struggle with the transition to the NFL, but that wasn't the case for Pitts. Making the Pro Bowl as a rookie, Pitts finished his first-ever season with 1,026 receiving yards and a touchdown on 68 receptions.

Even with rookie wideout Drake London in the mix, it's likely that Pitts will lead the Falcons in targets this season. It's hard to imagine Mariota trusting anyone else more than him, which should yield positive results for fantasy managers.

With the 2022 NFL season around the corner, Fantasy Pros lists Pitts as the TE3 in PPR formats. He also holds an average draft position of 35.4, making him a candidate for a late third- or early fourth-round selection.

Kyle Pitts Projections

Projections from the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook aren't exactly high on Pitts. For instance, he's in an eight-way tie for the 26th-best odds (+5000) to lead the NFL in receiving yards this fall. As talented as he may be, that's a market you're going to want to avoid.

As for his projected total receiving yards, FanDuel lists Pitts at 900.5 yards with -112 odds on both the over and the under. He easily hit the over last season and being Atlanta's top pass-catching threat makes him a likely candidate to do it again in 2022.

Is Kyle Pitts a Good Fantasy Football Pick?

At the end of the day, Pitts is already one of the better TEs in fantasy. It'd be shocking if he isn't the Falcons' receiving leader across the board when all is said and done, making a terrific option for PPR formats.

On the other hand, Pitts was nearly invisible in the red zone last year. He was only targeted 14 times within the 20-yard line, turning those opportunities into just four receptions for 24 yards and his lone TD. His red-zone usage certainly needs to go up or else his fantasy upside will be limited.

There's also no telling how Mariota will handle his first full-length NFL campaign as starter since 2018.

It's hard to ignore what he brings to the table, though. I'd probably avoid him in the first three rounds of the draft, but I wouldn't feel too bad selecting him as long as you already have a No. 1 wide receiver on your roster.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.