Kyle Pitts hasn’t given Falcons fans much to cheer about through the first two weeks, but Thursday night brings a real chance to change that.
Atlanta’s star tight end has been stuck on one catch for 15 yards this season, a flat start that looks especially rough next to the three-year, $54 million extension he signed this offseason. That deal made him the third-highest paid tight end in the league, and so far the production hasn’t come close to matching the price tag.
A big part of the problem has been the offense around him. With Cooper Rush starting, the Falcons haven’t been able to fully open things up, and Pitts has been left with too little volume to work with. His 8% target share ranks 35th among tight ends, and that number feels built to rise now that Michael Penix Jr. is back under center against the Green Bay Packers.
That return matters for more than one reason. Penix’s presence should bring a more legitimate downfield passing game, and that gives Atlanta a chance to run the offense the way it was designed. Too much of the conversation has centered on what that means for Drake London, but Pitts stands to benefit too, maybe even more than people are acknowledging.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees made it clear Tuesday that the Falcons know they need to do a better job getting Pitts the ball.
“We gotta get it going." Rees said Tuesday.
"That's my job. He's an integral part of what we wanna do, and we had a couple missed opportunities there in week one.
Probably didn't have as many last game. But we know what he does well.
We know where he can be a matchup. We know where we can really make sure that he's impacting games.
But I gotta do a better job with that and make sure that his talents come into the forefront. We take a lot of ownership on that as a staff.”
That’s as direct as it gets. The coaching staff knows the usage hasn’t been good enough, and Rees is openly taking ownership of it. With Penix back, the setup should look different, and that could finally put Pitts in the spots where his size, speed and versatility matter most.
There’s also some familiarity between the quarterback and tight end. Penix and Pitts are golf buddies, which suggests the connection between them isn’t limited to Sundays. On the field, the fit makes sense too: play-action should show up more often, and Pitts has the kind of skill set that can punish defenses in the middle of the field, in the red zone and beyond it.
The Packers have already shown vulnerability to tight ends. In Week 1 against the Vikings, they allowed T.J.
Hockenson to catch four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown. Pitts brings more talent to the table than Hockenson, and Penix is a better quarterback than Carson Wentz, who played most of that game for Minnesota.
Pitts has already shown what he can do when the quarterback play is there. Last season, he posted career highs with 88 receptions and five touchdowns. Some of the late-season work with Kirk Cousins, including the Bucs game, can be viewed as outliers, but the bigger point remains the same: this is the kind of production he’s always been capable of.
The turnaround may not be far off. It starts with better quarterback play, and that begins Thursday night against the Packers.
In Other News...
Bijan Robinson Suddenly Has A Rare Falcons Milestone In Reach
Bijan Robinsons name has already become central to the Falcons offense, and now it sits next to a piece of team history that would be unusual even by Atlanta standards. Amid a run of recent NFL milestones around the league, Robinson has given the Falcons something more immediate to watch in Week 3: the possibility of a running back reaching a franchise mark that has been on the books for years.
It is the kind of threshold that says as much about how the offense is using him as it does about Robinsons own versatility. For Atlanta, the larger point is not just that he is piling up touches, but that he is being put in position to leave a mark in a category not often associated with backs. The record is there, the opportunity is there, and now the Falcons have one more reason to pay close attention when the ball gets near the goal line. [Read more 🡒]
Drake Londons Frustration Puts Falcons Quarterback Decision Under A Spotlight
Drake Londons body language told the story during a recent Falcons game, when the receiver was seen yelling and pointing on the sideline as Atlanta struggled to find a rhythm on offense. It has not been the start London or the Falcons wanted, with the third-year pass catcher working through two games alongside backup quarterbacks and producing 6 receptions for 80 yards.
Michael Penix Jr. looms over the conversation because the pairing has already shown real promise when given time together. In 14 games with Penix, London has piled up 91 catches for 1,286 yards and 9 touchdowns, a track record that makes the quarterback decision feel even more important as Atlanta tries to stabilize its passing game and keep one of its top weapons engaged. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Face An Ugly Reality Entering Packers Matchup
The Falcons head into their Week 3 trip to Green Bay already carrying the kind of concerns that can make a road game feel even longer. The Packers bring the cleaner roster and the steadier quarterback situation, while Atlanta is still trying to find reliable play under center and across the board, two issues that have already shaped the early part of the 2026 season.
For Atlanta, the matchup is less about matching the Packers punch for punch and more about avoiding another lopsided afternoon that deepens the pressure around the team. Green Bay is being forecast to handle this one comfortably, which leaves the Falcons with an ugly reality in front of them and a chance to show some progress in a spot where the margin for error looks thin. [Read more 🡒]