Former Gators TE On Pace For Best NFL Season After Stellar TNF Game

The former Florida Gators tight end is making the most of a contract year and is coming off arguably his best game

Kyle Pitts is making the most of his contract season | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

At this point, Kyle Pitts Sr.’s up-and-down NFL career has become a bit of an inside joke for fantasy football fans.

While Pitts Sr. has continued to flash the near-unprecedented athleticism that made him a Pro  Bowler as a rookie, the former No.4 overall pick has also been a non-factor during multiple stretches throughout his five-year career.

The former Florida Gator is experiencing a career rival this season, and had the best game of his NFL career during the Atlanta Falcons’ 29-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.

11 catches
166 yards
3 TD

Kyle Pitts making many @NFLFantasy owners happy tonight😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/A78r9xhikq

— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2025

During Thursday’s win, he hauled in a career high 11 passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns.

According to ESPN Insights, Pitts Sr. is the first tight end with 150 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a game since Shannon Sharpe did so in 1996.

Kyle Pitts Sr. is the first tight end with 150 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a game since Shannon Sharpe in 1996 Week 6 against the Chargers 😳 pic.twitter.com/JImWYWNK7f

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) December 12, 2025

Through 14 games, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end has already caught a career-high 73 passes and tied his career-high with four touchdowns to go along with 797 receiving yards. 

He is currently on pace to finish the season with 89 catches, 968 yards (second-most of his career) and five touchdowns.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pitts Sr. has hauled in 76.8% of his targets, the highest rate of his career by nearly 10 percentage points. 

The improvement can partly be chalked up to more designed touches and him being a primary read on most of Atlanta’s plays. 

His ability to generate separation came into question last season, but this season, he ranks among the top 15 among all players with an average of 3.7 yards of separation per route.

Before this year, his best season came during his rookie campaign when he made the Pro Bowl after catching 68 passes for 1,026 yards and a touchdown.

During his time at Florida, Pitts Sr. was a Unanimous All-American and was also awarded the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.

His best season with the Gators came in 2020, when he caught 43 passes for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Through just three seasons, Pitts Sr. caught 100 passes for 1,492 yards and 18 touchdowns. 

By the time his time at Florida was over, he left as Florida’s all-time leader for receiving yards by a tight end, while ranking second in career receptions among tight ends in program history. 

After appearing in 11 games as a backup during his true freshman season in 2018,  he earned First-team All-SEC honors in 2019 and 2020.