Falcons’ Kyle Pitts, Desmond Ridder Building Chemistry: 'It's a Slow Drip'
In the four games that Desmond Ridder started at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in his rookie year, coach Arthur Smith didn't ask him to do much more than manage the game.
Part of that may have been just protecting a rookie quarterback who was dipping his toes in the deep end of the pool for the first time. But Smith also likely realized that Ridder didn't have a ton at his disposal in the passing game outside of rookie wideout Drake London.
Tight end Kyle Pitts -- the former No. 4 overall pick who looked like a budding superstar in his rookie season -- had a disappointing second season for the Falcons. After catching 68 passes for 1,026 yards in his rookie campaign, Pitts regressed to 28 catches for 356 yards in 2022. Part of that was likely due to the downgrade at quarterback from Matt Ryan to Marcus Mariota. Pitts also suffered a torn right MCL in Week 11 that ended his season, so his numbers from 2022 are incomplete.
In any event, as Ridder prepares for his first full season as Atlanta's starting quarterback, he seems to be aware of just how important Pitts will be to the success or failure for the Falcons. Seeing as how Pitts' 2022 season was over before Ridder's really began, the two have focused on feeling each other out this summer, hoping to form a strong connection by Week 1.
"Once I was able to get back and start running, we got back together a couple times and connected on some routes on a field by ourselves," Pitts said of Ridder. "Now it's about going up against another people and getting the timing right. It's a slow drip."
Ridder explained why he's honed in on building the relationship with Pitts in advance of this season.
"I mean, we didn't get many reps this past season," Ridder said. "I wanted him to get used to me and for me to see how he runs routes and how he works in space."
Make no mistake, the Falcons are going to be a run-first team in 2023. With the trio of Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson in the backfield, Atlanta should have one of the better rushing attacks in the NFL.
At the same time, Robinson and Patterson are legitimate threats as receivers. London had 866 receiving yards in his rookie season. And Pitts was taken with a top-five pick in 2021, with star receivers Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith still on the board.
The Falcons aren't going to ask Ridder to throw 50 times a game, but he needs to be able to compliment the running game in the way that Ryan Tannehill has done in Tennessee, where Smith was previously the offensive coordinator. And forming a bond with the unicorn at tight end seems like a good place to start.
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