ESPN's Kyle Pitts Ranking Shows Falcons TE Is Back Among NFL's Elite

The Atlanta Falcons have one of the NFL’s top trios, and one of those key players is tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. The former No. 4 overall pick enjoyed a rebound season in 2025, and his stock has risen across the league since.

As we approach training camp later this month, ESPN has been slowly unveiling its rankings for every NFL position group. To get their results, the worldwide leader surveyed 70 league executives, coaches, and scouts to list the top 10 players at 11 positions and identify the league’s best.

After being unranked at the position last season, Pitts shot up to No. 8 among NFL tight ends, "showing flashes of greatness again," including his Week 15 explosion against Tampa Bay. Pitts tallied 166 yards and three touchdowns against the division rival, becoming just the fifth tight end to reach 150 yards and three touchdowns since 1970.

“If he's confident and you believe in him, he will ball out,” one anonymous NFL coordinator said about Pitts. “If he gets involved early, he can be the most dominant player on the field.”

Pitts is fresh off finishing second among tight ends in receiving yards (928), receptions (88), and targets (118), while setting a career high in touchdowns (5). After several years of inconsistency, his late-season surge was enough to show the new Falcons brass that he was worth keeping around.

The Falcons and Pitts agreed to the largest three-year deal for any tight end in league history, making him the third-highest-paid in terms of average annual value ($18 million).

Kevin Stefanski and his staff are high on him as a player and see the skill set he brings to the field. As a whole, they feel like something special could be on the horizon, and Pitts finds himself at the center of that evolution.

As for the rest of the tight ends, a new generation is emerging. Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers leads the position for the second consecutive season, and he is one of the seven players in the top eight who are 26 years old or younger. Joining Bowers ahead of Pitts is Arizona’s Trey McBride, San Francisco’s George Kittle, Detroit’s Sam LaPorta, Indianapolis’ Tyler Warren, Green Bay’s Tucker Craft, and Chicago’s Colston Loveland.

Pitts is one of the many Falcons recognized on these rankings thus far. He joins running back Bijan Robinson and right guard Chris Lindstrom as top-10 players at their position, while cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. was an honorable mention among cornerbacks.

After falling completely off ESPN's list a year ago, Pitts climbed back into the NFL's top tier of tight ends. Another productive season could put him back in the conversation with the league's elite.

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