Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is finally here and opening weekend will continue on Sunday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting the Atlanta Falcons for an NFC South showdown at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
Kyle Pitts start or sit: Week 1 fantasy football advice
We break down the fantasy football outlook of Kyle Pitts ahead of the Falcons’ Week 1 opener against the Bucs.
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The Falcons are coming off a 8-9 campaign in 2024 and head into the new season looking to end a seven-year playoff drought. Some experts have pegged the team as a possible NFC darkhorse because of their returning weapons and one of those weapons is veteran tight end Kyle Pitts. He enters the year with an ADP (average draft position) of 15-17 across multiple scoring formats according to FantasyPros, so managers in most leagues view him as a fringe starter/high-end backup option.
Below, we’ll go over Pitts’ outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.
Fantasy Football analysis: Falcons TE Kyle Pitts
Fantasy managers drafting Pitts became a running meme during training camp and judging by his ADP, many decided to not get burned again by the Falcons TE. Through four seasons, the former unanimous All-American has failed to live up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon him as the No. 4 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, finishing as a top-10 fantasy tight end just once. He’s certainly taken a brunt of criticism himself, but much of that lack of production can be blamed on mediocre quarterback play since his arrival to the organization. Last year, he finished the season with 47 receptions for 602 yards and four touchdowns.
This will truly be a make-or-break season for Pitts as he is entering the final year of his contract with the organization. Atlanta seemingly has stability on offense with Michael Penix Jr. cementing himself as the starting quarterback and some believe that he can be the one to finally unlock Pitt’s potential. Whether that actually comes to fruition remains to be seen.
Start or sit in Week 1 standard/PPR leagues?
Start. Putting Pitts in the starting lineup for Week 1 against the defending NFC South champs may seem risky, but its actually a really favorable matchup for him. Tampa Bay was extremely vulnerable against tight ends in 2024, yielding the second-highest number of yards for the season at 1,114 while allowing these big targets to average 8.3 fantasy points per game. The Falcons TE would know, as his two best performances of the season came against the Bucs with 11 receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns through two games. I think Penix will want to make a statement by specifically getting his tight end going in Game 1, so I’d take the risk and start him for the opener.
