The Pittsburgh Steelers have a unique challenge in Week 1 in Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts—or maybe not so unique. While Pitts is an impressive, talented tight end, head coach Mike Tomlin points out that his division is full of them. In that respect, the Steeler’s head coach believes they are well-positioned to respond to his brand of football.
“We see unique tight ends week in and week out, to be quite honest with you”, Tomlin said on Tuesday via the team’s website when asked about the “unique” threat of Kyle Pitts. “We have some dangerous ones in this division.
“[David] Njoku in Cleveland, Mark Andrews and [Isaiah] Likely in Baltimore—all of them are matchup issues”, he went on. “It might be a challenge for some, but it’s somewhat routine for us. Not being disrespectful of [Pitts’] talents, it’s just we see some really talented tight ends and ones that are the focal point of offenses”.
In a follow-up question about “unique” tight ends becoming the norm, Tomlin disagreed. “I don’t know about regular for all, but somewhat regular for us because of the divisional component I just mentioned”, he said. Perhaps there aren’t as many Kyle Pitts-type tight ends in the NFC.
The fourth-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Kyle Pitts has 149 career catches for 2,049 yards and six touchdowns. He caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards as a rookie but is arguably still looking for his breakout season. Of course, putting up 1,000 yards at tight end is always impressive, but he is looking to find the end zone more. His three touchdowns a year ago doubled his three-year career total.
As far as the division goes, Mark Andrews is part of the gold standard at tight end, along with Travis Kelce and George Kittle. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and a former All-Pro with nearly 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns to his name. Pitts is more similar to a Njoku in Cleveland from an athletic profile.
Kyle Pitts ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, which is freaky fast even in comparison to the athletic Njoku. Indeed, few tight ends can match the athletic profile of Pitts, who looks like a giant wide receiver. He looks like Chase Claypool’s big brother, with a couple of inches and several pounds on him—but more talented.
The Steelers have not always been at their best defending tight ends, premier ones or otherwise. Even if they have experience playing some very talented tight ends in the division, Kyle Pitts will be a challenge. Irrespective of Tomlin’s comment, though, don’t let that cause you to think they don’t know that. They may not be able to stop him, but it won’t be because they overlooked him.
