What It Means:

Smith described Pitts' recovery from offseason knee surgery as a journey, but did add that the former first-round pick is looking more and more like he did during his breakout rookie campaign in 2021. Pitts' low usage this season (and early last season, as well) has been a source of major stress for fantasy football managers, especially with his coaching staff seeming to favor offseason acquisition Jonnu Smith over him in most situations. Even if the lingering effects of his 2022 injury have limited him this season, there are unfortunately still several other obstacles in the way of Pitts putting up another 1,000-yard receiving season.

Pitts has caught 11 of just 21 targets this season for 121 scoreless yards, but optimistic fantasy managers could look to his position-leading 28.24% share of Atlanta's air yards this season for reasons to continue starting him in their lineups. No tight end in the league has had a more prominent down-field role than Pitts this year -- it just hasn't materialized into on-field production yet.