We were so close to Kyle Pitts not only being ranked No. 1 in Dynasty, but also in re-draft. For a 24-hour period when Deshaun Watson was supposed to be leaning toward Pitts’ Falcons, even the most skeptical about Pitts were all in.
Of course, by now you know how terribly bad it went from there. Not only did the Falcons miss out on Watson, but they also ended up trading Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick. In short order they then signed Marcus Mariota to a two-year deal to replace Ryan. The journey from Ryan to maybe-Watson to Mariota is a roller coaster that would fit right in at Six Flags Over Georgia. And no one would blame Pitts’ Fantasy managers if they felt a bit queasy when the ride ended.
For re-draft purposes, I dropped Pitts to TE6 for the moment. I suspect that the Mariota acquisition will lead to a more run-heavy approach, and I don’t have confidence that he can be as accurate a passer as Ryan. And I’m pretty concerned about how many downfield shots he’ll take as well.
For Dynasty purposes, it wasn’t quite enough to knock Pitts off his perch at No. 1, but it did put him very close to Mark Andrews in my rankings. Close enough that if Andrews and Pitts replicate their Fantasy points per game from last year over the first month of 2022, I will likely have Andrews ranked No. 1 at the position.
The future is still very bright for Pitts, and the nice thing about being a 21-year-old future star is that you can wait out a rebuild. I do understand if Dynasty managers who plan on winning their league this year don’t feel the same way. And I wouldn’t begrudge them for dealing Pitts for Andrews in that situation. On the flipside, Pitts joins DK Metcalf as one of my favorite players to try to buy as a rebuilder. Even with this recent quarterback downgrade, I’m not sure there’s anyone in the 2022 draft class worth more.
Here are my updated Dynasty tight end rankings:
