Bill Belichick Believes This Falcons Rookie Already Is NFL ‘Superstar’

Kyle Pitts has a big fan in New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick on Monday shared some extremely high praise for the Atlanta Falcons rookie tight end, whom his team will face for the first time this Thursday night.

“Everything is a problem (with Pitts),” Belichick said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “This guy, I thought last year in the draft, just watching him, he’s phenomenal. He’s big. He’s fast. He’s got great hands and adjusts to the ball. Makes tough catches. Savvy route-runner, can get open. Very hard to match up against.

“I was reading through some of the Atlanta comments, and you hear them comparing him to a cross between Tony Gonzalez and Julio Jones, and I’d say that’s about right. That’s what it looks like. This guy is one of the superstars of the NFL already.”

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Pitts was viewed as the best tight end prospect in years entering the 2021 NFL Draft, and he’s living up to expectations for the Falcons, who drafted him fifth overall.

Through 10 weeks, the Florida product ranks third among NFL tight ends in receiving yards (606 on 40 catches with one touchdown), trailing only Pro Bowlers Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. He’s also second among qualified tight ends in yards per catch (15.2) behind Cleveland’s David Njoku.

“I’m sure he’ll break all the tight end rookie receiving records,” Belichick said. “I think he’s on pace to, but he’ll be right there. This guy’s got a tremendous career in front of him. He can play every position. He plays end of the line of scrimmage, he can play in the slot, he can play outside. He’s got a great skillset. He’s competitive. He’ll block. He’s good after the catch. He’s a matchup nightmare.”

The Patriots and Falcons were on opposite sides of blowouts on Sunday. New England destroyed the Browns 45-7 to improve to 6-4 on the season. Atlanta folded against the Dallas Cowboys, losing 43-3 to fall to 4-5.