Kyle Pitts joins exclusive NFL club with milestone reception vs. 49ers
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Kyle Pitts has long been a topic of discussion among Atlanta Falcons fans. Those discussions mainly focus on how often he’s used (or, for that matter, isn’t used) in the Falcons’ offense.
After 68 catches and 1,026 yards as a rookie, the fourth overall pick in 2021 looked to be a sure-fire star. But an injury in 2022 sidelined him for seven games. He finished with 53 and 47 catches in 2023 and 2024, respectively, before a career-best 88 receptions in 2025.
Entering Sunday’s Week 7 game against the San Francisco 49ers, Pitts needed just one catch to hit the 300-reception mark. That catch came with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter.
That put Pitts in some rare company. As Falcons senior reporter Will McFadden noted, Pitts — who turned 26 on Oct. 6 — is the sixth-youngest tight end to hit the 300-catch mark. Two of them, Tony Gonzalez and Kellen Winslow, are in the Hall of Fame. Two others, Jason Witten and Rob Gronkowski, will be enshrined in Canton someday. The other, Trey McBride, passed the mark in 2025 with the Arizona Cardinals.
Pitts looks to have a long career ahead of him. We’ll see how many more catches he’s able to rack up before he hangs up his cleats.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
