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Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been leading the charge for the Atlanta Falcons so far at training camp, widely expected to be the team’s starter in 2025 after replacing Kirk Cousins down the stretch of last season. While Cousins is still on the roster, creating a bit of a potentially awkward situation, Penix Jr. has shown poise and maturity during his limited time as the Falcons’ starting quarterback.
One source of angst among the Falcons’ fanbase has been the play of tight end Kyle Pitts, who was drafted fourth overall in 2021 but has yet to live up to the lofty standards he displayed at Florida.
Recently, Penix Jr. made sure to shout out Pitts at a press conference during training camp.
“See we got Kyle Pitts the ball today? Gonna be a lot of that,” said Penix Jr., per NFL insider Jordan Schultz on X, formerly Twitter (via Justin Felder).
Falcons fans would indeed like to see more production out of Pitts this year and are hoping that a quarterback change will do the trick. Pitts and Penix Jr. connected for a clutch touchdown in Atlanta’s late season game against the Washington Commanders last year that sent the contest into overtime, which could perhaps be a glimpse of things to come moving forward between the duo.
The Falcons’ biggest weakness coming into this offseason was the team’s pass rush, which has been among the worst units in the NFL for most of the last decades.
Atlanta invested heavily in that department by spending their own first round draft pick on Jalon Walker out of the University of Georgia and then trading back into the first round to select James Pearce out of Tennessee.
If those two picks pan out, the Falcons could finally see a competent pass rush for the first time in a long while.
That, combined with continued ascendance from Penix Jr. as well as the emergence of star running back Bijan Robinson, could be enough to vault the Falcons back into the postseason for the first time in eight years.
However, there are quite a lot of “if’s” in that scenario.
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