Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Kyle Pitts

Monday, March 25, 2:31 PM

Both San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward had core-muscle surgery this offseason and will be back, fully cleared, in time for training camp this summer, according to general manager John Lynch. It's worth noting, but for Kittle's sake, it's probably not going to have any effect on his 2024 fantasy value unless he suffers a setback during offseason training. The 30-year-old former fifth-round selection in 2017 out of Iowa has made the Pro Bowl in five of his seven NFL seasons and led all tight ends with 1,020 receiving yards in 16 regular-season games in 2023 while also catching 65 passes for six touchdowns on 90 targets. Despite undergoing offseason surgery, Kittle should be considered a no-doubt, top-five fantasy tight end this fall.

Saturday, May 18, 1:25 PM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts called himself a "super rookie" as he enters the fourth year of his NFL career in 2024. "I'm not a rookie rookie. But we're all in this new offense, new regime, new schedule. We're all in this fresh," Pitts said. The former first-round pick has a new head coach in Raheem Morris, a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson and a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins this year. Pitts had 1,027 receiving yards in his rookie year in 2021 but suffered a season-ending knee injury in Year 2, and he wasn't 100% in 2023 despite playing in all 17 games. The 23-year-old is fully healthy now and taking part in OTAs this offense as he works to learn the new offense and gain chemistry with Cousins. Pitts could easily have his best season to date in 2024 if both he and Cousins (coming off a torn Achilles) can stay healthy.