FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts breezed through his first practice with the team at the rookie minicamp Friday.
“I think the first practice went pretty well,” Pitts said. “I think we all were excited to get back out there on the grass. Get back playing. Throwing the ball around.”
Pitts, who was the fourth overall pick in the draft out of Florida, did not take the first practice for granted. Last season’s first-round pick, cornerback A.J. Terrell, did not have a rookie minicamp because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Terrell and the rest of the 2020 rookies reported directly for training camp in August and had to get ready for the season.
Pitts, who is expected to contribute immediately, will be on hand as the camp runs through Sunday.
“I would say that now, we are just installing things day by day,” Pitts said. “I’m not looking into the future. I’m just letting the coaches do what they do. I’m just here trying to grind every day and be the best that I can be and contribute to the tight end (meeting) room.”
The Falcons didn’t get too fancy with the rookies. They were running basic plays, but were sprinting out of the huddle to the line of scrimmage.
Pitts knows that Falcons coach Arthur Smith used a lot of 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) last season with the Titans. Pitts likely will pair, from time to time, with either Hayden Hurst or Lee Smith in double tight-end formations. He moved around and was flexed out at times in college.
Pitts was not overly concerned about how he’d be used at this juncture.
“I feel like this is at a new level, and I kind of have to do certain things, but to have older guys in the room and to learn and sit back and watch them as a young rookie, that’s what a lot of people dream for,” Pitts said. “Hayden Hurst is a great tight end. I look forward to seeing how he does this level to make myself (better), kind of emulate his game and add some of his tools into my box.”
There were mistakes, but the players were briskly moving between plays.
“I think that’s something that what the coaches harped on, just tempo, getting on the ball,” Pitts said. “Trying to get our wind back up. Just the small details. I feel like that will help us get to the next level.”
Pitts is working with tight ends coach Justin Peelle, a former Falcon turned position coach.
“Coach Peelle is a great coach,” Pitts said. “He has a lot of knowledge of the game. ... I watched some of his tape, and he was a great tight end. To learn from someone who played the position, he has a lot of knowledge about the game, and I’m excited to see what he has in store to teach me.”
Pitts noted that he played for an offensive-minded coach in Dan Mullen at Florida, and he sees similarities between Mullen and Smith.
“He coaches us hard. Effort and attitude, those are all of the things he harps on,” Pitts said. “Everyone is kind of falling in line and following the leader. That’s something that I look forward to.”
Pitts was happy to get a jump on his NFL career with a live minicamp and ditch the virtual learning for a few days.
“Sometimes we are looking at each other through the screen, and we just want to get next to each other and be back in the locker room and be around (our) brothers,” Pitts said. “This is fun just being around the guys and building relationships.”
Pitts, who was taken earlier than any tight end in NFL draft history, is not worried expectations being too high at this point.
“Just trying to learn my playbook day by day,” Pitts said.
Pitts, wearing jersey No. 8, matched up with second-round pick, safety Richie Grant, on a few plays. Grant, from Central Florida, didn’t seem to notice the matchup.
“For the most part, I was just trying to make sure I was lining up in the right spot,” Grant said.
Now, that NFL players can have single-digit numbers, the No. 8 looks different on a tight end.
“Cordarrelle Patterson is a great (veteran) who had 84 (Pitts’ jersey number at Florida) already,” Pitts said. “I didn’t want to try and interfere with his career or anything like that. So, I just took a number. I was talking with (Calvin) Ridley, and he said, ‘That will look good on you.’ I thought about it, and I just took it.”
Pitts was so focused he didn’t think much about a reunion with former Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks, who was signed by the Falcons after the draft. Franks played at Arkansas last season as a graduate transfer.
“I’m just kind of worried about myself right now,” Pitts said. “Trying to make sure that I’m doing my assignments the best that I can and to make sure that I don’t make any mental mistakes.”
Grant did notice cornerback Darren Hall’s interception late in practice.
“I didn’t know if I was supposed to run over and jump on his head, which is what I (normally) would do, or get back to the ball and line up,” Grant said. “I just clapped my hands for him. After practice, I (gave him a handshake) and slapped him on the back of the head.”
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