Feedzy Read More The Atlanta Falcons have 27 more days to work out a new contract with tight end Kyle Pitts. If they can’t come to an agreement by then, Pitts will play out the 2026 NFL season under the franchise tag, paying him a fully guaranteed $15,045,000.While a market setting deal for star running back Bijan Robinson is an easy decision to make for the front office, making Pitts the highest-paid tight end in the league isn’t quite such a slam dunk.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAt the end of ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell’s new piece predicting which players will earn the biggest deals at each position, he saves tight end for last and shares his doubts about giving Pitts TE1 money.”Pitts isn’t much of a blocker, and I’m not sure I would want to make him the highest-paid tight end, but too many teams need move tight ends who can stretch the field. He’s also only 25 years old. The Falcons could tag Pitts a second time and pay him $18 million, but with a new regime in place, Atlanta might choose to move on from Pitts, especially with London signing a new deal and running back Bijan Robinson likely to join him shortly.”Barnwell has a fair point. Pitts was undeniably impressive last season, posting career highs in catches (88), first downs (51), catch rate (74.6%) and touchdowns (five), but it’s also the first year that he’s really lived up to expectations as a top-five overall pick.It really depends on hon much head coach Kevin Stefanski wants to use Pitts as part of his scheme. On the one hand, no other team ran more two-tight end sets than the Cleveland Browns last year – and the Falcons run those better than any other team in the NFL.On the other, we can guarantee that Bijan Robinson and Drake London are going to eat a lot of targets, no matter who is starting at quarterback. There also has to be a bigger slice of the pie going to the Falcons’ new receivers, Zachariah Branch and Jahan Dotson. When all that is accounted for, will Pitts’ target share really be worth making him the highest paid tight end in football?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s difficult to say, and a tough decision for new general manager Ian Cunningham to make. The Falcons may decide that they’ll get more value from trading Pitts, pocketing the money (and a high draft pick) and shifting their offense more towards their other weapons.This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: ESPN says Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t pay Kyle Pitts TE1 money