Former Falcons WR Bold Prediction on Pat McAfee Show: ‘It’s Gonna Be Fireworks’

The biggest reason for Douglas’s optimism? He thinks the second-year quarterback is going to unleash Kyle Pitts. 

“I think Michael Penix Jr is going to be able to unlock Kyle Pitts, and that’s exactly what all of us have been waiting on, Kyle Pitts to be unlocked. And those two guys being very, very close, golfing buddies as well. I think that’s the last thing when you talk about this Falcons offense, is Kyle Pitts really coming along and having a season even better than his rookie year.” Douglas said. 

Douglas is a native of Atlanta. He starred at Jonesboro High School before becoming a star for the Louisville Cardinals. He spent seven years with the Falcons and had 258 catches for 3130 yards and 8 touchdowns in Atlanta.

Penix opened up a presser after the first day of training camp, saying, “Got KP [Kyle Pitts] the ball today. Going to be a lot of that. ” While wide receiver Drake London has been Penix’s favorite target of his young career and camp, the quarterback has had some moments with Pitts as well.

In a Week 17 matchup against the Washington Commanders, Penix hit Pitts for a game-tying touchdown on 4th and goal with under a minute left in the game. It was a clutch throw and catch, which proved the quarterback’s trust in his tight end.

Pitts has been a huge emphasis of Penix throughout this offseason, with the quarterback stating multiple times that he wants to get the ball more to the tight end. This Atlanta offense already features two weapons with 1000+ yards from scrimmage last season in wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson.

Darnell Mooney was just eight yards away from 1,000 receiving yards. If Pitts were to be a 1,000-yard receiver, this would be an offense with four skill players with 1,000+ yards from scrimmage, which would indeed lead to fireworks as Douglas suggested.

While that is not a very plausible scenario, Pitts could be a huge factor in the red zone. He’s never had more than four touchdowns in a season, despite being a matchup nightmare. If Atlanta can find a way to get him more looks in the endzone, that is where he can dominate. 

Penix himself spoke last month about the potential of this offense. 

“We should be the best in the league,” Penix said. “You know, with the guys we got around us. You know we got a great offensive line as well… we should be unstoppable.” 

The Falcons certainly do have the tools to be one of the best offenses in the NFL, and Harry Douglas believes that quarterback Michael Penix Jr can unleash Kyle Pitts.