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What If The Atlanta Falcons Had Drafted Justin Fields In 2021 Instead Of Kyle Pitts? A Look At Alternate History

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Petry | Last updated May 13, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Atlanta Falcons passed on Georgia native Justin Fields with the fourth pick of the 2021 NFL Draft in favor of Kyle Pitts. What would the franchise have looked like in an alternate universe?

Kyle Pitts is considered a "generational talent" and will continue to have the opportunity to showcase that during the upcoming season, with more targets on the horizon. For instance, taking nothing away from Pitts, what if Atlanta had pulled the trigger in the 2021 draft and selected Fields from Ohio State? Would the franchise have more playoff appearances? More division titles? More wins?

The Falcons past thus far with selecting Pitts hasn't been one of let's say, optimism. That season was the last for Matt Ryan in Atlanta, and from there, the team would turn to Marcus Mariota. Pitts had a great rookie season with Ryan at the helm. Fields could have taken the reins behind Ryan for his rookie year and possibly been ready to lead the offense during the 2022 campaign; instead, Atlanta chose to go with Marcus Mariota, having passed on Fields in favor of Pitts.

Fields would have complemented the weapons that year very well, having Drake London on the edge, and Tyler Allgeier at running back, along with Cordarrelle Patterson as a utility player of sorts. It was never an offense that would have set the world on fire, but the team would have been able to build around Fields' abilities in the open field.

Justin Fields is still finding his footing in the NFL, but had he gone to Atlanta during the 2021 season, things would have been drastically different for the Falcons, and more than likely, the team would have made consecutive playoff appearances with Fields under center.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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