The Seattle Seahawks have one tight end who is trending toward greatness, and that player is AJ Barner. What many national pundits seemed to have forgotten is that the team has high hopes for Elijah Arroyo, who Seattle took in the second round of the 2025 draft.
Pitts was a first-round choice, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft. His production has been a bit mercurial, but Atlanta, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, signed Pitts to an extension on Tuesday for three years and as much as $54 million.
That's a lot of money, and Pitts is more of a hope to keep being good than a player who has consistently done so. His career arc could be something Arroyo could match through four seasons. Pitts had 1,026 receiving yards as a rookie in 2021, while Arroyo had just 179 in his first year of 2025.
Seattle Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo might look at what the Falcons just did with Kyle Pitts and smile
The Seahawks' tight end needs to play catch-up with Pitts, but not as much as many might think. After the Falcons' tight end's rookie year, he hasn't had another season over 1,000 yards. Between his second and fourth seasons, his best season was 667 receiving yards. He also wasn't scoring that much.
Even while he had over 1,000 yards receiving in 2021, he scored just one touchdown. In his first four seasons, he had a total of 10. That's not huge production for a player who just got paid. Even in 2025, he had 928 yards receiving, but only five touchdowns.
Those are numbers Elijah Arroyo should push for. He's basically the same size as Pitts (the Falcons tight end is 6'6" and 250 pounds, while Seattle's tight end is 6'5" and 255 pounds). Both have great speed for their size.
For Arroyo, he might have just needed a season to acclimate to the speed and power of the NFL. Clearly, as he was a second-round selection, the Seattle Seahawks see something in him to make him an important part of the offense for many years. His production might have yet to get truly started.
In fact, while many pundits might question why the Seahawks didn't do much to address their wide receiver room this offseason, general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald might have a different opinion. The assumption is that Elijah Arroyo should greatly improve in 2026, and he runs more like a wide receiver than a tight end.
No one should be surprised if Arroyo gets more looks as a traditional wideout than at tight end moving forward. The player certainly has a new goal. That would be to earn the kind of money that Kyle Pitts just got paid.
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