TE Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens

HT: 6-5, WT: 245, Born: 1-1-1985, College: Brigham Young, Drafted: Round 4

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full ADP list]

Overall: T Austin (83), J Maclin (84), Dennis Pitta (85), T Hilton (86), M Leshoure (87)
Position: T Gonzalez (61-TE5), V Davis (78-TE6), Dennis Pitta (85 - TE7), K Rudolph (89-TE8), G Olsen (100-TE9)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: S Johnson (72), V Davis (73), Dennis Pitta (74), T Hilton (75), C Shorts (76)
Position: J Witten (45-TE4), V Davis (73-TE5), Dennis Pitta (74 - TE6), K Rudolph (78-TE7), O Daniels (90-TE8)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Outlook

Dennis Pitta is looking to build on a 2012 season in which he separated himself from Ed Dickson as "the guy" at tight end for Baltimore. Pitta became Joe Flacco's go-to guy and safety valve at various points of the regular season, and with the departure of Anquan Boldin from the receiving corps, Pitta stands to maintain that role for Flacco. Adding three touchdowns in the postseason during Flacco's remarkable, career-defining four-game run cemented Pitta's place as Flacco's main interior target five yards or more from the line of scrimmage. His 2013 could be even better as his volume of targets should increase from 2012.

Latest News

Ravens | Dennis Pitta signs tender (Mon May 13, 03:40 PM) - Baltimore Ravens restricted free-agent TE Dennis Pitta has signed his one-year tender offer and will make $2.023 million in 2013.

Our View: A good deal for both sides here and it could open talks of a new long-term agreement. Pitta had a breakout season in 2012 and finished the season as the 7th best TE in fantasy football. He could have an even bigger season this year since WR Anquan Boldin was traded away to the 49ers.
link to story   

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Pitta had a breakout game against the Bengals showing that the tight end is still a vital part of the Baltimore offense. Pitta was targeted often by Joe Flacco all over the field. His best catch came on a 23 yard completion where the Bengals single-covered him with a linebacker. On the play, Flacco recognized Pitta had a favorable matchup and appeared to call for an adjusted route. Pitta bolted up the seam from the line of scrimmage and hauled in the pass for a long gain on 1st and 15, resulting in a first down. Pitta primarily ran hitches between the hash marks and quick outs 8-10 yards downfield. Flacco appeared to trust his tight end completely, targeting him repeatedly on first and second down. Pitta's touchdown came on a quick toss out of the no-huddle where it appeared that the Bengals hadn't shifted in to position pre-snap. Pitta darted in to the end zone, the beneficiary of an easy score.

Week 2 - Dennis Pitta was definitely Joe Flacco's favourite target in this game. Pitta's first reception was simple, as he may as well have been playing 7-on-7 with no defenders near him at the snap of the ball. Pitta ran a quick slant before catching a low pass from Flacco. Pitta again took advantage of off coverage with a slant almost straight away when he used his size to fend off Allen for another eight yard gain. Most of Pitta's receptions were routine catches, but he showed excellent strength on a 16 yard gain in the third quarter. Pitta was running an eight yard out route. Akeem Jordan was running out from the center of the field attempting to beat Pitta to his spot. Jordan initiated contact with Pitta at the top of his route, but bounced off Pitta who continued to run his route. Pitta caught the ball and ran free down the sideline for another eight yards.

Week 3 - The nicest play of the game was a swing pass to Pitta in the flat who hurdled his defender and pranced into the endzone. He showed good athleticism and made the play on a third down. He was also targeted on Flacco’s interception but was not the reason for the turnover. Perhaps his best catch was one he made in traffic but was called back due to a hold. He now has at least five catches in three consecutive games. This is the first time in his career that he has completed the accomplishment.

Week 4 - Averaging 10.3 targets entering the game, it was a very poor outing for Pitta as Flacco only looked his buddy’s way twice and neither ball was catchable. While a player being shut of the box score is always concerning, Pitta played 62 of 87 snaps and ran 36 routes. Flacco was just focused on Rice and his wide receivers.

Week 5 - Pitta was heavily involved early in the game but then disappeared in the second half. He made two nice grabs, one a diving catch on an 8 yard out and the other a good snag on a high, hard 12 yard out. He did have one drop, but it was a poorly thrown ball from Flacco.

Week 6 - Pitta quietly had 4 receptions for 33 yards from his 5 targets on the day. Pitta is primarily running short curls in the middle of the field and go routes down the seam. The Cowboys were quick to cover him at the line of scrimmage and pass him between linebackers when he ran crossing patterns, minimizing how open he was able to get. Joe Flacco looked to his tight end primarily on short yardage situations when the Cowboys had committed their safeties to the outside or deeper down the field.

Week 7 - Like Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, Pitta was fairly silent against the Texans. Houston mixed coverage on Pitta between linebackers and safeties making it difficult for the Ravens to know exactly how to use him. Pitta ran quick outs and crossing patterns but was rarely open for quarterback Joe Flacco. He finished the day with 5 receptions but was unable to gain more than a few yards on each catch. Pitta is excellent at getting off the line of scrimmage in tight coverage but his route running is not precise enough to keep closing defenders from getting to him soon after he catches the ball. Regardless, the entire Ravens offense was unable to get going against Houston and Pitta was no exception.

Week 9 - Pitta caught an open deep crossing route by the sideline after a hard play-action to the opposite side. Pitta dropped a quick slant pass to open the third quarter against good coverage. Pitta caught a quick pass on third and 18 before taking a massive hit from a defender. Pitta did well to not fumble the football.

Week 10 - After being largely invisible in fantasy terms for the past five games, Pitta had a day reminiscent of the first three games of the season when he was an early-season darling. He caught all five of his targets, including a high-point red zone touchdown reception. On multiple occasions, Pitta was the hot read for Flacco over the middle when the Raiders dialed up a blitz. While the Ravens passing offense carries the risk of a wide spectrum of outcomes from week to week, Pitta is one of the more intriguing TE2 plays if needed with his involvement near the goal line and sticky hands to maximize his target volume.

Week 11 - Dennis Pitta recorded his sole reception during his team’s first drive. Pitta ran a quick drag route and secured a five-yard gain. However, Pitta left with concussion-like symptoms and did not return.

Week 12 - Like most Ravens, Pitta took awhile to get going in the game. Coming off a concussion suffered last week, he did have a nice catch early on despite taking a big hit to the helmet area. He was also targeted on a deep ball down the seam, but the ball sailed way over his head nowhere close to him. In the second half, Pitta got going. He broke free over the middle with a nice move at the line to shake free of his defender, and Flacco found him in the back of the end zone for the Ravens only touchdown of the game. He added a couple of third down receptions, including a key grab in the overtime on the eventual game-winning drive to convert a third and four play.

Week 13 - Pitta's first reception came late in the third quarter when he was hit wide open over the middle and ran upfield for a 15 yard gain.

Week 14 - The third-year tight end from Brigham Young was a busy man in Week Fourteen, totaling five receptions on six targets for forty-six yards through the air. Quarterback Joe Flacco looked to his tight end primarily on third-and-long scenarios, with four of Pitta’s five catches coming in those situations. The Ravens’ Week Fourteen target leader found the end zone on a fourteen-yard grab in the second quarter, his third score in the last five games. It stands to reason that as long as fellow tight end Ed Dickson remains out with a knee injury, Pitta will continue to accumulate a modest number of catches and receiving yards for the Ravens.


Week 15 - Dennis Pitta had a huge stat line today thanks to some great athletic ability. Pitta was targeted 10 times and hauled in a few nifty catches, including two touchdown grabs. Pitta's first touchdown catch was a long throw about 30 yards in the air that he caught at the 2 and then rolled into the endzone after a defender failed to touch him while he was on the ground. The catch was great, as was the awareness that no one had touched him. Pitta's second touchdown was one of the highlight plays of the week. Pitta caught the ball about 5 yards downfield, then proceeded to break 4 tackles while tiptoeing down the sideline and outracing defenders after breaking the aforementioned tackles. This was a display of surprising elusiveness from a tight end, as well as solid speed one wouldn't expect from the position. Besides those two touchdowns, most of Pitta's catches were shorter routes, as Joe Flacco was overthrowing many intermediate and deep routes to all his targets.

Week 16 - Dennis Pitta had a very solid performance for the Ravens on Sunday and made a terrific play to keep his offense on the field. On third and long, Pitta was able to get open down the field and haul in a terrific pass from Flacco between two defenders. Pitta also made several nice catches on the sideline with out routes and caught the ball consistently well. Pitta was somewhat outclassed by bigger play threats such as Smith/Boldin/Race who will always get more attention but he had a very impressive game where he showed his speed and hands that will continue to make him a role player on this team.

Week 18 - While the ground game and Anquan Boldin were the primary options on offense against the Colts, Pitta made two important receptions in the game. Pitta took a big hit following an out route reception, but held on for the first down. Later, Pitta scored the second touchdown of the game to give Baltimore a 17-6 advantage. Pitta ran a short crossing route, turned upfield, and no defender picked up the tight end as he ran the final yards into the end zone.

Week 19 - After two well-thrown passes led to his first two receptions of the game, Pitta was targeted on one of the most crucial plays for Baltimore late the game. The Ravens were down by seven and facing a fourth down at the Denver 30-yard-line. Pitta could not make the contested catch to keep the drive alive. With three minutes to go, that missed opportunity could very well have been the final offensive play for Baltimore. The Ravens were able to eventually tie the game and Pitta make a huge play in overtime. Flacco delivered a perfect pass down the seam to Pitta to convert a third-and-long situation.

Week 20 - After the wind caused Ed Dickson to drop a pass on second and seven over the middle, Flacco threw a sky ball down the right sideline to Pitta, but he couldn't make a difficult diving reception. Pitta came free over the middle on third and four for his first reception of the game, and a first down, before dragging a defender down the field. Pitta beat Brandon Spikes in single coverage a slant over the middle. He caught the ball five yards down the field, before sprinting away from the linebacker for a big gain. Pitta absorbed a huge hit running a five yard crossing route for his next reception. Flacco went straight back to Pitta when he ran an out route in the endzone for an easy touchdown reception. The throw was easy for Flacco because Pitta shook Steve Gregory at the top of his route with excellent quickness. Pitta's next reception came on second and four when he ran underneath the off coverage for a six yard gain and a first down.