According to your general manager Chris Ballard in 107.5 The Fan’s ‘Dan Dakich Show’, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. ‘will be a great player’:
“I think Michael Pittman will be a great player,” said Ballard. “I think you did. If he doesn’t have compartment syndrome (leg) you know and lose all three games, it was a serious injury. And he struggled to get back, and it took a while to get back. “
“But I think you saw him win (confidence), I think you saw him in Tennessee and in the playoff game against Buffalo, he was excellent.”
The Colts’ 34th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft had a scary injury to start his career – already leaving a limited training ground and nonexistent preseason. However, it was easy to see Pittman Jr. continue to become more comfortable as the season progressed – as he gained more playing time and invaluable reps in the Colts’ attack.
The wideout rookie ended with 40 receptions for 503 reception yards (12.6 years on average) and a touchdown reception for 13 games (8 matches).
Perhaps most surprising was Pittman Jr.’s ability to chase after capture – showing surprisingly high speed for a large body wide that is deceptively fast at 6’4 ”, 223 pounds:
“Pittman is going to do this with size and strength, and he is a great (runner), he is faster than you think when you have the ball in your hands,” Ballard added later in the show. “He is very fast when he catches the ball in his hands.”
To his credit, via PFF, Pittman Jr. was one of the league’s rookie leaders in yards after his capture last season:
Most yards after catching among novice WRs in 2020:
1. Justin Jefferson – 450
2. Chase Claypool – 342
3. Michael Pittman Jr. – 331
4. CeeDee Lamb – 312 pic.twitter.com/G8lsz8eDn6– Draft PFF (@PFF_College) February 5, 2021
However, when looking at the yards after receiving for reception, see how it splits among the top newbies in 2020:
- Pittman Jr .: 8.28 ypr. average
- Claypool: 5.52 ypr. average
- Jefferson: 5.11 ypr. average
- Lamb: 4.22 ypr. average
With outstanding moves like the ones below, it’s easy to see why:
Although we have not been able to see Pittman characterized as a threat on the bouncing ball field that many Colts fans expected to see happen in a reception role ‘like Vincent Jackson’ with the veteran starter Philip Rivers, he showed a lot of vision, toughness, physicality and acceleration as a runner – reminiscent of his father, a former NFL runner Michael Pittman Sr. with the soccer ball in his hands – trying to make a move and ‘mix’.
The Colts used it a lot on drag and traverse routes – which proved to be quite effective.
His block was also consistently excellent at the perimeter:
Pittman Jr. is a successful young man who is ahead of the Colts, whose future looks very bright as he enters his 2nd season – perhaps great, if you ask Indy GM today.