Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. arguably already experienced a breakout season, posting 88 catches, 1,082 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns last year. But multiple NFL front office executives, scouts and coaches set even higher expectations for Pittman in his third season.
As a result, Heavy senior NFL reporter Matt Lombardo listed the Colts receiver among his top six players with the best chance to have a breakout season in 2022.
“There’s no question in my mind that a better quarterback is going to get Pittman the ball more often, and that could be exactly what that offense needs,” an NFC East scout told Lombardo.
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Pittman’s Rare Physical Traits
Colts general manager Chris Ballard has developed a pattern of targeting very athletic draft prospects, especially at receiver. Pittman is the best example of that.
“[Pittman] is just an all-around receiver with the combination of rare size and athletic ability,” the scout told Lombardo.
At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, Lombardo wrote that Pittman has “the chance to be Ryan’s best friend,” especially in the red zone. All four of Pittman’s touchdowns after Week 7 last year came in the red zone.
If the Colts offense is more efficient as the team hopes with Matt Ryan behind center, Pittman should see even more red zone opportunities, where his size and athletic prowess will make a difference.
Developing Into No. 1 Wide Receiver
The Colts have one of the more inexperienced wideout groups in the league. None of their receivers are older than 25, and there’s only one receiver on the Colts roster with more than 400 receiving yards in a single season.
Pittman, of course, is that one wideout. Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich expressed confidence about the team’s receivers when speaking to reporters at OTAs on June 1. The Colts drafted Alec Pierce in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and Parris Campbell had a strong spring.
But the truth is Indianapolis can be patient with its young receiver core because Pittman has developed into a budding star. Pittman posted his first 1,000-yard season in 2021 despite an inconsistent Carson Wentz and playing on a team without another good receiver to take coverage away from him. Indianapolis’ second-leading receiver last year was Zach Pascal with just 384 yards.
Ryan broke his 10-year streak of 4,000-yard passing seasons last year, but the Atlanta Falcons traded his top receiver target, Julio Jones, before last season began. Without Jones, the Falcons didn’t have a receiver post 1,000 yards last year for just the first time since drafting Ryan in 2008.
With that in mind, Pittman may do as much for Ryan as the quarterback is expected to do for him.
In addition to Pittman, defensive end Kwity Paye was the other Colts player to make Lombardo’s list. Lombardo wrote Paye “could be on the cusp of becoming one of the game’s premier pass rushers.”
Paye, who enters his second NFL season, posted 4.0 sacks in 15 games as a rookie. While that wasn’t an impressive total for the first-round pick, Pro Football Focus reports Paye also recorded the third-highest pass-rush win rate among rookie defenders last year at 15.1%.
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NFL Executives, Scouts Tab Colts WR as 2022 Breakout Star