Will Michael Pittman Jr stay in the Stable or ride out of town?
Michael Pittman Jr has set himself up for a very nice pay raise on the last year of his rookie deal after finishing with the most catches in his career, 109, and his most yards at 1,152. According to USAToday, they are loaded with cash with about $61 million in cap space after they sign their rookie draft picks. Spotrac.com estimates Pittman Jr should demand around $22.7 million per year. He finished as the WR25 in fantasy behind a solid group of names: Chris Olave, George Pickens, Devonta Smith, and Deandre Hopkins. His TD production is holding him down from ascending past these guys, with four on the season and only 15 in his career. If he can find the end zone 8-10 times, he would likely finish as a top-15 WR. Both DK Metcalf and Davante Adams had fewer yards than Pittman Jr; however, they doubled him in the touchdown category, finishing as the WR14 and WR15. Let’s discuss his current situation, the 2024 forecast, and whether he’ll land elsewhere.
Indianapolis Colts
Consider where the Colts are financially and Michael Pittman Jr’s arrow pointing straight up.
There is no way they let him walk out those doors in Indy. He should be signed to a long-term deal as a cornerstone of this franchise. His chemistry with QB Anthony Richardson was cut short in four games due to a shoulder injury requiring surgery. In the four games that he played in, Pittman Jr caught 22 passes for 220 yards. The impressive stat was his 35 targets soaking in an incredible 42% target share in that span.
As of this writing, Michael Pittman Jr, over at fantasypros.com, is the WR22 in 2024 redraft rankings. He’s behind Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, and Tank Dell. It’s, of course, very early rankings, but if we get to summer months and he remains in this tier of WRs, I would buy a lot of stock in Michael Pittman Jr. I’m willing to push my chips to the middle of the table for him to have 1,000 yards and 8 TDs. He would finish as a top-15 WR in an entire season with Anthony Richardson and be an absolute steal at this current ADP.