Why You Should Target Colts’ Michael Pittman in a Trade
We are nearly a month into the NFL season, and some of the league’s top players have risen to the top of the statistical lists.
The running back leaders are a bit jumbled at the moment after some breakout games, but the receiving list is full of some star names, like Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and the emerging star Puka Nacua. One receiver near the top of several receiving statistics is Indianapolis Colts’ Michael Pittman, and he’s a popular name in trade talks according to the FantasySP Fantasy Assistant predictive trades.
Let’s look at what Pittman has accomplished so far, see if he can continue to perform and then determine what kind of trade package you should assemble to go acquire him.
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Michael Pittman’s Hot Start
Pittman has kind of flown under the radar despite already producing a couple of strong seasons for the Colts. Pittman had 503 receiving yards and a touchdown as a rookie before going for 1,082 yards and six scores in his second season. He fell to 925 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2022, but also caught 11 more passes than the season prior.
Pittman has caught 25 passes through three games this season, which is tied for the third most grabs in the NFL. He’s been targeted 34 times, which is also good enough for fifth. He’s played the second-most snaps (210), trailing only Philadelphia Eagles’ DeVonta Smith.
Pittman has 230 receiving yards, which ranks 20th in the league. He’s scored one touchdown.
He’s been consistent so far, with 11 or 12 targets and eight or nine receptions in each contest. He’s gone for over 50 yards in each contest.
Pittman’s Fantasy Outlook
He might not boast the yardage and touchdowns that other top receivers have, but he’s been consistent despite playing with two quarterbacks already.
Pittman’s best game was in week 1 with rookie Anthony Richardson. Pittman caught eight of his 11 targets for 97 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown.
Richardson was injured during the team’s second game, but Pittman continued to produce with backup Gardner Minshew. Pittman finished the game with eight receptions on 12 targets, going for 56 yards. Only one catch for 12 yards came with Richardson on the field.
Minshew played the entire game in week 3. Pittman finished with nine grabs on 11 targets, accumulating 77 yards.
Richardson is still in the concussion protocol as of this publication, but he’s at least practicing. If he’s not able to play this weekend, he should be back by week 5.
Regardless of when the rookie returns, Pittman is still a player worthy of a start on your fantasy team, and that’s why you should be targeting him right now.
With running back Jonathan Taylor also eligible to return soon, I see Pittman benefiting from that too. Defenses will be more inclined to stack the box and force the rookie quarterback to beat them through the air. Pittman is the perfect target in a short passing game approach.
If Taylor doesn’t return to the Colts, then you still have value with Pittman seeing what he’s already accomplished in the offense this season.
What to Offer for Pittman
Pittman has jumped all the way up to 10th in our player ratings heading into week 4. Although he hasn’t scored the same amount of points as the receivers around him, he’s done almost all of his scoring without too much help from touchdowns. He’s also been more consistent than a lot of receivers, which is why his rating is as strong as it is.
Many fantasy owners probably don’t have too high of an asking price for Pittman because he hasn’t produced a breakout game that many others have. I’d much rather take the consistency of Pittman than I would a breakout game every few weeks, so that’s why I like Pittman so much. He’s one of the safer and most consistent players out there, and he’s stayed on the field for most of his NFL career.
You could probably offer up a receiver ranked behind Pittman in our ratings and have a decent chance of that going through. If that doesn’t work, offering up a couple depth pieces you own that average around what Pittman does on a weekly basis could be what you try next. Dig through the trade value chart and figure out a way to snag the Indy receiver.
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