Colts draft WR Michael Pittman, JR - Round 2, Pick 34

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1253828417658720257

Not a lot of debate for the Colts at 34, I'm told. Michael Pittman was the consensus selection. They really wanted this guy.

https://twitter.com/JoelAErickson/status/1253828767107158016

Pittman's the big, tall, powerful receiver the Colts didn't have. Funchess was going to play that role last year before he broke the collarbone.


https://twitter.com/jimayello/status/1253826309454811136

Big guy at 6-4. Big-time possession WR with a huge wingspan and good hands.

https://twitter.com/jimayello/status/1253827560213012480

Look at his production. So much of it came in his exceptional senior season. Senior Bowl standout and a team captain at USC. Very much a Chris Ballard pick in those ways.


https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1253825931543797760

Colts go with USC wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

Love the pick.

Big-bodied WR, can go up and get it, only 2 drops in 140 targets last season.

Precisely what this offense needs right now.

https://twitter.com/HolderStephen/status/1253826269063626753

Michael Pittman Jr to the Colts at 34.

1) Didn't overthink it. Went with a polished player.
2) He will compete for every ball and his hands are 100.
3) Will play away from the ball, i.e. block like a SOB in the run game.

https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1253826779640365072

Very good chance that Frank Reich pushed for Pittman. He was key in signing of Devin Funchess last offseason (whose year was lost to injury) and loves those big-bodied WRs who can go up and get it. Pittman will be a stud they can groom for years in this offense.

https://twitter.com/jimayello/status/1253828780206022657

Another nice aspect of Pittman's game, unlike some of his fellow WR prospects, is that there isn't a ton of projection. Per Lance Zierlein: "He should be a productive plug-and-play talent at WR2 early in his career."

[Dam8610]

Love this pick. He highpoints as well as anyone in this draft. That's going to work well with Douchebag Rivers.

[Chromeburn]

Saw this on Walter football. We wanted Tee Higgins? Wonder where he is getting that.

Cincinnati Bengals: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson - D Grade
The Bengals were going to select Zack Baun unless an "unexpected player" fell to them. I suppose that means Tee Higgins was unexpected. He should have been expected, however, as Higgins, despite what he did in college, doesn't project well for the NFL. He reminds me of N'Keal Harry in terms of his inability to separate from coverage. Baun would've been a better pick, as Higgins should've been chosen in the third round.

Indianapolis Colts: Michael Pittman, WR, USC - B- Grade
The Colts wanted Tee Higgins, so they're lucky the Bengals made a bad pick. This is a better one. Michael Pittman has tons of upside, and I think he could start across from T.Y. Hilton as a rookie. However, I think the Colts should've tried to trade down with so many receivers available. The value with Pittman is lacking at No. 34.

[YDFL Commish]

Saw this on Walter football. We wanted Tee Higgins? Wonder where he is getting that.

How do they know Ballard wanted Higgins? I highly doubt that they did.

[JAFF]

How do they know Ballard wanted Higgins? I highly doubt that they did.
Magic 8 ball

[YDFL Commish]

I do like their grading system though, because 2 of the grades are Bill Belichicks Dog grade and Bill O'Brien grade.

[Hoopsdoc]

Pittman and his girlfriend have their own YouTube channel. I’ve been checking it out. Seems like a good dude.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCVWJ9FP2igQzxsLYPo_J25g

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Here is a nice article on the new Colts WR:

https://www.commercial-news.com/sports/indianapolis-colts-have-high-hopes-for-michael-pittman-jr/article_d272079a-88ef-11ea-82a8-f7cf17a25f59.html

[Hoopsdoc]

Here is a nice article on the new Colts WR:

https://www.commercial-news.com/sports/indianapolis-colts-have-high-hopes-for-michael-pittman-jr/article_d272079a-88ef-11ea-82a8-f7cf17a25f59.html

I like everything about this kid. I predict he’s gonna be one of the better receivers to come out of this draft.

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Saw this on Walter football. We wanted Tee Higgins? Wonder where he is getting that.

How do they know Ballard wanted Higgins? I highly doubt that they did.


I agree - I don't think they were targeting Higgins.

Maybe Walter Football based that on one of Ballard's comments in the Draft Day 2 Wrap Up interview? He was talking about trading up so that the Colts could select Taylor and he made a comment along the lines of - "it is the worst thing in the world when somebody gets taken right in front of you." Maybe Walter Football thought he was referencing Higgins being selected right before them at 33?

[Workhorse]

How do they know Ballard wanted Higgins? I highly doubt that they did.

I’m pretty sure they are twisting one of Ballard’s comments. He said once they say Higgins get selected, they knew it was time to draft Pittman. I took it to mean they didn’t think he would last until the second pick in the second round, not that they wanted Higgins.

[Chromeburn]

I agree - I don't think they were targeting Higgins.

Maybe Walter Football based that on one of Ballard's comments in the Draft Day 2 Wrap Up interview? He was talking about trading up so that the Colts could select Taylor and he made a comment along the lines of - "it is the worst thing in the world when somebody gets taken right in front of you." Maybe Walter Football thought he was referencing Higgins being selected right before them at 33?

We really have no way to know. I doubt walter football is listening to post draft comments on teams websites. Are they doing that for all 32? Since both receivers were training at Houshmanzadeh's facility, either they were talking and exchanging notes with each other and the other players training there (Burrow, John Ross, etc.). Lots of Bengals there. Or there was some mis-information fed to WF. I read or was told a couple years ago that teams feed WF mis-information. So either seems more likely to me.

I listened to an interview with Houshmanzadeh a couple weeks ago on NFL radio and he was talking about John Ross and the draft prospects he was training. He compared Higgins to AJ Green and said that he had tweaked something before his 40 time and said he should not have run but was talked into it. Said he tests much better than he did at the combine. He talked about a few other guys, can't remember if he talked about Pittman. But considering how many Bengals and future Bengals were there not surprised. Hell, Burrow might have said he wanted them to draft Higgins.

Either way, seems a lot of information/mis-information was floating out there. Packers moved up b/c they were convinced we were going to trade up for Love. We moved up ahead of the Jags b/c we thought they wanted Taylor. So hard to say what the truth is.

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

https://twitter.com/jimayello/status/1255970123007119366

Just talked to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who coached Pittman throughout draft process.

Pittman called him Friday morning: "I hope the Colts pick me."

T.J.: "Don't worry about it. Doesn't matter if it's early 2nd or later. You'll be fine.

Pittman: "No, I hope the Colts draft me."


https://twitter.com/jimayello/status/1255970958856327180

Less than 45 minutes after Colts drafted him, Michael Pittman texted Houshmandzadeh, "Let's go to work."

"Two hours later, we were on the field training."

[Colts And Orioles]

o


Colts Scout's Take: Wide Receiver Michael Pittman

(By Kevin Bowen)

https://www.1075thefan.com/featured/colts-scouts-take-wide-receiver-michael-pittman/



INDIANAPOLIS - When you are an NFL area scout in the western region of the United States, no college should be more on your radar than USC.

Southern California ranks right up there with any college in numbers of drafted players throughout the years. Out west, they frequently have the most players drafted.

So, for Colts area scout Chris McGaha, who mans the west region, he frequents USC practices and games quite often.

What did McGaha witness in seeing USC practices over the past two seasons?

Michael Pittman dominating.

“Watching him in practice, I never saw him lose a one-on-one rep,” McGaha says of Pittman. “I know that might sound crazy, but it’s true.

“The coaches at USC, they’re great, they let you stay for the entire practice, so I would really dial in when it was 1-on-1 time and watch him compete and see what kind of competitor he was. I’m not just saying this, but I never saw him lose a one-on-one rep all the times I was there for practice.”

McGaha believes that spoke to the competitiveness that Pittman, who is the son of an 11-year NFL running back, brings to the Colts.

The wins were done in a quiet manner after the play, too, something Colts fans are used to dating back to Marvin Harrison’s time in Indianapolis.

“(Pittman) wasn’t a guy who would win a rep and let you know about it either,” McGaha says. “He would just go about his business. He’d win a rep and then jog back to the huddle.”

Pittman, who was a strong special teams player early in his career at USC, thought about entering the draft following his junior season.

After 41 catches for 758 yards and 6 touchdowns as a junior, Pittman decided to return for one more season, ending his career at USC with a bang.

Despite having a true freshman at quarterback for a majority of his final season at USC, Pittman caught 101 balls for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Michael’s a big kid and he’s a reliable target and a physical player,” McGaha says. “He’s fast. He’s a guy that plays above the rim. He brings an element that we were missing to our wideout room—that big-bodied presence.”

Listed at 6-4 and 223 pounds, Pittman is known for his ability to highpoint 50/50 balls and come down with them.

The Colts see Pittman often play to that size.

“He’s a tough matchup for corners because there’s a lot of guys who are big but they don’t necessarily play big all the time,” assistant director of college scouting Matt Terpening says. “(Pittman) plays big. And he’s got great ball skills, and he can win at the catch point with his size, but he’s got such good hands where he can win and fight through that first hit, that first contact. That’s something that really drew us to him.

“He can win the jump ball, and it’s easier said than done, but some guys just have a knack for it. He’s got a knack for it.”

Terpening saw Pittman play twice last season and came away thinking he just saw one of college football’s more dominant players.

As a veteran scout for the Colts, Terpening also sees a prospect who checks many of the important Chris Ballard marks.

Mentally?

“He’s got makeup and character. He’s a captain, great leader, smart.”

Physically?

“He’s big and strong. He can win at all three levels.

That’s the ideal package coming into the Colts receiver room.

“He’s got all the things you look for from off the field, on the field—size, smarts.”

o