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The Indianapolis Colts' wide receiver corps has been a major topic of conversation throughout the offseason.
The issue is that the group lacks proven depth behind its clear leader, Michael Pittman Jr. The optimistic argument is that Pittman should be really good this year.
With the third-year wideout being the only player among the Colts receivers that analysts can put any confidence in, Vegas has released their odds regarding Pittman's stats for the 2022 regular season.
Per SportsBetting.ag, his odds to lead the NFL in receiving yardage are 40-1, which is tied with Amari Cooper, D.J. Moore, Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Lockett for the 19th-highest odds out of 38 players.
Below is the over/under that has been set for Pittman's receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns:
- Receptions: 85.5
- Receiving Yards: 1,025.5
- Receiving touchdowns: 6.5
With the exception of the touchdowns, these numbers would be a decline for Pittman from last year, who started all 17 games and caught 88-of-129 targets for 1,082 yards (12.3 avg.) and 6 touchdowns. Outside of yards per catch, every mark was an improvement from his rookie year.
You'd be hard-pressed to find an analyst that thinks Pittman's production will dip in 2022.
For starters, he is the undisputed top pass-catcher of the Colts' offense with almost no competition for the WR1 role. He led the team in targets last year by 60 and receptions by 48. The players who finished second (Zach Pascal) and fourth (T.Y. Hilton) on the team in receiving are no longer on the roster.
Pittman also has a new, above-average quarterback in Matt Ryan who has a great history with top receivers. From a fantasy football perspective, which is based on players' statistical success, just know that Ryan's presence is big for Pittman.
Ryan has worked well with established top receivers before, including Roddy White, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and now Pittman. In 14 seasons, Ryan's primary receiver has finished as a top-10 WR/TE every year in fantasy scoring except for one (Jones and White were injured in 2013), including seven instances in the top five.
Essentially, there is well over a decade of proof that Ryan is going to rely heavily on a player like Pittman, which will obviously be fruitful for the receiver's statistical output.
Considering Pittman's situation has improved both in terms of quality of quarterback and a bigger lack in competition for targets, it makes little sense for Pittman's receptions and yards to dip.
Over or under? That's up to you to decide.
What do you think of these stats for Pittman? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
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