WESTFIELD, Ind – Michael Pittman Jr. wants to be known.
That’s not to say people don’t already know who Pittman is. The wide receiver is entering his fifth year with the Colts and has started in 56 of his 62 games played, with 15 touchdowns, 336 receptions and 3,662 receiving yards in his career. He’s one of four players in Colts history to total 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season (2023) and has led the Colts in receiving for three straight seasons.
“I’m chasing respect,” Pittman said.
The veteran, selected by the Colts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and signed to a contract extension in March, feels there’s more he can – and should – accomplish.
“The whole thing that comes with being an older guy, it’s like I’m known now but I need to get to that next level, that next tier,” Pittman explained during a press conference Wednesday.
When the wide receiver thinks about the best to ever play his position, he separates them into three tiers: those who total 1,400-plus receiving yards per season, those with 1,200-plus yards and those with 1,000-plus yards.
Pittman recorded 109 catches, fifth-most in the NFL, and set a new career-high in receiving yards at 1,152 in 2023 but couldn’t quite make it to that second tier.
Undoubtedly the team’s No. 1 receiver, he’s leader on and off the field. He’s organized offseason training sessions and team bonding experiences and helped Anthony Richardson feel more comfortable taking on the leadership responsibilities that come with being QB1. He possesses all the traits that would arguably make him a “tier one” wide receiver.
But Pittman wants the numbers to prove it, and he wants to get there by scoring touchdowns.
In four seasons in the NFL, Pittman has 15 touchdowns to his name with four in each of the last two seasons, a career-high six in 2021 and one in his rookie year in 2020. He recognizes he hasn’t…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…