Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. haven’t bene working together for very long, but it’s clear the chemistry is already building between them.
As Ryan focuses on a fresh start for the final years of his career, he will have one of the top emerging talents leading the passing game as Pittman Jr. enters his third season following a strong breakout campaign in 2021.
While there will still be some kinks to work out during training camp, they were ranked by NFL.com’s Kevin Patra as the third-best new quarterback/wide receiver duo in the league.
The Colts continue to shuffle through QBs, with Matt Ryan representing the fifth starter since Frank Reich became the head coach in 2018. The former NFL MVP isn’t what he once was and is coming off his first sub-4,000-yard season since 2010, but he can still put the ball on the money and isn’t afraid to stand in under pressure.
Last season, the Colts didn’t trust Carson Wentz down the stretch, leading to a regular-season collapse as the signal-caller threw for fewer than 200 yards in six of the final eight weeks. There should be no such concerns with Ryan.
The 37-year-old might have broken his streak of 10 straight seasons with 4,000 yards (second-longest all-time behind only Drew Brees) but it wasn’t by much, netting 3,968 yards last year on a Falcons team in shambles by the end of the season. He still completed 67 percent of his passes despite a decimated receiver corps behind Russell Gage.
Now he pairs up with Michael Pittman Jr., one of the burgeoning young receivers in the NFL. In his breakout sophomore season, Pittman proved he could win one-on-one matchups and beat double teams. Despite the Colts’ pass-game struggles, Pittman generated 1,082 yards on 88 catches with six TDs. No other Colts pass catcher even hit the 400-yard mark. It was Pittman or bust.
If he can produce with Wentz, imagine what he can do with Ryan.
The duos ranked ahead of Ryan and Pittman Jr. were Las Vegas Raiders’ Derek Carr and Davante Adams and Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson and Jerry Jeudy.
Pittman Jr. enjoyed a strong breakout campaign taking 88 receptions for 1,082 yards and six touchdowns on a 25.7% target share. Even if Parris Campbell stays healthy and Alec Pierce emerges as a strong option in the passing game, nothing suggests that Pittman Jr. can’t hit that target share again.
The Colts are expecting to see more stability in the passing game with Ryan now under center, and he’ll be leaning on his top target plenty during the 2022 season.
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