Michael Pittman Jr., USC
After receiving a larger role as a ‘go-to’ option for the Trojans in 2019, Michael Pittman Jr. displayed real growth. He may not be one of the elite receiver prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he’s an intriguing receiver with great size and is quite physical with defensive backs.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com suggested that Pittman is a ‘possession receiver’ in his general play style and believes he will be ‘a productive plug-and-play talent at WR2 early in his career.’ It was noted that Pittman needs to improve his release quickness against press coverage though.
Big, smart and reliable, Pittman falls into the “possession receiver” bin, but has top-notch ball skills that allow him to bully and best cornerbacks down the field. Improving release quickness against press will be an early focal point in an NFL camp, but his frame and physicality should create work space underneath even with close coverage. He lacks the speed and separation quickness teams covet from WR1 candidates, but he comes from NFL bloodlines and plays with a pro demeanor. He should be a productive plug-and-play talent at WR2 early in his career.
Pittman has great size standing at 6’4″ with a listed weight of 233 lbs. He also has 32 1/2″ hands and 9 1/4″ hands. As far as the athletic testing results are concerned, he recorded a 4.52 40-yard dash, 6.96 3-cone drill, 4.14 20-yard shuttle, 36.5″ vertical jump, 121.0″ broad jump, and 13 reps on bench press.
The Vikings don’t have to replace Diggs with an exact copy of his tendencies and skill-set as long as they are receiving talent. They could go with a prospect piece like Pittman to fill a different role and have a varying style of attack as an offense.
