I remember being surprised by how little the Steelers gave up to bring in Michael Pittman. He was basically free: they gave up their 6th-rounder (214 overall) and acquired Pittman and Indianapolis' 7th (230 overall). Really?
Indianapolis made the trade to clear cap room to sign Alec Pierce before free agency started, having already tagged Daniel Jones. They were in a hurry. But it seems bad that they couldn't get more for Pittman, who the Steelers immediately signed to a new three-year, $59 million contract.
Pittman comes off a down season, for sure, and at 28 years old, he's not exactly old but it's fair to say he's peaked. But would it be shocking if he was the team's best wideout this season, better than DK Metcalf? I don't think so.
Aside from Indy's need to clear cap room, Pittman did have a really lousy second half of last year. In eight games he caught 28 passes for 223 yards and 1 TD, averaging 7 points per week in PPR leagues. Among wide receivers who played at least 7 games in each half of the season (so, leaving out guys who were hurt for big chunks of either half) it was the biggest decline in the league.
Table is sorted by the biggest increase or decrease in PPR leagues from the first half to the second by regular starters in each half.
| WRS 2ND HALF OF THE SEASON, 2025 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Rec | TD | PPR | Diff |
| Michael Wilson, Ari. | 60 | 809 | 6 | 19.7 | 260% |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 44 | 762 | 4 | 16.1 | 73% |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 33 | 390 | 7 | 14.3 | 63% |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 45 | 603 | 6 | 20.2 | 41% |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 28 | 345 | 2 | 8.3 | 40% |
| A.J. Brown, Phi. | 49 | 608 | 4 | 16.7 | 35% |
| Jakobi Meyers, 2tms | 39 | 442 | 3 | 12.8 | 32% |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 23 | 502 | 6 | 13.7 | 29% |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 38 | 703 | 4 | 16.9 | 27% |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 45 | 474 | 2 | 15.0 | 19% |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 27 | 365 | 5 | 15.6 | 19% |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 40 | 661 | 5 | 15.6 | 14% |
| Tetairoa McMillan, Car. | 29 | 456 | 5 | 13.1 | 8% |
| Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 40 | 505 | 2 | 12.8 | 7% |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 68 | 1004 | 7 | 23.9 | 4% |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 36 | 451 | 3 | 12.4 | -8% |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 40 | 586 | 2 | 13.8 | -8% |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 61 | 845 | 6 | 20.3 | -9% |
| Davante Adams, LAR | 24 | 298 | 6 | 15.0 | -10% |
| George Pickens, Dall. | 44 | 665 | 3 | 16.1 | -10% |
| DK Metcalf, Pitt. | 30 | 383 | 2 | 11.6 | -12% |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 49 | 581 | 3 | 18.0 | -15% |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 58 | 766 | 4 | 17.6 | -15% |
| Cooper Kupp, Sea. | 23 | 300 | 1 | 6.8 | -20% |
| Troy Franklin, Den. | 28 | 324 | 2 | 9.1 | -22% |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 20 | 279 | 5 | 8.9 | -22% |
| Deebo Samuel, Was. | 30 | 360 | 2 | 10.1 | -25% |
| Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 34 | 320 | 1 | 9.0 | -25% |
| Rashee Rice, K.C. | 33 | 356 | 2 | 16.6 | -26% |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 23 | 324 | 2 | 10.0 | -27% |
| Drake London, Atl. | 21 | 332 | 2 | 13.6 | -30% |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 19 | 265 | 3 | 9.1 | -30% |
| DeVonta Smith, Phi. | 33 | 420 | 2 | 9.7 | -33% |
| Josh Downs, Ind. | 23 | 253 | 1 | 6.8 | -36% |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 21 | 283 | 2 | 7.7 | -41% |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 37 | 399 | 0 | 8.6 | -45% |
| Tre Tucker, L.V. | 25 | 269 | 1 | 6.7 | -47% |
| Emeka Egbuka, T.B. | 29 | 376 | 1 | 8.1 | -48% |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 31 | 257 | 0 | 7.1 | -49% |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 28 | 223 | 1 | 7.0 | -57% |
The qualifier with Pittman, of course, is that Daniel Jones missed five of Indy's last eight games. Riley Leonard and Philip Rivers handled those games, and Pittman didn't do much. (Pierce went the other way; he's one of the biggest gainers on the table.)
But in the first nine games, he caught 52 passes for 561 yards with 6 touchdowns. He was pretty good. Better than Metcalf in Pittsburgh.
We'll see, but I think Pittsburgh got a pretty good deal there. And I think I might be more interested in selecting Pittman in early drafts than Pittsburgh's other main wideout.
--Andy Richardson
