He waited his turn at USC. Now, Michael Pittman Jr. will get his shot in the NFL.
After a senior season that ranks among the best for a receiver in program history, Pittman was selected by the Indianapolis Colts on Friday with the 34th pick of the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound wideout will offer a big-bodied target for new Colts quarterback and former Charger Philip Rivers.
Pittman is the second-highest receiver to be drafted out of USC since 2015 and joins JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marqise Lee, and Robert Woods as second-round selections. In this year’s draft, he’s the second Trojan to be selected, after Austin Jackson was picked 18th by the Miami Dolphins on Thursday.
No other Trojans are expected to be picked until late in the draft, when linebacker John Houston could hear his name called.
For Pittman, the path to Friday was a long and winding one. As a freshman at USC, he found himself buried on the depth chart and frustrated with his role. A year later, a nagging ankle injury deepened that frustration, leading his father to send a number of angry of tweets targeted at USC.
It was that adversity which set the table for what was to come from Pittman over the remaining two years of his Trojan career. Humbled as a junior, he led a moribund USC passing game in receiving. By the next season, he was a captain. And as a revamped Trojans offense took off, he became a Biletnikoff Award finalist.
A first-team All-Pac 12 wideout, Pittman was one of four receivers last season to catch more than 100 passes. His 1,275 yards were the 10th-most among college receivers last season, while his 11 touchdowns ranked 19th.
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Michael Pittman, USC
6 feet 4, 225 pounds
The former Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian High star, after combining for 64 catches for 1,162 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017 and 2018, had a breakout 2019 season, when he caught 101 passes for 1,275 yards and 11 scores and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist. Pittman lacks the blazing speed to be a No. 1 wideout in the NFL, but with his size, physicality, reliable hands and intelligence, he should be a productive possession receiver at the next level.
— Mike DiGiovanna
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