WR · IND · GWTTKB

Michael Pittman — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 11.91 points per game in 2025, usage worth 11.1.

28 years old · 6 seasons of experience · 2020 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.

The offense he plays in, 2026

Indianapolis Colts returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1. Daniel Jones at quarterback, Shane Steichen as head coach, Jim Bob Cooter calling it. The offense projects to 32.5 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 26.1 rushes.

In: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (wr3), Deion Burks (wr5), Seth McGowan (rb3), Anderson Castle (rb4). Out: Michael Pittman Jr (wr1), Adonai Mitchell (wr4), Ameer Abdullah (rb3).

The projected target split across the offense:

Josh Downs20.1%
Tyler Warren19.1%
Alec Pierce17%
Jonathan Taylor10.1%
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine10%
Deion Burks4.8%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: The Colts seriously need Daniel Jones to BE THAT GUY. Taylor, Downs, and especially Alec Pierce rely on having a highly productive passing game that helps lift the entire offense as whole. Tyler Warren has shown flashes of being the next George Kittle, really awesome player.

Key additions: Colts brought in WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in free agency. Westbrook-Ikhine was a highly dynamic WR while in Tennessee. Could be nohting, but could help.

Key departures: WR Michael Pittman Jr traded to Steelers. QB Anthony Richardson requested a trade & will not play again for the Colts.

Notes: Anthony Richardson will be traded or released. Daniel Jones on track for full recovery from torn achilles & landed extension. Very positive for offense. Jonathan Taylor aging but HIGHLY productive. Alec Pierce lands MASSVIVE 4 year contract & Colts invested in him as their WR1. Josh Downs is primed for an increase workload & could truly break out in 2026. Michael Pittman Jr. traded to Steelers. Tyler Warren is a top TE in dynasty & could have a MASSIVE season next year.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Daniel Jones returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (32.1 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 32.5 att/g.

Offensive environment: IND rates 23.3 against a league average of 23, 0.3 points above it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+1.1 · neutral
Weeks 1–6+4.7 · easier
Weeks 12–17-0.8 · neutral
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)+2.9 · easier

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved +3.6% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 2.1 elite seasons and 2.6 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
DK Metcalf202412.772%-4.3%
Terry McLaurin202415.869%-16.4%
Jerry Jeudy202414.264%-22.4%
Diontae Johnson20248.163%-53.6%
Terry McLaurin20231262%+39.7%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 1 gained value, 4 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Up 31% across the series, peaking at 5,795.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2020, round 2, pick 34 by IND
CollegeUSC
Age at draft22
Height6′4″
Weight223 lb
40-yard dash4.52s
Vertical36.5″
Broad jump121″
3-cone6.96s
Shuttle4.14s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game12.3
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate20.8%
Bust rate23.4%
Games missed per season0.3
Injury historyCalf, Back
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.68

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · IND · 17 games

His best game was Week 8 against TEN — 23.5 PPR on 9 targets and a 32.1% target share, in a game that finished 38-14. His worst was Week 13 against HOU at 2.3, on 4 targets, final score 16-20. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 7 times. In the 10 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 8; in the 7 decided by more, 17.5. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.1 points per game. He scored 11.91, 6.8% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1MIA33-8206880127.6%
2DEN29-2884540015.2%
3TEN41-2019.36673124%
4LA20-2715.151041131.3%
5LV40-614.95639119.4%
6ARI31-2742320010%
7LAC38-2420.87958128.1%
8TEN38-1423.58995132.1%
9PIT20-2720.5912115025%
10ATL31-253.9221907.7%
12KC20-2313.75827125.8%
13HOU16-202.31413016%
14JAX19-3616.991279033.3%
15SEA16-185.63526019.2%
16SF27-487.24532013.9%
17JAX17-233.62316010.3%
18HOU30-383.12411012.1%

Production

Receptions80
Targets111
Receiving yards784
Touchdowns7
Points per game11.91
Yards per target7.06
Catch rate72.07%

Role

Target share20.65%
Air-yards share20.99%
WOPR0.458
RACR0.959

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.2
Yards after catch per reception3.2
Yards before catch per reception6.6
Total YAC259
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted93.8
Receiving EPA per game1.31

Scoring position

Red-zone targets15
Red-zone target share19.5%
End-zone target share23.1%
Expected receiving TDs4.23
Actual receiving TDs5
Receiving TD luck0.77

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game25 of 44
Yards per target38 of 44
Target share28 of 44
Air-yards share39 of 44

Who else ate

The offense threw it 546 times. He took 21.02% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Tyler Warren21.21%
Michael Pittman 21.02%
Josh Downs16.67%
Alec Pierce15.91%
Jonathan Taylor10.42%
Mo Alie-Cox3.79%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Daniel Jones128213.837.5621.85%
Philip Rivers3135.475.6914.47%
Riley Leonard216105.6322.7%

Blowouts against close games

6 of his 17 games were blowouts, 50.3% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 16.97 in those and 7.98 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · IND · 16 games

His best game was Week 17 against NYG — 25.9 PPR on 10 targets and a 27% target share, in a game that finished 33-45. His worst was Week 9 against MIN at 2.4, on 4 targets, final score 13-21. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 1 time and came in under 8 points 6 times. In the 13 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 8.8; in the 3 decided by more, 17.1. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 12.3 points per game. He scored 10.36, 15.7% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1HOU27-297.14831042.1%
2GB10-165.13721022.6%
3CHI21-167.64536027.8%
4PIT27-2417.369113032.1%
5JAX34-3714.75837117.8%
6TEN20-1712.53535113.9%
7MIA16-109.33563022.7%
8HOU20-232.61616019.4%
9MIN13-212.41414014.8%
11NYJ28-279.65846028.6%
12DET6-2415.66796028%
13NE25-249.25742029.2%
15DEN13-319.86958025%
16TEN38-303.92319027.3%
17NYG33-4525.9910109127%
18JAX26-2313.261072025.6%

Production

Receptions69
Targets111
Receiving yards808
Touchdowns3
Points per game10.36
Yards per target7.28
Catch rate62.16%

Role

Target share25.24%
Air-yards share24.6%
WOPR0.552
RACR0.696

Efficiency

Average depth of target11
Yards after catch per reception3.8
Yards before catch per reception8
Total YAC259
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted78.2
Receiving EPA per game0.08

Scoring position

Red-zone targets13
Red-zone target share20.3%
End-zone target share23.1%
Expected receiving TDs2.7
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck0.3

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game41 of 51
Yards per target38 of 51
Target share20 of 51
Air-yards share39 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 513 times. He took 22.61% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman 22.61%
Josh Downs21.79%
Alec Pierce14.05%
Adonai Mitchell11.2%
Jonathan Taylor6.31%
Kylen Granson6.31%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Anthony Richardson10657.986.5827.27%
Joe Flacco64614.338.2621.87%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 16 games were blowouts, 15.3% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 12.7 in those and 8.81 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2023 · IND · 16 games

His best game was Week 13 against TEN — 27.5 PPR on 16 targets and a 39% target share, in a game that finished 31-28. His worst was Week 4 against LA at 4.5, on 5 targets, final score 23-29. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 1 time. In the 9 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 14.6; in the 7 decided by more, 17.3. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 16.8 points per game. He scored 15.76, 5.9% below it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 2 against 3.87 expected, a gap of -1.9.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1JAX21-3123.781197128.2%
2HOU31-2013.681256038.7%
3BAL22-1916.791177026.2%
4LA23-294.51515020.8%
5TEN23-1610.25752029.2%
6JAX20-3719.9914109026.9%
7CLE38-3916.32583122.7%
8NO27-381881340134.2%
9CAR27-1314.48864033.3%
10NE10-616.481284046.2%
12TB27-2020.71013107032.5%
13TEN31-2827.51116105139%
14CIN14-3419.581195028.9%
15PIT30-1311.84578018.5%
17LV23-209.65746035%
18HOU19-239.45644026.1%

Production

Receptions109
Targets156
Receiving yards1,152
Touchdowns4
Points per game15.76
Yards per target7.38
Catch rate69.87%

Role

Target share30.4%
Air-yards share32.67%
WOPR0.686
RACR0.993

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.9
Yards after catch per reception4.7
Yards before catch per reception5.9
Total YAC513
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted83.6
Receiving EPA per game1.76

Scoring position

Red-zone targets20
Red-zone target share30.8%
End-zone target share23.5%
Expected receiving TDs3.87
Actual receiving TDs2
Receiving TD luck-1.87

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game14 of 51
Yards per target40 of 51
Target share4 of 51
Air-yards share24 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 574 times. He took 28.57% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman 28.57%
Josh Downs17.95%
Alec Pierce11.9%
Kylen Granson9.16%
Zack Moss6.78%
Will Mallory4.76%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Gardner Minshew14140167.4331.24%
Anthony Richardson21614.1724.5%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 16 games were blowouts, 20.3% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 17.07 in those and 14.59 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2022 · IND · 16 games

His best game was Week 1 against HOU — 27.1 PPR on 13 targets and a 26.5% target share, in a game that finished 20-20. His worst was Week 13 against DAL at 3.6, on 4 targets, final score 19-54. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 11 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 15.8; in the 5 decided by more, 8.5. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 15.1 points per game. He scored 13.53, 10.1% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1HOU20-2027.1913121126.5%
3KC20-1715.28972025%
4TEN17-246.13631016.7%
5DEN12-910.95859022.2%
6JAX34-2726.41316134028.6%
7TEN10-199.86958022%
8WAS16-1712.37953039.1%
9NE3-265.23622021.4%
10LV25-2012.37953033.3%
11PHI16-1713.56775022.6%
12PIT17-2419.171161134.4%
13DAL19-543.62416011.4%
15MIN36-3919101460045.2%
16LAC3-207.94739025%
17NYG10-3816.16841129.6%
18HOU31-32123530114.7%

Production

Receptions99
Targets141
Receiving yards925
Carries3
Rushing yards30
Touchdowns4
Points per game13.53
Yards per target6.56
Catch rate70.21%
Yards per carry10

Role

Target share26.11%
Air-yards share27.84%
WOPR0.588
RACR0.976

Efficiency

Average depth of target6.9
Yards after catch per reception3.6
Yards before catch per reception5.7
Total YAC357
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted88.5
Receiving EPA per game1.29
Rushing EPA per game0.09

Scoring position

Red-zone targets14
Red-zone target share22.2%
End-zone target share25%
Expected receiving TDs4.09
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck-0.09

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game22 of 51
Yards per target48 of 51
Target share17 of 51
Air-yards share32 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 604 times. He took 24.35% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman 24.35%
Parris Campbell15.72%
Alec Pierce13.47%
Jonathan Taylor6.91%
Kylen Granson6.91%
Jelani Woods6.91%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Matt Ryan1110614.826.9826.17%
Sam Ehlinger42811.45.2126.2%
Nick Foles177.95.5725%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 16 games were blowouts, 15.2% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 8.2 in those and 15.81 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2021 · IND · 17 games

His best game was Week 8 against TEN — 30.6 PPR on 15 targets and a 31.3% target share, in a game that finished 31-34. His worst was Week 15 against NE at 1.7, on 5 targets, final score 27-17. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 5 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 7 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 17.2; in the 10 decided by more, 11.8. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.1 points per game. He scored 14.04, 6.8% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1SEA16-285.93429011.4%
2LA24-2720.3812123034.3%
3TEN16-2513.361268035.3%
4MIA27-1711.96859025%
5BAL25-3120.96789120.6%
6HOU31-35.82335016.7%
7SF30-1820.544105115.4%
8TEN31-3430.6101586231.3%
9NYJ45-3017.45664120.7%
10JAX23-1712.15571015.2%
11BUF41-154.32523025%
12TB31-389.341053023.3%
13HOU31-0176877036.4%
15NE27-171.7157041.7%
16ARI22-1616.581282042.9%
17LV20-2310.76647025%
18JAX11-2620.46764124.1%

Production

Receptions88
Targets129
Receiving yards1,082
Carries5
Rushing yards44
Touchdowns6
Points per game14.04
Yards per target8.39
Catch rate68.22%
Yards per carry8.8

Role

Target share26.14%
Air-yards share32.46%
WOPR0.618
RACR1.108

Efficiency

Average depth of target9.8
Yards after catch per reception4
Yards before catch per reception8.3
Total YAC348
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted99.7
Receiving EPA per game2.83
Rushing EPA per game0.09

Scoring position

Red-zone targets17
Red-zone target share25%
End-zone target share26.9%
Red-zone carry share0.9%
Expected receiving TDs4.27
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck-0.27
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game23 of 48
Yards per target19 of 48
Target share13 of 48
Air-yards share17 of 48

Who else ate

The offense threw it 521 times. He took 25.75% of the targets. 0 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Michael Pittman 25.75%
Zach Pascal13.77%
Nyheim Miller-Hines11.38%
Jonathan Taylor10.18%
Mo Alie-Cox8.98%
Jack Doyle8.58%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 17 games were blowouts, 11.4% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 9.03 in those and 17.2 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2020 · IND · 13 games

His best game was Week 10 against TEN — 19.2 PPR on 8 targets and a 22.2% target share, in a game that finished 34-17. His worst was Week 8 against DET at 1.6, on 1 targets, final score 41-21. Across 13 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 9 times. In the 5 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 7.8; in the 8 decided by more, 7.5. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 9.1 points per game. He scored 7.61, 10.9% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 0 against 2.42 expected, a gap of -2.4.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1JAX20-273221004.3%
2MIN28-117.74637024%
3NYJ36-75.63426016%
8DET41-211.611603%
9BAL10-249.64756017.5%
10TEN34-1719.278101022.2%
11GB34-3115.6336618.6%
12TEN26-454.82928021.4%
13HOU26-209.65546014.3%
14LV44-276.52542018.5%
15HOU27-203.92319010.3%
16PIT24-286.83638017.6%
17JAX28-145222807.7%

Production

Receptions40
Targets61
Receiving yards503
Carries3
Rushing yards26
Touchdowns1
Points per game7.61
Yards per target8.25
Catch rate65.57%
Yards per carry8.67

Role

Target share14.26%
Air-yards share15.07%
WOPR0.318
RACR1.905

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.4
Yards after catch per reception7.3
Yards before catch per reception5.3
Total YAC293
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted89.7
Receiving EPA per game1.7
Rushing EPA per game0.11

Scoring position

Red-zone targets12
Red-zone target share13.8%
End-zone target share4%
Red-zone carry share1%
Expected receiving TDs2.42
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-2.42
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Who else ate

The offense threw it 552 times. He took 11.4% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

T.Y. Hilton17.38%
Nyheim Miller-Hines14.21%
Zach Pascal13.27%
Michael Pittman 11.4%
Trey Burton8.79%
Mo Alie-Cox7.29%

Blowouts against close games

6 of his 13 games were blowouts, 45.9% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 7.57 in those and 7.78 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

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