This offseason, the Indianapolis Colts decided the best path forward for their offense was to trust Alec Pierce as their primary target at wide receiver, with Josh Downs right behind him. That decision meant trading away their long-time No. 1 wide receiver, Michael Pittman Jr.
Pittman spent his first six NFL seasons with the Colts, and although he was their primary pass-catcher during that time, he never became the star the Indianapolis Colts had planned for when they drafted him. Now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittman is continuing his NFL journey, just not as the No. 1 target.
Furthermore, he's joined another wide receiver let go by his former team two offseasons ago: DK Metcalf. Although the former Seattle Seahawks wideout's exit differed from Pittman's, both castoffs were surprising developments. Now wearing the same jersey, Metcalf recently stood behind his new teammate as Pittman dealt with an injury.
Pittsburgh Steelers WR DK Metcalf says all the right things about former Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr.
While the Colts' wide receivers didn't exactly start the season with a bang, their former wideout, Pittman, had a nice debut with the Steelers, hauling in three receptions for 58 yards, including a 28-yard grab from Aaron Rodgers. Pittman outplayed Metcalf, who recorded just 40 yards.
With Week 2 underway, reports out of Pittsburgh indicate that Pittman will miss the Steelers game against the New England Patriots.
Injuries or missed time aside, Pittman has appeared to make an impact with his new team on and off the field, and Metcalf is one of his teammates to speak about it publicly. From the sound of it, the former Seahawks wideout is ecstatic that the former Colts wideout is bringing a whole other level of excellence to a Steelers offense that appeared dull and, well, boring last season.
"First off, he's a great dude. Spent a good bit of time with him this offseason," Metcalf recently said of Pittman. "And then having somebody with that much experience, that type of body, pause, that type of experience in the league who's been successful in another franchise come over here, I think it's going to do wonders for our offense.
"He's a great player, number one. So, I mean, I leave the rest up to the coaches and how they scheme up everything else," Metcalf continued. "But, you know, having somebody with that type of catch radius, he catches everything. He can run every route in the route tree, so we're past that. He's a diamond in the rough, as you will. So, having somebody opposite of me who can do that, and plus, in the slot. I think our going to do pretty well."
That's a lot of praise coming from Metcalf, and although Pittman isn't as good as Metcalf is, or has been throughout his eight-year career, the former Seahawk is right about one thing: Pittman brings a ton of leadership and experience to Pittsburgh. Leading up to this year, he has recorded 488 catches for 5,312 yards and 25 touchdowns in six seasons.
On paper, Metcalf and Pittman form a pretty good No. 1 and No. 2 wide receiver duo. The real questions in Pittsburgh aren't necessarily about them, but about their quarterback. What does Rodgers have left in the tank? Is he still good enough to get the best out of his wideouts?
An argument can be made that, with a better, younger quarterback, Metcalf would have had a better debut season with the Steelers last year. The same can be said for this season; both he and Pittman may be better with someone other than Rodgers. Time will tell.
In any case, as the former Colts player builds a new life as a Steeler, knowing how his teammates feel about him must boost his confidence. As far as camaraderie goes, this is a plus for the Steelers.
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