Michael Pittman’s buzz rising ahead of NFL Draft 2020

The buzz around USC football wide receiver Michael Pittman as a pro prospect is rising as the virtual NFL Draft approaches.

USC football fans know just how spectacular Michael Pittman is. Now it seems folks in the NFL are finally starting to jump on board the hype train.

With the 2020 NFL Draft two weeks out, the buzz around Pittman only seems to be growing.

That was pointed out by Jordan Reid of The Draft Network on Saturday.

CHECK OUT: Why each NFL team fits Michael Pittman

“Lots of love out there for USC WR Michael Pittman, Jr. Wherever he’s slotted in your rankings, push him up,” Reid tweeted. “Glowing reviews for him all-around. Football DNA, multi-time special teams player of year, and only getting better.”

Reid is far from alone.

Longtime draft analyst Jon Ledyard, now of Pewter Report, had a laugh with Reid about how far to move Pittman up if you’ve already got him ranked 23rd.

Indeed, Ledyard rated him that high in his most recent Top 50 Big Board.

“I love Pittman’s game, because he isn’t just a big possession receiver, he’s a three-level separator with outstanding ball skills. He wins vertically despite not being a burner, and he dominates corners underneath. He’s got big-time speed and physicality, too,” Ledyard wrote.

Pro Football Focus seems to agree with Ledyard’s evaluation. They have Pittman ranked 22nd on their Big Board.

Pittman is also mentioned in PFF’s list of 10 prospects who won’t get picked high enough in the draft.

“Among those to creep up the PFF draft board is Pittman, who has played his way, in our opinions, to a first-round grade largely because of his near-perfect ball skills,” Anthony Treash wrote. “The 6-foot-4 Pittman has dropped just 2.8% of his career catchable targets, owns an insane catch radius and can adjust to any off-target throw to snag what would typically be an incomplete pass. His route-running is impressive for his size, too. Pittman’s Combine testing was just the icing on the cake — running a 1.51-second 10-yard split and 4.52-second 40-yard at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds is not too shabby.”

Connor Rogers of Bleacher Report is also buying into Pittman as a Top 5 wide receiver prospect.

Even with the boosted perception, Pittman is still seen as a likely second-round pick. That’s through no fault of his own though.

As Evan Silva of Establish The Run pointed out on Twitter, he’s a first-round talent who has ended up stuck in one of the deepest wide receiver classes in memory.

Pittman isn’t likely to jump into the first round, but he’s set up to give a team major value in the second or even third round depending on how the draft plays out. He undoubtedly brings enough to the table for a team to fall in love with him.

And it’s not just in terms of receiving prowess. One thing that may push Pittman over other prospects involves special teams play.

Marcus Mosher of Raiders Wire made a point of highlighting that aspect of Pittman’s game:

In a reply, Spencer Shultz of Baltimore Beatdown took his praise a bit further.

“‘Football player’ + athlete + wide receiver. Perfect storm. RARE to see receivers at his size that do those things,” Schultz tweeted.

“He might be the safest bet to go in any offense and provide quality, starter level play. I struggle to find a ‘concern’ or ‘projection’ in his game.”