USC legend Michael Pittman Jr. gets maybe the top compliment possible

Former USC Football Wide Receiver Michael Pittman Jr. has been sensational in the National Football League so far, and it's now gotten to the point where he's being compared to CFB/NFL legend Larry Fitzgerald:

This type of praise couldn't be much greater from whichever NFL GM said this. The best wide receiver of all time is considered to be Jerry Rice, but Fitzgerald is likely second. He is second all-time in receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492). Keep in mind that he did this with the likes of Max Hall, Sam Bradford/Josh Rosen, Ryan Lindley, etc throwing him the ball.

Not to mention, he is widely considered to be the greatest postseason wideout of all time; racking up 57 receptions, 942 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in nine playoff games. This is the same guy who went for 127 yards and two touchdowns in his Super Bowl appearance. He picked up an insane 30 catches en route to an absurd 546 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in that postseason.

For Pittman already to be receiving this type of comparison couldn't be much more of an honor, and while it's usually considered hyperbole to compare a player to a great like this when he's in just Year 3 of his career, it's objectively true that Pittman has proven to be developing at a very quick pace. Pittman has missed a game this year, but in the ones he's played, he's been exceptional.

He's grabbed 25 passes in the four games, totaling 283 receiving yards. He was great last year too; going for 1,082 receiving yards in just his second year in the league. Pittman has proven that he can be a big body-type receiver who can go up and get jump balls, similarly to how Fitzgerald did when he played.

Ex-USC Football WR Michael Pittman Jr. is like Larry Fitzgerald in that he performs at this elite level despite disappointing quarterback play.

As aforementioned, Larry Fitzgerald had awful luck when it came to the type of quarterbacks throwing him the ball for the majority of his career, and former USC Football WR Michael Pittman Jr. can say the same.

Pittman has had to deal with three different quarterbacks in his three years in the League, and all three have been well past their primes by the time Pittman had the chance to work with them (Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan). It goes to show that Pittman going second round instead of first has proven to be a massive miss by the other General Managers.

It was confusing as to why from the start. This is the same guy who went for 101 catches and 1,275 receiving yards to go along with 11 TD receptions in his senior year at SC.

He did this despite dealing with six QB changes in a season, dealing with Clay Helton and Graham Harrell, and dealing with having three other elite college receivers in the same room as him (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, and Tyler Vaughns). Not to mention, another USC receiver from that group in Velus Jones also ended up getting drafted.

It's like when Fitzgerald used to put up great numbers despite another future Hall of Famer in Anquan Boldin being opposite him for the Arizona Cardinals. It really is a comparison that does make sense. Again, he's got the size, and he's proven since college that he knows how to separate. Fitzgerald played 17 years in the League. Here's to a long career for MPJ as well.