What’s Toughest NFL Adjustment for Rookie Wide Receivers?

The Indianapolis Colts drafted USC wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second round because they liked his size and physicality, two traits that are needed in facing significantly stronger press coverages.

INDIANAPOLIS — The wide receivers with the best numbers from the 2019 rookie class were selected in the second and third rounds.

The Indianapolis Colts had a second-round choice in Parris Campbell, who struggled with injuries that required three surgeries. The 59th overall selection had just 18 receptions for 127 yards and one TD in seven games.

The Colts used another second-round pick in April on USC wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., at No. 34 overall. His 6-4, 223-pound size, physicality, and ability to win battles and make contested catches impressed Colts scouts.

If Pittman is to succeed where others have not, he’ll need to utilize those skills against more rugged press coverage in the NFL.

Colts head coach Frank Reich was asked in a May Zoom video conference call why rookie wide receivers often struggle.

“I think the main thing if I had to say there was one thing, I would just say the quality of press coverage at this level is so much better than the quality of press coverage at the previous level,” Reich said. “It is like Old-NBA rules – I mean it can get pretty physical out there. The DBs are really physical at this level and there is a lot of grabbing and holding that goes on – a lot of it within the rules, some of it outsides the rules, but that is just the game.

“We tell our guys all the time, ‘Hey, just expect to get grabbed. Don’t expect to get the call.’ That’s a transition. In college, they just don’t see as much press coverage and when they do see press coverage, it is just not even near the caliber of what we see here.”

Pittman, the son of NFL running back Michael Pittman, is expected to contribute immediately to an offense that needed a bigger wide receiver.

Looking back at the 2019 class of wide receivers shows how difficult the NFL adjustment can be.

Marquise Brown was the first wide receiver selected when the Baltimore Ravens chose the Oklahoma prospect at No. 25. In 14 games, he had 46 receptions for 584 yards and seven TDs.

New England drafted Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry at No. 32, but he missed nine games due to an ankle injury suffered in preseason and finished his rookie year with just 12 receptions for 105 yards and two TDs.

The second round produced more promising wide receivers. The Tennessee Titans drafted A.J. Brown at No. 51 overall and he had 52 receptions for 1,051 yards and eight TDs.

San Francisco selected Deebo Samuel in the second round at No. 36 overall, and he caught 57 passes for 802 yards and three TDs. Seattle’s DK Metcalf, taken with the last second-round pick at No. 64, had 58 receptions for 900 yards and seven TDs.

Those are similar numbers to Washington’s Terry McLaurin, who wasn’t taken until the third round at No. 76 overall. On a bad team, he had 58 receptions for 919 yards and seven TDs.

The rookie wide receiver with the most receptions was Pittsburgh’s Diontae Johnson, selected in the third round at No. 66. He had 59 catches for 680 yards and five TDs.

It’s worth noting that three other wide receivers were selected in the second round in Kansas City’s Mecole Hardman at No. 56, Philadelphia’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside at No. 57, and Arizona’s Andy Isabella at No. 62. Hardman had 26 receptions for 538 yards and six TDs. Arcega-Whiteside played in all 16 games but had just 10 receptions for 169 yards and one TD. Isabella managed just nine receptions for 189 yards and one TD.

“There is the mental side of it, but most of the guys are pretty good mentally,” Reich said. “A lot of these college systems have just gone to this no-huddle. They get limited time with their players so very simple systems, very, very simple systems. We are just a little more sophisticated at (this) level.”

Reich hired Mike Groh, with whom he worked in Philadelphia, to be wide receivers coach in 2020. Except for four-time Pro Bowl star T.Y. Hilton, Groh inherits a young group that also includes the 25-year-old duo of Zach Pascal and Marcus Johnson, second-year pro Daurice Fountain, and rookie sixth-round pick Dezmon Patmon.

“When you have guys who are younger that have less experience at this level, they’re very eager,” Groh said in a Zoom video conference call in June. “They want to hear everything you have to say. There’s a process that goes into that in terms of evaluating their game, trying to figure what their strengths and weaknesses are, and putting them in the right position to be successful. That’s all part of the process.”

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)