Michael Pittman's Consistency Has Made Him a Reliable WR1

The spotlight this week has been on one of the most under-appreciated wide receivers in the NFL in Buccaneers WR Mike Evans, who just eclipsed the 1000-yard threshold for the tenth time in his ten seasons in the league. He’s earned his flowers and he’s getting them from the fantasy football and NFL community at large, but here at Upper Hand, we’d like to shed light on another under-appreciated pass catcher who’s also played exceptionally well as of late despite backup QB play and plenty of target competition: Michael Pittman Jr.

Michael Pittman hasn’t left his fantasy managers out to dry at all in 2023, even with turnover at QB.

Pittman has been not only one of the most consistent fantasy producers at the wide receiver position in 2023, but he’s also been one of the most productive - especially over the past six weeks. Since Week 8, Michael Pittman Jr. is averaging 19.4 PPR points per game - good for the WR8 in that span - and leads the NFL in target share in that same time frame (33.1%). He’s also third in the NFL in total receptions since Week 8, and has scored no fewer than 14.4 PPR points in a game since Week 5.

But it’s not as if this six game stretch as of late has inflated Pittman’s season-long stats or tainted his season-long dependability; Pittman has finished as a top-16 WR in eight of his twelve games on the year, including seven straight times since Week 6. He’s also caught at least 8 passes in nine of his twelve games on the year, and has at least 10 targets in eight of them. That’s resulted in just one game under 10 PPR points on the year in Week 4 and the second-highest Upper Hand Fantasy consistency rating of any wide receiver this season, trailing just Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.