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Why Michael Pittman’s performance will be of interest to the Redskins

By Jacob Camenker

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16: Michael Pittman Jr. #6 of the USC Trojans catches a touchdown pass over Elijah Hicks #3 of the California Golden Bears during the second quarter of an NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16: Michael Pittman Jr. #6 of the USC Trojans catches a touchdown pass over Elijah Hicks #3 of the California Golden Bears during the second quarter of an NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The Indianapolis Colts selected wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. with the 34th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Here’s why his performance will be of interest to the Redskins.

During the 2019 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins made a trade to move into the back of the first round to land a falling talent. Mississippi State edge rusher Montez Sweat was still available with the 26th pick in the first round and the Redskins didn’t want to miss a chance to land him.

By packaging their second-round pick that year with their 2020 second-round pick, the Redskins were able to do just that. Sweat had been considered a potential top-10 pick before a diagnosis of a heart condition caused him to slip a bit. Just before the draft, however, it was revealed that his heart condition was a misdiagnosis, and so the Redskins felt comfortable swapping picks with the Indianapolis Colts to get him. And it proved to be a nice pickup last season.

Sweat was very good as a rookie and started all 16 games for the Redskins. He started slowly, but he eventually finished the year with seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and 50 tackles. He’s a good edge setter with excellent athletic ability and has a variety of ways to win with his length and athleticism at the line of scrimmage. He should be a great long-term complement to Chase Young on the edge in Jack Del Rio‘s 4-3 defense.

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Of course, there is an opportunity cost to any trade up in the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts turned the 2019 second-round pick that Washington dealt them into two selections: edge rusher Ben Banogu and defensive back Marvell Tell. Sweat outplayed both as a rookie, though Banogu did show some upside logging 2.5 sacks as a rotational pass rusher in 16 games played. Tell had 26 tackles and five pass defenses in 13 games (1 start) while playing 240 snaps at corner. So, he looks like a solid role player as well.

Still, Sweat’s rookie season outweighs the production of those two players. But that was always expected to be the case. The deal was more about the potential of adding two second-round talents for the Colts, so their 2020 pick was always going to be the bigger deal when looking at the trade.

Because of this fact, the overall results of the Montez Sweat trade will be predicated on the performance of the player that the Colts selected with the 34th overall pick in 2020: wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

Pittman was a late riser during the draft process. He went from being a potential third-round pick to a top-35 overall pick. And it’s easy to see why. He has very good size at 6-4, 223 pounds yet is a good athlete, as he displayed at the NFL Combine. Pittman was productive in college as well, and he had 101 catches for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

Pittman projects to be a great complement to T.Y. Hilton as a big-bodied player with the ability to win contested catches and get open with his route-running skills. The Colts will be happy to have him.

But will the Redskins feel any sort of buyer’s remorse on the Sweat trade? It seems unlikely. Given what Sweat produced as a rookie and his long-term fit with the team, Washington should be happy with what they got. Unless Pittman becomes an elite receiver and Sweat regresses, the swap will have worked out just fine. Either way though, Pittman’s performance will be of interest to the Redskins solely because he’s associated with the pick they traded away to land Sweat.

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Lacking a second-round pick in 2020 wasn’t ideal for the Redskins. But getting Sweat surely helped them continue to build their defensive line. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to grow and prove to be the better side of the haul when compared to Banogu, Tell, and Pittman. Only time will tell how this deal turned out for both sides.

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