With the NFL regular season winding down, it’s now stretch time in most fantasy football leagues. Team owners are prepping their rosters for playoff runs that will start in the next couple of weeks.
Given the season-ending injuries to several key players this year, many owners in their leagues’ playoff chase are doing so because of players they picked up in the mid-to-late rounds of their drafts or perhaps on the waiver wire. A draft pick or pickup initially considered a bye-week replacement is now a cornerstone of their weekly lineup.
One such player is Indianapolis Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. BetKentucky.com branched out a little from Kentucky sports betting and utilized FantasyData.com to compile the current fantasy rankings of wide receivers after Week 13 of play in a standard point-per-reception (PPR) league and then found the average draft position fantasy rankings for a standard PPR league before the season. Receivers were only included if they were in the initial Top 70 ADP rankings.
Top Fantasy WRs of 2023
The Colts Super Bowl odds are +7500, tied with Atlanta and Green Bay.
Pittman Having Breakout Year
The four-year pro has been one of the Colts top performers the past couple of seasons. However, Pittman has stepped it up this season as he’s on pace to post career highs in receptions and yards.
While he’s been a consistent producer for most of the season, Pittman has stepped it up over the last few weeks. He’s caught at least eight passes in nine of the Colts first 12 games, and he’s made at least eight receptions in each of the past five games. Pittman has posted season highs in receptions in each of the past two weeks, hauling in 10 passes in the Colts 27-20 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 26, and then he caught 11 in the 31-28 win at Tennessee last Sunday. He also caught more than 100 yards in each of those contests.
Pittman is on his way to a career year even as the Colts have had turmoil under center. After losing rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson to an injury to his throwing shoulder, the Colts have had to lean on veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew II. Minshew has posted five wins in his eight starts and has the 7-5 Colts jockeying for a playoff spot in what many experts thought would be a rebuilding year in Indianapolis.
Can Pittman Keep It Going?
Pittman’s hot streak may continue this weekend as the Colts travel to Cincinnati on Sunday. While the Bengals have picked off opposing quarterbacks 12 times this season, they’ve also allowed teams to amass more than 3,000 yards through their first dozen games.
The Bengals will also be without their top cornerback. Cam Taylor-Britt was just placed on the injured reserve list Monday due to an ankle injury.
Indianapolis is a one-point underdog against the Bengals, according to the latest odds at Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky. Caesars is one of seven online sports betting apps licensed in Kentucky.
