Most essential Colts, No. 3: Michael Pittman Jr. has to carry the receiver room

In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They bring security and relieve the pressure on everyone.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be ranking the 10 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2022. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.

To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:

1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?

2. What does the Colts' 2022 ceiling become if this player hits his?

Today, we're on to No. 3, Michael Pittman Jr.

Here's the list so far:

10. Braden Smith, right tackle

9. Kenny Moore II, cornerback

8. Quenton Nelson, left guard

7. Stephon Gilmore, cornerback

6. Darius Leonard, linebacker

5. Yannick Ngakoue, defensive end

4. DeForest Buckner, defensive tackle

3. Michael Pittman Jr., wide receiver

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Position: WR

Age: 24

Experience: 3rd NFL season, 3rd with Colts

Accolades: 25 starts in 30 games, 128 receptions, 1,585 yards, 6 TDs

2021 stats: 17 games, 88 receptions, 1,082 yards, 6 TDs

Why he's here: Michael Pittman Jr. sat at the podium in the Colts' practice facility one day this spring and spoke about how he believes he's a No. 1 wide receiver by any definition anyone has for it. He also mentioned that he's becoming the old guy in the room.

He's 24 years old.

The potential for truth in each of those statements presents the case for Pittman Jr. as the third-most important Colts player.

Pittman Jr. is fresh off a breakout season in which he caught 88 passes for 1,082 yards and six touchdowns. He finished in the top 18 in catches and yards in the NFL, production that makes him almost an average No. 1 across the league.

But when compared relative to his own receiver room, Pittman Jr. might be the most important at his position. Last year, when he broke 1,000 yards, no other Colts player managed more than 395, making them the only team in the NFL in that position. Perhaps his production was inflated because of the lack of other weapons, but with a 68% catch rate, 8.4 yards per target and a modest 5.9% drop rate, he hit the main efficiency marks, too.

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The Colts do have two other second-round receivers they like in Alex Pierce and Parris Campbell, but between youth and durability questions, neither can be expected to perform like a No. 1 if Pittman Jr. doesn't. Jack Doyle's retirement increased Pittman's need to perform that much more.

In a passing league, this is dicey, and it feels like much of this team's ceiling will come down to how well this unit holds together. Last year's conference championship games featured wide receivers such as Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyreek Hill, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. If Pittman Jr. can step into their territories and stay healthy, he'll give this team similar aspirations.

He's expecting that kind of season now. And he has some reasons to be optimistic:

>> The arrival of Reggie Wayne as receivers coach can help him take a leap as he's turning 24 and growing into his 6-foot-4, 223-pound body.

>> The addition of Matt Ryan gives him an accurate quarterback to create yards-after-catch opportunities in the middle of the field, where Pittman Jr. sees the true essence of his game unfolding. Expect a far more diverse route tree than he ran with Carson Wentz.

If it all comes together, Pittman Jr. can become the next receiver to explode while playing with Ryan, joining Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts. He'll be the element that can kill teams that stack the box to stop Jonathan Taylor, which is precisely where this offense needs to go next.

If it doesn't, or if Pittman Jr. were to get hurt, the Colts don't have anywhere else to turn to. And in the NFL, if you can't create explosive gains through the air, you're not a contender.

Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Why Michael Pittman Jr. is No. 3 among most essential players