WESTFIELD, Ind – Michael Pittman Jr. wants to be known.

That's not to say people don't already know who Pittman is. The wide receiver is entering his fifth year with the Colts and has started in 56 of his 62 games played, with 15 touchdowns, 336 receptions and 3,662 receiving yards in his career. He's one of four players in Colts history to total 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season (2023) and has led the Colts in receiving for three straight seasons.

That's not enough.

"I'm chasing respect," Pittman said.

The veteran, selected by the Colts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft and signed to a contract extension in March, feels there's more he can – and should – accomplish.

"The whole thing that comes with being an older guy, it's like I'm known now but I need to get to that next level, that next tier," Pittman explained during a press conference Wednesday.

When the wide receiver thinks about the best to ever play his position, he separates them into three tiers: those who total 1,400-plus receiving yards per season, those with 1,200-plus yards and those with 1,000-plus yards.

Pittman recorded 109 catches, fifth-most in the NFL, and set a new career-high in receiving yards at 1,152 in 2023 but couldn't quite make it to that second tier.

Undoubtedly the team's No. 1 receiver, he's leader on and off the field. He's organized offseason training sessions and team bonding experiences and helped Anthony Richardson feel more comfortable taking on the leadership responsibilities that come with being QB1. He possesses all the traits that would arguably make him a "tier one" wide receiver.

But Pittman wants the numbers to prove it, and he wants to get there by scoring touchdowns.

In four seasons in the NFL, Pittman has 15 touchdowns to his name with four in each of the last two seasons, a career-high six in 2021 and one in his rookie year in 2020. He recognizes he hasn't been a "big touchdown guy" during his career and, going into the 2024 season, decided to change that.

"It's a conversation you just have to have with your play callers and your coach, like just let them know 'Hey, I can finish those plays,'" Pittman said. "Just trying to get more in that redzone game, and there's things that I could do to be better in that sense. And just give them that confidence to call those plays is really it."

Pittman wants his team to have confidence in his abilities but he also wants them to have confidence in themselves, as any veteran leader would. So when it comes to interacting with a young player like Richardson, Pittman has been more than willing to help boost him up and get him out of his shell.

"He's not a guy that wants to get up in front and yell around, so that's just his personality – he leads by example," Pittman said. "But now he knows everybody so he feels he can speak more confidently, and I've also been kind of forcing him into those roles."

Pittman, like Richardson, didn't always enjoy getting up and speaking in public. But just like playing football, the more reps you get, the better you become. So he's okay with putting Richardson on the spot to speak during things like team breakdowns because he knows he'll be better for it.

That's the kind of trust and relationship a QB1 and his No. 1 receiver should have: one where they can rely on each other, but also occasionally force each other out of their comfort zones for their own good and the good of the team.

Pittman's desire for respect (and touchdowns) means he's probably going to have to get out of his own comfort zone this season. But he's a guy who understands confidence is the most important thing when it comes to playing in the NFL, so even if he is doing something new, chances are it won't look like it.