Luther Burden vs Michael Pittman: Who Should You Start?
Luther Burden and Michael Pittman are both viable fantasy wide receivers heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. Luther Burden averaged 7.0 PPG across 15 games with the Chicago Bears, while Michael Pittman posted 9.6 PPG in 17 appearances for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A 2.6-PPG gap gives Michael Pittman the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Target volume is the story here. Michael Pittman saw 111 targets in 2025, while Luther Burden drew 60. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Michael Pittman, even in weeks where Luther Burden posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Luther Burden has his bye in Week 7, and Michael Pittman rests in Week 9. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at wide receiver for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
