The Indianapolis Colts have what could be one of the more talented receiving corps in the NFL, but they are awfully thin at the position outside of the top three players. Could the team be looking to bring in a veteran or have the past four years turned them sour on bringing in receivers?
The Colts have an incredibly talented trio of receivers. T.Y. Hilton is apparently taking the next leap in his development from very good wide out to a great one. Donte Moncrief is firmly the team’s number two option and won’t be held back by inferior players this season. And Phillip Dorsett has the talent and tools to be something similar to Hilton, provided he can stay on the field.
But that’s about it as far as the receiving depth goes for this team. Presumably the next player on the depth chart is return man Quan Bray and then a lot of question marks and unproven talent.
According to Stephen Holder at the IndyStar, the Colts could be considering bringing someone else in before the preseason is over.
"“We have some young guys that we want to focus on a little bit,” Pagano said. “And there’s some guys out there that we’re looking at as well.”“There’s skill out there,” Pagano said. “We have guys that have length, guys that have speed. You see a guy like Chester (Rogers) who’s got playmaking ability and made a huge play in the last ballgame. (Marcus) Leak is a guy who hasn’t been available because of injury, but that’s another guy who has done some good things.“He’s a big strong guy. (MeKale McKay) is a big, long guy that can make plays. (Tevaun Smith) is a good player. There’s a good group there. We’re just kind of waiting for somebody to kind of separate themselves. Maybe Quan Bray, if he becomes a more consistent wide receiver. We know what he can do special teams-wise.”“We’re just waiting to see how that thing unfolds.”"
Not long after those quotes, the Colts picked up receiver Andrew Opoku who would give the team some much needed size at 6-4 and 225 pounds. This is exactly what the Colts need right now: size.
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Outside of Moncrief, the Colts don’t have anyone over six feet tall who is guaranteed to make the final roster (Dwayne Allen more or less fills this role, but he’s a tight end who will rarely lineup out wide). This doesn’t mean that Opoku will make the final 53, but he might have a better opportunity given his size.
RIght now, the Colts have seven players listed at 6-0 or higher, a far cry from the three they had at the start of camp. Four more are under that 6-0 mark, and two of them are guaranteed to make the final roster (Hilton, Dorsett) with another having a great shot (Bray). The Colts have clearly shifted the focus at receiver to “need based” and are bringing in anyone with height.
There are a few veterans who are still on the market, but they’re all past their primes. It also doesn’t help that the Colts have been repeatedly burned by veteran free agent receivers. Donnie Avery, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hakeem Nicks, and Andre Johnson were all disappointments. It also doesn’t help that they all took away snaps from more talented receivers on the roster. (Seriously, Avery and DHB kept Hilton off the field, while Nicks and Johnson took snaps from Moncrief.)
All three of the Colts receivers have dealt with injuries during their careers as well. Neither Hilton nor Moncrief have missed too many games, but they’ve had hamstring and foot issues, respectively. Dorsett missed half of his rookie year with a broken ankle. Couple that with the Colts being near the bottom of the league every year in games lost to injury, and depth becomes a glaring issue.
Luckily the Colts have plenty of time to figure out and develop some of this younger talent. We’ve seen a few players show up in the first preseason game and the younger guys will have ample opportunity to do so again against the Ravens on Saturday.