The Colts have some interesting decisions to make at the wide receiver position, as there are three who are free agents. But I only like this one to come back.
Zach Pascal came into the league as an undrafted free agent. He has made the most of his opportunity in the league after signing with Indianapolis. As far as first year’s go, he had a pretty good one, emerging as a reliable target for Andrew Luck.
Pascal had 27 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The only thing disappointing about his year was his catch percentage, which was an abysmal 58.7%. But he showed some flashes of good play as showed the ability to improve his hands.
The thing that helps Pascal is his availability. He played in all 16 games this season, which is crucial for him since other receivers had problems staying on the field with health issues. The allowed him more playing time to show the coaches what he could do.
Moving forward, Pascal could be a good guy to bring back. He does good work on special teams too so he is contributing on more than one area of the field. He needs to work on his consistency, but was only a rookie so he should get better in that regard.
Pascal could be a solid fourth wide receiver. He will never develop into a go-to guy or a number one receiver. But he can still be a reliable target down the field when the Colts decide to spread the field. The Colts need more guys like that on the roster.
I would be surprised if Pascal wasn’t back next season. They can sign him on the cheap to a long-term deal to help him develop. He won’t be a significant investment in terms of money, so they could cut him if he doesn’t develop quickly enough too.
Pascal deserves another shot with the Colts. It will be interesting to see if he gets it.