Colts must target true No. 1 receiver with cap space in 2021

The Colts have spent enough time trying and failing to hit home runs with wide receivers in the draft. It’s time to use that big money on one.

At a certain point, no matter how much cap space you’ve accumulated, there comes a time to dedicate a large chunk of it to bettering the roster. After all, you can’t take it with you. Luckily, entering the 2020-21 offseason, no front office has more to work with than Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts.

But what to spend it on?

The defense seems settled, at this juncture, now that DeForest Buckner has arrived — at the very least, it can safely be placed in the “address in the draft” category. Could the Colts use a DB or two? Sure. But a No. 1 corner isn’t likely to hit the free agent market, and you can’t wait forever.

Perhaps a big-budget quarterback? That seemed more likely before Dak Prescott’s gruesome leg injury, leaving the market without a bonafide QB option worthy of a massive expenditure. If the 49ers cut Jimmy Garoppolo, is that a move that would give you supreme confidence? What about Matt Ryan’s later years? The Colts would be better served targeting a young QB with their first-round selection this time around.

So what about a wideout?

Goodness knows the Colts have spent plenty of high draft picks over the past few years, only to get solid-to-middling results. The jury is still out on Michael Pittman Jr., but the intention of that selection was to nab a solid contributor, not a superstar. It would be generous to say that Parris Campbell has shown flashes; we’re not even sure if the amount of time he’s spent on the field qualifies as even a single flash.

Instead of throwing darts at the draft board yet again this year and using a valuable second-rounder on wide receiver talent, it’s time for the Colts to flex at least some of their financial muscle and add a true No. 1 guy, while TY Hilton hopefully departs for greener pastures (or comes back well aware that his role will be diminished).

Allen Robinson, still just 28 and fed up with the Bears, will thrive the second he gets out from under the oppressive Nick Foles regime. AJ Green could certainly use a change of scenery. Even Will Fuller might embrace a No. 1 role if given the chance to be the focal point of an offense.

It sounds a bit silly, considering they’re the two most important positions on the field, but the Colts are a wideout and a quarterback away from establishing themselves as the AFC’s greatest challenger to the Chiefs and their machine.

What good is money, anyway, if not for spending?

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