Colts signing former Texans WR after TY Hilton news is a smart move

The Indianapolis Colts‘ wide receiving corps will never draw as much attention as the star-studded units teams like the Buccaneers, Chiefs and Cowboys have, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a deeper group in the league.

However, the Colts’ depth at the position took a hit over the weekend when it was reported that TY Hilton would miss the first few games of the regular season after he re-aggravated a neck injury in practice.

With Hilton injured, Zach Pascal sidelined on the COVID list, and Dezmon Patmon (foot) potentially headed for injured reserve, the Colts are all of a sudden extremely thin at receiver.

To make matters worse, the timeline on Hilton’s return will be delayed. During his Wednesday press conference, GM Chris Ballard revealed that Hilton underwent surgery and will be moved to injured reserve.

Like any competent team would, Indy responded accordingly by signing former Texans speedster Keke Coutee to their practice squad.

The Colts wisely signed Keke Coutee as insurance for TY Hilton.

For those curious, Hilton landing on injured reserve means he’ll miss at least the first three games of the campaign. With Patmon also on the shelf, Coutee has an excellent chance of being promoted to the 53-man roster.

The Colts don’t have any proven vertical threats on their roster, so adding Coutee could really open up the offense while Hilton makes his way back.

When healthy, Hilton isn’t the home run threat he was during his prime. Michael Pittman is in for a huge year, but he doesn’t have breakaway speed. Strachan is capable of taking the top off of defenses, but he’s more of a jump ball savant, and Campbell does most of his damage in the slot on intermediate routes.

That leaves Pascal, who’s averaged 14.5 yards per reception over the last two seasons. Though he’s an underrated as they come, the best teams in the NFL have more than one vertical threat in their aerial attack.

That’s where Coutee comes in. The former fourth-round pick has racked up 83 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns while serving as the third option in the Texans’ passing game since 2018.

Coutee’s 11.3 career yards per reception clearly caught the Colts’ attention. Not only that, but for a receiver who’s produced very little in his career, he’s absolutely destroyed the Colts, tallying 38 catches for 438 yards and two scores in five games against Indy over his first three seasons in the league.

That means nearly 60% of his catches, over 46% of his career receiving yards and 50% of his touchdowns have come against the Colts. At least Matt Eberflus won’t have to worry about getting burned by him this year, right?

In all seriousness, this was a smart move from Ballard. We won’t go as far as to deem Coutee a like-for-like replacement, but he brings a lot of similar skills to the table to that of Hilton. They have a similar build and are capable of beating defenses over the top while playing the underneath game.

It’s too early to say whether Coutee will be on the active roster for Week 1, but we certainly wouldn’t rule it out in light of this concerning Hilton update.

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