3 low-profile free agents Colts should retain

2. Mo Alie-Cox

Mo Alie-Cox didn’t enjoy the breakout year that everyone expected after his promising 2020, but it’s hard to do that when you’re competing for snaps and the team you play for doesn’t make tight ends a focal point of the passing game.

Because of that, Alie-Cox’s stats won’t blow you away. However, his 24 catches and 316 yards finished fourth among Colts pass-catchers. He also caught four touchdowns, which trailed only Pittman for the team lead.

This won’t surprise anyone, but Alie-Cox also made an impact as a blocker. His 71.1 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (paywall) speaks for itself, but his pass-blocking grade was superior to Mark Glowinski, Quenton Nelson, Eric Fisher, Ryan Kelly, Chris Reed and Danny Pinter, respectively.

That’s almost the entire starting offensive line, folks.

With soft hands, a flawless blocking technique and a 6-foot-5, 276-pound frame that makes him a walking mismatch in the red zone. Alie-Cox should have a pretty robust market once free agency opens in March.

Assuming Ballard and Frank Reich don’t want to enter 2022 with fourth-rounder Kylen Granson as the only tight end on the roster, they’d be smart to pursue a reunion with the former VCU basketball star.