Head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Reich, says the team isn’t desperate to add receivers despite the obvious need.
Ask anyone who paid any amount of attention to the Indianapolis Colts last season what the team needs to add most and they will likely say a quarterback, receivers, and pass-rushers.
Indy acquired a quarterback in a trade for Matt Ryan. Indianapolis also landed atop pass-rusher by trading for Yannick Ngakoue. However, the Colts haven’t made any moves at wide receiver.
In an offseason with so much receiver movement throughout the league, one of the most receiver-needy teams, Indy, hasn’t been involved in the action.
At Monday’s annual NFL owners’ meeting, Indy’s head coach, Frank Reich, made it seem unlikely that the Colts will pursue any of the other high-profile receivers while doubling down on his belief in the young guys on the roster.
He does know the offense at the end of the season won't work. "A great run game isn’t gonna be enough. We need more." Noted that he expects Hines to have a MUCH bigger role with Ryan at QB (akin to Rivers in '20).
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 28, 2022
At TE: "It’s gonna be impossible to replace Jack. So we’ll adapt"
Colts believe in the receivers on the roster
Reich says that Indianapolis isn’t desperate and won’t just grab a guy with a big name just to do it but Indy had plenty of reasoning to go after some of the names that have been moved this offseason.
It’s understandable if Indy were unable to land receivers early in free agency because the Colts didn’t have a quarterback. However, Amari Cooper was traded for a fifth-round pick and Robert Woods was moved for a sixth-round pick.
Both are players Indianapolis could have greatly benefited from adding by exchanging a late-round pick.
Now, with names like Jarvis Landry and Julio Jones still available as free agents, it doesn’t seem like the Colts are particularly interested in signing anyone.
Instead, Reich and Indianapolis are committed to seeing the younger guys on the roster develop. This is a sentiment that Reich has expressed multiple times throughout the offseason.
When speaking at the NFL Combine, Reich said that he hopes one of the young guys with upside can surprise everyone and become a legit threat at wide receiver.
That’s the hope every coach has every offseason. Guys like Dezmon Patmon, Parris Campbell, Mike Strachan, and Ashton Dulin have all flashed potential and it’s possible they could become a consistent threat.
However, banking on that to happen usually isn’t the best path for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. For a roster as loaded as Indy’s, it makes so much sense to just go out and grab a top receiver instead of hoping for a Cinderella story from a young receiver on the roster.
The Colts seem like this is a gamble that they are comfortable with. Indy does still have the Draft, and with the class being loaded, they will likely select a receiver or two.
If Indianapolis is lucky, the receiver selected will be able to come in and immediately impact like many of the rookie receivers in the last few seasons.
Nyheim Hines could provide Colts the receiver help they’re missing
The Indianapolis Colts should be able to find better use for the versatile pass-catching running back, Nyheim Hines, next season.