What happened to the tight end-centric passing attack for the Colts?
Early in the season, the Indianapolis Colts were utilizing their large tight ends but that hasn’t been the case for Indy in recent games.
Entering this season, the Indianapolis Colts were building an offense with multiple large tight ends. There is veteran Mo Alie-Cox, standing at 6-foot-5, 267 pounds, Kylen Granson at 6-foot-2, 242 pounds, Jelani Woods at 6-foot-7, 265 pounds, and Drew Ogletree at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds. The Colts were planning to build a more productive passing attack with these large receiving targets at the center.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed like that would be the case. Each tight end took their turns having big games and showing they could use their size to be unguardable in the red zone. Whether it was Jelani Woods’ two touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs, Alie-Cox’s two touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans, or Granson’s 62 yards against Tennessee, the group was showing that they could make plays for the offense.
However, in recent weeks, the Colts have seemingly gone away from the promising tight ends and the group has become an afterthought in the Indianapolis offense— an offense that desperately needs consistent help.
Colts haven’t been involving tight ends
For starters, Woods hasn’t played in a game since Week 9 against the Patriots. He’s been out dealing with a shoulder injury. Granson and Alie-Cox have been playing though. Since Alie-Cox’s Week 4 explosion, he has been targeted just five times and caught four passes for 34 yards. Since Week 3, the game where Woods had two touchdowns, he’s been targeted just 10 times in six games, catching five passes for 66 yards.
Granson has been the most involved tight end and even his involvement has been low. He leads all of Indy’s tight ends with 32 targets on the season, catching 25 passes for 249 yards. And it’s not like the offense is just thriving and they don’t need the tight ends, the Colts can actually benefit from the help.
Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles was a great example. With a chance to put the game away, Indianapolis was on Philly’s five-yard line with an opportunity to score a touchdown that likely would’ve put the game out of reach for the Eagles. It would’ve been the perfect time to target a big guy like Mo Alie-Cox but that didn’t happen. Indy ultimately had to settle for a field goal, a move that cost the Colts the game.
While Indianapolis has a lot of things to figure out in the coming weeks, getting the tight ends involved again should be one of the priorities. The tight ends could help open up the offense and a more productive offense will give Indy a better chance to win down the stretch.
