Assuming he is still in charge of the Indianapolis Colts, GM Chris Ballard faces a lot of big decisions this offseason. As usual, quarterback is the most the most important, and Daniel Jones’ late-season injury makes that a very complicated problem. Almost as important is what the Colts’ GM chooses to do about wide receiver Alec Pierce.
Pierce finishes his rookie contract this year and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next March. If he hits the open market, there will be enormous interest. Because, as Alec Pierce proved yet again in the Colts’ Week 16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he is now Indy’s best wide receiver.
That title has belonged to Michael Pittman, Jr. for the past four seasons. This year, though he is only fourth on the team in targets – trailing Pittman, Tyler Warren, and Josh Downs - it has become clear week by week that the fourth-year receiver out of Cincinnati is the most dangerous Colts’ pass catcher. And he is getting better right in front of our eyes.
Colts' Alec Pierce is knocking on the door of elite wide receiver status
Pierce scored the Colts’ first two touchdowns in their do-or-die game against the 49ers. He ran excellent routes on both and showed off his strong hands in securing both Philip Rivers' passes. On the second score, he overcame defensive pass interference to make the catch.
That is nothing new for Pierce. He has always been recognized for his strength in contested catches. At 6’3”, 211, he is a prototypical outside receiver, capable of running out of the X or the Z position. With Pittman normally playing the X (on the line of scrimmage), Pierce has been running Z routes for most of his pro career. But that may be about to change.
Everyone knows Alec Pierce can get deep. He led the league last year in yards per catch. His mark of 22.3 yards was a full five yards better than Jameson Williams in second place. This year, he is leading the league again, though his 20.3 yards is now only about three yards ahead of Williams.
Attribute the minor drop-off to the fact that Pierce is evolving as a pass catcher. His two touchdown receptions against the 49ers went for 20 and 16 yards, which actually pulled down his yards-per-catch number.
In his fourth year, Alex Pierce no longer simply runs deep while Pittman and Josh Downs work underneath. Now, Alec Pierce is just as productive on intermediate routes as he is on deep balls.
Pierce is establishing career highs in catch percentage and yards per target in 2025. Therefore, despite the small reduction in yards per catch, he is actually being more productive because he is catching a higher percentage of his targets. His “success” percentage – based on the yards he gains in relation to down and distance – is also markedly higher than in his first three years.
Alec Pierce is becoming a complete receiver in front of our eyes. At Cincinnati, everyone recognized his deep ball prowess. Then, in the run-up to the 2022 draft, he blew scouts away with his athleticism. He showed exceptional strength and straight-line speed, along with surprising agility for a big receiver.
The draft that year was loaded at receiver. Pierce was the 12th wideout chosen, after such high-profile players as Drake London, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave. George Pickens was selected just ahead of him.
This year, Pierce has more receiving yards than six of the wideouts selected before him. And he seems to be getting better at a faster rate.
With the balanced passing attack that Indy currently employs, Pierce is unlikely to ever be a league leader in receptions. But as his route tree develops, he should emerge as one of the best all-around receivers in the league.
When he was coming out of college, one prominent scouting service specifically compared him to Matt Jones, the athletically-gifted receiver from Arkansas who looked the part of an NFL superstar – 6’6”, 222 pounds, with 4.37 speed in the 40 – but never became a proficient route runner and lasted through four mediocre years in Jacksonville early this century.
The site hinted that Pierce could follow a similar trajectory.
He has not. Instead, Pierce has added dangerous intermediate routes to the long balls he has always caught. He is not yet in the elite class of Ja’Marr Chase or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but he is trending in that direction.
Smith-Njigba provides an instructive counterpoint. In his first two seasons, he was seen as a slot receiver who ran shorter patterns. He was very good at it, but with others on his team taking the deeper routes, JSN just wasn’t seen as a dangerous, versatile weapon.
That has all changed this year. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett left town, and Smith-Njigba has proven he can do damage from any position and on any route.
No Colts’ receivers have to actually leave in order for Alec Pierce to follow suit. With competent quarterback play, he is going to continue climbing up the ladder of the NFL’s top wideouts. Hopefully, he will be doing it as a Colt.