Darius Slayton is expected to make his Indianapolis Colts' debut when the team travels to England for a game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Slayton was signed less than two weeks ago, but he does have a long history with quarterback Daniel Jones, so perhaps he can establish a role in Shane Steichen’s offense sooner rather than later. If he can, Slayton has the skill set to provide a much-needed missing piece to the Colts’ offense.
An NFL team’s offensive effectiveness – or lack thereof – can sometimes be explained by one simple number. Maybe an otherwise effective attack is sabotaged by too many penalties or turnovers. Maybe they give up too many sacks. None of those really get at the Colts’ offensive issues so far this year.
But ADOT does. ADOT is a geeky stat that measures a receiver's average depth of target. It is an area in which the Colts are currently struggling. And it is something that Darius Slayton has been very good at throughout his career.
With Alec Pierce out, Darius Slayton can give the Indianapolis Colts’ offense what it desperately needs
We are only three weeks into the 2026 but consider these numbers.
Shane Steichen’s offense is gaining fifty fewer yards per game than it did in 2025. It is averaging more than a full yard per play less than last year. As a result, Steichen’s offense has dropped from 7th in 2025 to 28th this year.
Those problems apply to both the running and passing attack. Total yards and yards per play are noticeably down across the board. So is scoring.
It may not be fair to compare just three weeks of data, but consider that Indy’s offense fell off by quite a bit in the final third of the ’25 season. If we simply compare the first three weeks from each year, the discrepancy would be far greater.
There are three players missing from the 2025 offense. Braden Smith, Michael Pittman Jr., and Alec Pierce. (Coming off an injury, Pierce did play in the first two games but appeared limited. He suffered an injury in Week 2 and is currently on the injured list.)
Despite struggling against Houston, Smith has been adequately replaced by Jalen Travis. I don’t want to minimize Pittman’s role, but he had clearly become a less vital component of Steichen’s offense than he had once been.
The overwhelming problem is Pierce’s absence.
This was always going to be a transitional year for Alec Pierce. He was going to move into a more diversified role, running a more sophisticated route tree as the clear WR1. Of course, he would still run deep. But he would not run deep all the time.
The question of who would pick up those deep routes lingered throughout the summer. General manager Chris Ballard did little to address the matter. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was signed to a bargain free-agent deal, and Deion Burks was selected in the final round of the 2026 Draft.
Westbrook-Ikhine is currently on the practice squad, and Burks has yet to be targeted in the passing game. (He has run a couple of jet sweeps.)
Ballard signed Keenan Allen, who is not going to stretch the field. He still has very good pass catchers in Josh Downs and Tyler Warren, along with reserves Laquon Treadwell, Ashton Dulin, and Anthony Gould.
Now, let’s get back to ADOT for a moment.
Throughout his career, Pierce has an average depth of target of 17.6 yards. That is a stunning number, especially considering his decent reception rate. The bigger the ADOT number is, the less likely it is that the pass will be completed. That is one of the reasons Alec Pierce – when healthy – is a genuine breakout candidate.
The three Colts’ receivers with at least ten catches this season -- Downs, Warren, and Allen – have ADOTs of 7.7, 5.2, and 9.2. Do you see a problem?
With Pierce out, the Colts do not have a receiver who can run deep. That has implications for the entire offense. Safeties and linebackers cheat forward to help out on Jonathan Taylor’s runs.
They do not have to worry about taking deep drops on passing plays, which clog the middle for players like Downs and Warren. This may not entirely explain the Colts’ significant drop in offensive effectiveness early in the season, but it is a very good place to start that explanation.
Here’s what Darius Slayton can do. He can run deep. His career ADOT of 13.5 may not equal Pierce’s elite number, but it is quite good – and significantly better than any other receiver on the roster.
With one minor exception. Ashton Dulin has a comparable career ADOT. But of course, Dulin has only caught 40 balls in 83 career games. Besides, like Pierce, he has been out with an injury.
Quite frankly, Darius Salyton simply needs to get on the field and run deep patterns – at least until Pierce is back at full strength. If he is able to catch a couple of those deep shots, all the better. Then opposing defenses will have to devote more attention to the deep part of the field. But just having the threat out there should help.
Laquon Treadwell has converted a couple of deep throws this year. Perhaps Deion Burks has that in him as well. Those are iffier propositions, but maybe they can bear fruit.
Slayton is different. He is not as good a receiver as Pierce or Downs. He drops the ball too often. But he has shown the ability to run deep and make plays. Almost three-quarters of his nearly 300 career catches have resulted in a touchdown or a first down. That’s better than Downs or Allen.
The only Colt receiver with a better number is Alec Pierce. And as you know, Daniel Jones won’t have him to throw to for at least several more weeks. Current reports suggest a midseason return is more likely.
While awaiting the return of their top pass catcher, Indianapolis needs someone to stretch the field. As the roster stands now, Darius Slayton is their best bet. Look for him to start doing exactly that, perhaps as soon as this Sunday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google