When was the last time the Indianapolis Colts had two players rack up more than 1,000 receiving yards in the same season? You have to go back 16 years to 2009. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark pulled it off.
Three games into the 2025 season, Indy has two players on pace to do it again. As in 2009, one is a receiver – Michael Pittman. The other is a tight end – Tyler Warren. Of course, it's still very early and those projections could change, but it’s an encouraging start.
But if you want some serious encouragement, look a little farther down the depth chart. On that 2009 team, the third leading receiver was Pierre Garcon with 765 yards. This year, Alec Pierce is on track to just miss reaching 1,000 yards himself. The next two receivers right now – Josh Downs and Jonathan Taylor – are on pace to break 500 yards.
Colts' Shane Steichen is building one of the league’s most versatile offenses
Five pass catchers over 500 yards, three of them flirting with the thousand yard mark. Can you say balanced attack?
And it gets better. Much better.
On that 2009 team, the leading rusher was Joseph Addai , who gained 828 yards on the ground. This year’s squad doesn’t even consider itself a passing team. Its leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, is on track for more than 1,900 yards rushing.
That’s right, along with those high-value receiving numbers, the 2025 Colts may have a running back who goes for a thousand yards more than the best back from 2009.
Even the second best runner so far this year – Daniel Jones – is ahead of the pace set by the number two runner in 2009, Donald Brown.
How is all this possible?
Well, maybe we have to give some credit to the oft-maligned Shane Steichen. Turns out, the man does know how to call plays, provided he has the playmakers to execute them.
And maybe Chris Ballard deserves some credit as well. Of the Colts six leading receivers so far this year – four wideouts, one tight end, and one running back – Ballard drafted every one of them in the first three rounds of the last six years. He has invested, and it looks like those picks are beginning to pay dividends.
The best thing about the current group of Colts pass catchers is how versatile they are as a unit. Even the sensational squads that had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne winning the Super Bowl were top-heavy. This year’s group features an almost textbook blend of unique skills and interchangeable parts.
Pittman remains the top dog, but now he is able to play his more natural role of versatile possession receiver. He can line up anywhere, can run any route, and is as steady as the come.
Alec Pierce, an emerging star, has taken over as the most dangerous deep-ball threat. He led the league last year in yards per catch, and so far this year, he has almost maintained that stunning pace despite seeing his overall volume and usage go up. He is developing into a much better all-purpose receiver before our eyes.
Josh Downs had to shoulder more of the load in his first few years than a slot receiver normally should. Downs is the only one of Indy’s top pass catchers who is actually seeing his production take a dip, but that is entirely attributable to the emergence of others. Downs remains a crafty weapon who can exploit soft spots in coverage when secondaries focus too much on the other options.
Tyler Warren is the wild card. The primary trio of receivers was already pretty good when Ballard drafted Warren. Now they also have one of the most explosive tight ends in the league. Warren has already proven he can line up anywhere from fullback to Z receiver and make plays.
Adonai Mitchell isn’t so much of a wild card as a card that hasn’t even been put into play yet. He has a world of talent and will probably get chances as the year goes on. If he can live up to his potential, the second-year man could make this the best and deepest receiving group in the entire league.
Pay attention to where each of them lines up. Steichen loves to flood one side of the field with all three primary receivers, while leaving Warren alone on the opposite side. Downs usually begins in the slot, but any of them can play that role. The versatility makes it very hard for opposing defenses to get a bead on what Indy may do on a given play.
Pierce usually runs deep, but both Downs and Warren can. Pierce, for his part, is becoming a better intermediate route runner. Pittman and Taylor are both powerful runners, so getting them the ball on screens or short swing patterns can free them up to make bigger runs.
And when they go heavy, both blocking tight ends – Mo Alie-Cox and Andrew Ogletree – can catch the ball when needed.
Chris Ballard has assembled a prototypical receiving group, and more than half of the players are still developing. If they continue this development, the Colts' offense will be very difficult to defend down the road.