Four years and as much as $116 million. That is what the Indianapolis Colts gave wide receiver Alec Pierce to not leave in free agency. Pierce wanted to come back, or at least he said he did. His connection with quarterback Daniel Jones could be special. Let's hope.
How much the NFL respects Pierce is in question, however. ESPN ran a recent poll of league coaches, scouts, and executives on the best wide receivers, and Pierce is nowhere to be found in the top 10. He doesn't even rank among the honorable mentions. He is simply one of many who "received votes."
That is probably fair at this point, and that's a good thing. A receiver who has never had as many as 50 catches in a season and just one year with 1,000 yards receiving isn't going to top many league-wide lists. That doesn't mean the Colts' new WR1 isn't good, though.
NFL doesn't yet respect the Indianapolis Colts' Alec Pierce as much as they should
While heading into 2026, the receiver isn't getting a lot of love from others in the NFL; that could definitely change if and when ESPN has the same poll ahead of 2027. What will change for the player and team this year is that Pierce is almost certainly going to get the ball a lot more.
The reality is that through four seasons, Indianapolis has probably underused Pierce. In his first three seasons, he could catch deep passes and run past defensive backs, and in his fourth season, he added a bit more versatility, but he wasn't targeted enough.
Even in 2025, while Pierce was leading the team with 1,003 receiving yards and the entire NFL in yards per catch for the second straight year, he was only fourth on the Colts in targets. He had 84. Michael Pittman Jr., who has since been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, led the team with 112.
Had Pittman kept the same kind of efficiency with the targets he received last season but actually gotten as much as Pittman, that would equate to his 2025 season looking like this: 63 catches, 1,342 yards receiving, and eight touchdowns. Those are the kinds of numbers that Indianapolis Colts fans should expect from Alec Pierce in 2026 and beyond.
He could produce more, and if he does, when the ESPN poll is released ahead of 2027, Pierce should be in the top 10. The league will respect him more.
To be clear, for Pierce to earn his $116 million, he needs to produce at the clip above or better. Anything less, and he will be overpaid, and he might be anyway. But he needs help being extremely productive. The Colts just need to call more plays for him, as his explosiveness scares opposing defenses.
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