Though it seems odd to imagine so many years later, Indianapolis Colts’ tight end Mo Alie-Cox was almost a defensive end. Back in 2017, the VCU basketball star was trying to make the transition to football despite not having played since his freshman year in high school. But his size and athleticism screamed football, even to VCU’s basketball coach, Shaka Smart.
“All you had to do was look at his body…” Smart said.
Alie-Cox worked out for scouts from most of the teams in the NFL at the time. They were all looking for the next Jimmy Graham or Antonio Gates, college basketball players who had developed into standout tight ends.
Some of those scouts thought Alie-Cox might be even more effective chasing down quarterbacks than catching balls from them. But Alie-Cox preferred offense, especially if it meant catching those balls from Andrew Luck.
Colts' Mo Alie-Cox built a steady career from an unlikely foundation
According to a 2019 ESPN story by Mike Wells, Alie-Cox chose Indianapolis as his football home for three reasons. First, he and his advisors trusted GM Chris Ballard. Second, there was the Luck factor. And third, the Colts' tight end room was wide open.
Jack Doyle was establishing himself as a first-rate flex receiving option, while another former basketball player, Erik Swoope, was in a position to play behind Doyle. It was an ideal situation. Not only would the rookie have time to develop behind Doyle, but he would also have an ideal mentor in Swoope to help with the transition.
From his earliest days, Alie-Cox put any lingering doubts about which side of the ball suited him to rest. He showed remarkable hands. Still, learning the tight end position in the professional ranks is a daunting task. It requires a player to run pass routes like a wideout and block like a lineman. After the quarterback, it is the most mentally challenging position on offense.
But Alie-Cox made progress. Swoope never rebounded from an injury in 2017, but the Colts signed free agent Eric Ebron before the season and he became a key part of the offense when Doyle was hurt early in 2018.
Doyle’s injury also opened the door for Alie-Cox, who caught passes in six of his nine games as a rookie. He scored his first touchdown in Week 4 with a spectacular twisting, leaping one-handed snare of a 26-yard throw from Luck in a 42-28 win over the then Oakland Raiders.
The next week, he scored his second touchdown against Jacksonville.
For a while, it seemed as though Mo Alie-Cox was on the verge of really turning into another Antonio Gates, but his future would not be as a productive pass-catcher. Doyle returned from injury the following season and had a Pro Bowl year.
In 2020, with Doyle slowing down and Ebron gone, Alie-Cox had his best receiving year. Now catching balls from Phillip Rivers, he tallied 34 receptions for 394 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But the revolving door at quarterback put the brakes on his progress. With Carson Wentz as QB in 2021, Alie-Cox was still a featured receiving option, but his productivity fell off along with the rest of the Colts’ passing attack.
Despite ostensibly remaining a starter in ensuing seasons, Alie-Cox became just one of a committee of tight ends who were valued more for their blocking than anything else. Tyler Warren’s arrival this season established a clear pecking order, with the rookie at the top and several veterans, including Mo Alie-Cox, as complementary players.
But even if he never developed into the next Antonio Gates, the former basketball star has had a very productive run with the Colts. He has been an iron man, missing just two games since his rookie year and playing in every Colts’ game since 2021.
He has just five catches this season, but he has been on the field for more than 40% of the team’s offensive plays and carries an elite pass blocking grade second only to fellow tight end Alec Ogletree.
Alie-Cox is one of a large group of Colts’ veterans scheduled to hit free agency in 2026. Chris Ballard is likely to prioritize re-signing players like Alex Pierce, Daniel Jones, and Nick Cross to extensions.
Ogletree will also be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in 2026. He is five years younger than Alie-Cox and showed with his touchdown catch against the Chiefs last week that he has the same pass-catching potential that Alie-Cox once displayed.
It is too early to know how things will play out, but it would seem Ballard would be more inclined to re-sign the younger player and perhaps see what young vets like Will Mallory and Sean McKeon might be able to provide.
32 is by no means too old for a tight end, especially one who can block. 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis recently came out of retirement to play for Denver. Alie-Cox certainly has the potential to play several more years, but will it be in the only place he has called home throughout his NFL career?
He was a long shot to even make the Colts roster, and now, eight years later, if his time in Indy is indeed drawing to a close, at least he is doing it with a winner. He will play a role in whatever happens the rest of the way in 2025. The Colts have some tough games in the final six weeks, and they will have to play well if they want to lock down an AFC South title.
That would be a first for a whole lot of veterans on this club, Mo Alie-Cox included.