The Colts have a fresh face at the top of their receiver room, but the picture behind Alec Pierce looks awfully thin.
Pierce’s new $114 million deal puts him in the lead role for Indianapolis, and if he can carry over what he did last season, he’ll have a chance to justify every dollar. But the bigger issue is what surrounds him. A receiver can only do so much on his own, and right now the Colts’ depth chart does not exactly inspire confidence.
Michael Pittman Jr. is gone, and that loss is going to be felt. There’s also a real possibility that Pierce isn’t fully healthy when the season opens.
If that’s the case, the concerns only grow once you get past Josh Downs. Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks, and Anthony Gould fill out the rest of the group, and none of those names screams dependable No. 2 or No. 3 option for a team trying to win.
That’s why the veteran market keeps coming up. Stefon Diggs is still available, and while he may bring more baggage than some teams want, the talent is obvious.
If the Colts want a lower-drama route, Keenan Allen and Deebo Samuel are also out there. A month ago, there were rumors that Indianapolis might be interested in either one.
Are those perfect answers? Probably not. But they would look a lot better than rolling into Week 1 with Westbrook-Ikhine as the third receiver.
None of this is meant to knock the players already on the roster. One or two of them could surprise people and emerge as real pieces.
Still, the odds of that happening are not especially high, and asking unproven options to fill major roles right away is a risky way to open the year. The Colts have time to make a move.
The question is whether they actually will.
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