Colts should look to utilize WR Alec Pierce earlier and more often.
The former Bearcat has come into his own and deserves an increased workload.
Alec Pierce has seemingly burst onto the scene early into the 2024 season. This emergence has followed what was the Colts’ most impressive Training Camp performance.
The Colts’ third-year wideout was a force to be reckoned with throughout Indy’s 2024 Training Camp. From start to finish, Pierce was, without a doubt, the most impressive Colt.
Some of the allure surrounding Pierce’s impressive offseason points back to the expectation that was unjustly set throughout his first two seasons in the NFL. Dealing with a multitude of quarterbacks early in his career, Pierce had been labeled as a deep-threat or bust type of player.
This year’s Training Camp, however, featured an expanded route tree for Pierce to work from. Of course, it was merely practice, but what Pierce showed during this timeframe allowed for previous expectations to not only be questioned but altered entirely. Five weeks into the 2024 season, Pierce has stacked that impressive offseason into a reality.
Not only has Pierce blossomed into a legitimate top-tier NFL deep threat, but his play is warranting an increased workload. He only has 13 receptions on 17 targets through five games, but his absurd production on those few opportunities begs the question, could he be more?
Alec Pierce has been ultra-productive in spite of his deep-threat workload. His 368 receiving yards on 13 receptions is good for the highest average per reception in the NFL with 28.3 yards per catch, the most yards per catch average of any NFL WR through five weeks of the past 15 years. Most notably, a majority of his target share has come in the 4th quarter.
Of Pierce’s 17 targets, nine have come in the 4th quarter (~53%). This alone shows that Pierce has become somewhat of an afterthought, that is until his services are needed in the worst way.
Pierce has shown that he can produce even in these need-it moments. However, an earlier target share could help alleviate the opponent’s attention of Indy’s other pass-catchers and, in turn, create a more sustainable passing attack moving forward.
Alec Piece’s late-game heroics have been nothing short of incredible, though we’re left wondering what could be if he was unleashed earlier than the remaining 15 minutes of each game. Pierce’s greatness through five weeks could be more of an indictment on the rest of the receiving room thus far, but we’ll never know what he could be if he isn’t given the chance.
