Colts’ Rookie the Subject of Bold Prediction

This yr’s NFL Draft was loaded with expertise on the vast receiver place.

There have been six receivers chosen within the first spherical, which was essentially the most amongst any place, but it surely’s the twelfth receiver taken general which will make the largest distinction in Yr 1.

Bleacher Report‘s Maurice Moton not too long ago made 9 daring predictions for the 2022 NFL season, considered one of them being Indianapolis Colts vast receiver Alec Pierce successful the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Yr award:

Alec Pierce Wins Offensive Rookie of the Yr

The 2022 rookie class would not function a quarterback who has a transparent pathway to begin in Week 1 or a star working again, which opens up the chance for an unlikely candidate to win Offensive Rookie of the Yr.

This group has high quality vast receivers, although. As first-round picks, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jahan Dotson and Treylon Burks could garner lots of consideration, however one can argue Indianapolis Colts rookie Alec Pierce has a greater quarterback state of affairs with Matt Ryan than any of the Day 1 wideouts. As for Jameson Williams, he may have a couple of weeks to get again to full pace whereas on the mend from a torn ACL.

At 6’3″, 211 kilos with 4.41 pace, Pierce has the bodily instruments to make a robust assertion proper out of faculty. He’ll play with an correct passer in Ryan, who’s accomplished at the very least 65 % of his passes in every of the final 4 seasons and thrown for at the very least 3,900 yards annually since 2011.

Though the Colts have fielded a run-heavy offense with working again Jonathan Taylor over the past two seasons, Pierce ought to see loads of targets in an aerial assault that solely options one dependable pass-catcher in Michael Pittman Jr.

Pierce averaged at the very least 17 yards per reception in every of his three collegiate phrases at Cincinnati. He’ll present some large performs in Indianapolis and convey dwelling the Offensive Rookie of the Yr award with 1,200-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns.

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As Moton predicted, Pierce reaching at the very least 1,200 receiving yards and 10-plus touchdowns would nearly definitely win him Offensive Rookie of the Yr.

Whereas the proclamation could appear to return out of nowhere, Moton is not the one analyst with large issues in thoughts for Pierce.

ESPN‘s Mike Clay additionally sees a big position for Pierce within the Colts’ offense in 2022, predicting him to be fifth amongst rookie receivers with a extra modest 746 yards.

Whereas these are predictions, expectations must be tempered for the first-year pass-catcher. Regardless, there is a chance for Pierce to flourish as a rookie.

For starters, Pierce suits the Colts offense very nicely below head coach Frank Reich. The next is from the Indy Draft Information earlier than the draft on how Pierce may match with the Colts:

Pierce is the right match for what the Colts are searching for at receiver. He’s a dominant field-stretcher that may win with pure pace and athleticism within the NFL. With the Colts desperately needing a Z receiver that may take the highest off of a protection, he can be the perfect receiver to pair with Michael Pittman Jr. for the foreseeable future.

Part of why Pierce was chosen by the Colts was the dearth of established receivers on the roster. Exterior of Michael Pittman Jr., who had his first 1,000-yard season in 2021, no different present Colts receiver caught greater than 13 passes final yr. The window is open for Pierce to grab a good portion of the targets on this offense.

The final main motive Pierce may feasibly be a risk for the award is quarterback Matt Ryan, who has traditionally performed nicely with large receivers like Pierce, likes to throw downfield, and has above-average accuracy.

To this point, what we have seen from Pierce has been optimistic. He was a standout within the spring throughout OTAs and minicamps, utilizing his measurement and monitoring capacity to make some spectacular end-zone snags.

What do you anticipate from Pierce in 2022? Drop your ideas under within the remark part!

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