Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - REPLACEMENT: Can the Colts Replace Michael Pittman Jr. with In-House Options?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Should the Indianapolis Colts be worried about their wide receiver room without Michael Pittman Jr. in 2026? Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked on Colts. My name is Zach Hicks, and on today's show, we're going to be diving into the entire conversation around the departure of Michael Pittman, Jr. this offseason. alluded to it plenty of times this off season where I'm not as concerned about the Colts wide receiver room minus Michael Pittman Jr. going into 2026. But I want to add a little bit more detail to that conversation, talk about his target distribution, talk about his route tree from last season, and also talk about the players that are going to be likely replacing him

Starting point is 00:00:55 for this upcoming season. So, yeah, we're going to talk about his target distribution to start today's show. Then we're going to talk about the Ashton Doolin and the Josh Downs of it all in segment two, and then talk about where all of his targets are going to go in 2026 as well. It's 111 targets that need to be divvied out across the rest of the roster. Is it all go to Alec Pierce or where do we really see a lot of those targets go across the team? But let's start off with Michael Pittman Jr's target distribution from last season. So corner pro football focus, he had 80 receptions on 111 targets for 784 yards and 7-84 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2025 season.

Starting point is 00:01:33 And just so I could have proper numbers and just have everything I needed to talk about this with you guys. I went back and watched all 111 targets last season for the Indianapolis Colts. And I broke it down by what his most targeted routes were on the season. So this could be short yardage routes. This could be long yardage routes. This could be any kind of route. I just broke down exactly what the route distribution was for.

Starting point is 00:01:59 him on these targeted plays. And I found that his most targeted route by far and away, like not even close, was a hitch route. So if you guys know what a hitch route is, it's like a five-yard route and you just turn around and you stay in that spot, come back to the football and make that catch. The Colts usually use that as a high-low situation. You would have Tyler Warren running a corner or running a post over top of it. And then you would have Michael Pittman, Jr. just sitting underneath the zone on this hitch route. He ran that 21 times, well, he was targeted 21 times, excuse me, last season, which is 18.6% of his targets on the year. Other routes that were above 10, though, were a drag route, which is just a one, two step,

Starting point is 00:02:39 and then you come across the field, a slant route, which is just a three step, and then you come across the, you just come on like a 45 degree angle across the field. A route that is called a bang eight, which is a skinny post. So you're taking about seven to 10 steps and then just cutting it up field a little bit more a vertical, a dig route, which is a deep in-breaking route. And then a route that I call the sniffer flat route, which is where he has lined up in the backfield as like a pseudo-tight end in the sniffer position is what I call it. And then he just comes out of the backfield, leaks into the flat.

Starting point is 00:03:11 These are targets that were usually behind the line of scrimmage. And then he makes that catch and then gets that run after catch opportunity. So a lot of these routes, as you can tell, outside of like the bang eight and the dig route, are underneath 10 yards. almost all of his routes, 78 of 111. So that's 70% of his routes, according to my charting, came under 10 yards of air yardage down the field. So he was primarily the Colts underneath wide receiver at all times last year.

Starting point is 00:03:38 You know, they didn't really use him much on the vertical plane. Very, very few of his routes came down the field. Let me actually pull up how many of his routes were past 20 yards. I have it as only seven targets came past 20 yards down the field. And pretty much all of those targets, either came on double moves, like out and up, where he's faking like an underneath out route and cutting up field behind the zone corner

Starting point is 00:04:00 that is just sitting in that flat instead of carrying him vertical. Or it came on like four vert situations where every single receiver is going vertical and just based on where the safety is playing, we're going to throw that ball to the outside to Michael Pittman Jr. So he really didn't have a roll past 10 yards down the field last year unless it was going to be on those like glance like bang eight routes or off of those dig routes over the middle of the field.

Starting point is 00:04:25 Nothing really outside the numbers down the field and certainly nothing on that vertical plane because that's where Alec Pierce mostly lives. So we look at the role that the Colts have to replace with Michael Pittman Jr. It's really the zone beating route, the route tree of a guy who is only really going to be used against zone coverage. If you look at a vast majority of his routes,

Starting point is 00:04:46 like those hitch routes, like those slants, like those bang eights, it's usually him just clearing that first offender or the Colts putting a defender in a bind, like again with the high lows with those hitch routes, where we're going to have one defender a little bit deeper or one receiver go a little bit deeper, one receiver go a little bit shorter in whichever direction that defender carries is where we're going to go with the football. So if they carry Tyler Warren a little bit deeper on the corner, we'll hit Michael Pittman Jr. on the hitch and vice versa. If they fall for the hitch, then we hit Tyler Warren on the corner route.

Starting point is 00:05:16 So it's really just about manipulating zone defenders. When it came to man coverage, we didn't really see him. get many targets because he just doesn't have that juice or that speed threat that the Colts really needed on the outside. I think that's why we saw the Colts, you know, in the draft, for instance, I think they were targeting guys who had a little bit more juice. And that's why they added a guy like Dionne Burks, who's very explosive, very fast, and brings a lot more of that speed threat they're looking for. Ashton Doolan, who I think is going to be that next man up for them, a lot more explosive, a lot faster and can play more of like, you know, it can be more of a man-beater than

Starting point is 00:05:51 Michael Pittman Jr. was this past season. So I think the role is important. Like this is not to downplay what Michael Pittman Jr. did for the Colts last year because, you know, having a guy who can beat zone coverage is vital, obviously for what you're doing for your operations, especially with Shane Steichen, where he likes to pair a zone beater on one side with a man beater on the other side. You have to have a receiver that you can trust to find those vacancies in zone coverage that can read where he needs to be and has that connection with the quarterback. I mean, Michael Pittman Jr. is probably his best asset last year was when he was running these skinny pose, when he was running these slants, knowing exactly where to position his body to be available for

Starting point is 00:06:30 Daniel Jones or whoever was that quarterback last season. So this is not to minimize what Michael Pittman Jr.'s role was last year, but if you're talking about him as like a true number one wide receiver, that's not really what he was for this team. He was their zone beater. He was their underneath guy that they would trust to get the ball in space and let him work through the traffic and fall forward and gain some extra yards after the catch. He wasn't this do-it-all wide receiver won this past season. So when you saw the players that the Colts were targeting and when you were looking at what kind of role they really need to replace, it's not really this role where it's like,

Starting point is 00:07:05 okay, our top dog, our number one wide receiver, because that's going to be Alec Pierce's next year. That's going to be Tyler Warren as the tight end as well. Even Josh Downs in the slot, I think is going to get a lot of targets. What they really need to replace is more of just that hard-nose. underneath receiver that can win against zone coverage, that can find the open space and become an outlet for the quarterback. That is the ultimate role that they need to replace rather than like what Michael Pittman Jr. was back in 2021 where he was the undisputed like top receiver on this team. That's just not the stage of his career that he was in this past season. So I think it is a role that can be replaced.

Starting point is 00:07:42 It's an important role. So it's not to say that again, that Michael Pittman Jr. was a bad player last year. but it is a very like segmented role rather than being that top guy on the team. And I think it makes it easier for the Colts to approach it more from a committee standpoint than say if they were to have lost Alec Pierce this all season, replacing a guy who does so much on the vertical plane and does so much in multiple ways down the field, I think that would have been a lot tougher than replacing a guy like Pittman Jr., who it's just kind of get to space and, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:17 and find ways to move the ball forward rather than, again, operating on the vertical plane. So I think this role is replaceable. It's important role, but I do think it's a bit replaceable. And I think the Colts made the right decision this all season by moving on from Pittman Jr. And prioritizing Alec Pierce, because Pierce is a much harder asset to find. But still, there is the conversation around can they replace Pittman Jr. In the aggregate here. So we're going to talk about some of the players that they're going to likely have to step up this next season.

Starting point is 00:08:44 most notably Ashton Doolin and Josh Downs coming up here in just a second. But first, the NHL playoffs are here where every shift matters. Every moment is intense and the pressure is at its highest. My hockey team didn't make the playoffs this year, but it has been really interesting seeing the Vegas Golden Knights make the run that they have. After sweeping the President Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals, we'll see if they can pull off this incredible run in the Stanley Cup finals here in the next week or so. And just like performance matters on the ice,

Starting point is 00:09:17 It matters off the ice as well. That's where Rouget comes in. Rousiet offers treatments designed to help you get in, get ready and stay ready when it matters the most. Their top option, Rougiet ready, combines clinically proven ingredients and a simple mint that dissolves under your tongue. It works fast, often about 15 minutes, and it can last up to 36 hours. They also offer go long, designed to help with both performance and control. It's all about confidence and feeling like yourself again. So head to Rougiet.com slash.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Locked-on NHL and get 15% off your ED treatment. That's Ruggiet, R-U-G-I-E-T dot com slash locked-on NHL for 15% off Ruggiat, performance medicine for men. All right, we are back, Locked-on Colts Everdairs. Before we dive into the replacement plan for Michael Pittman Jr., don't forget to check out the Everdair Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with me and Jake and so many others that listen to the show. Tap the link in the show notes below.

Starting point is 00:10:21 or go to LockdownColts.com to join the club. Now, a very popular quote when it comes to replacing your top players or replacing some high dollar players that you lose either in free agency or that you lose on the trade market is to go to the great baseball movie Moneyball or we can recreate him in the aggregate. We hear this all the time where teams talk about losing their star players. And I do think that it's more feasible when the player isn't what he once was. When we're talking about Michael Pittman Jr. and how we said in the the first segment that his role was a bit more constrained, right? He was more of a zone beating

Starting point is 00:10:56 underneath wide receiver. And I think that's a little bit more replaceable than asking anyone to replace what he did in 2021 or asking anybody replace like Prime TY Hilton or any of those things, right? It's hard to recreate a star player in the aggregate, but can you recreate a solid starter in the aggregate? I think that's much more manageable. And we look at the Indianapolis Colts. I think they have very feasible ways to replace what they got. from Pittman last season. Josh Downes should get a little bit more of the run outside and 12 personnel next season. And again, if you look at how Pittman was used in a lot of these 12 personnel concepts,

Starting point is 00:11:32 there were some drag routes. There was a lot of hitch, high, low concepts. There was, you know, a couple of those plays where you've got to be on the same timing with the quarterback on those bang-eightes and in-breaking routes, which I think will be a big learning point for Josh Downs. I think that's where you're going to see, like, maybe the biggest issues are just the biggest thing that he needs to prove this season. because one thing with Josh Downs is he's so sudden, so quick and so explosive,

Starting point is 00:11:55 but sometimes he's a little bit too indecisive with his route running where he has to put so much shimmy into his route to create that separation that it can throw off timing where Pittman was very like go, go, go, go at all times type of player. So that could be a little bit of an issue that we're going to see in training camp. But overall, if you look at like what can Downs bring to the drag route game, what can he bring to the hitch game? I think he's more explosive. I think he's faster than anything that Michael Pittman Jr. was last year. And I think he even transitions better with the ball in his hands, where at the second that ball hits his hands as a pass catcher, the way he's able to spin back up field and create those extra yards.

Starting point is 00:12:34 I think he does that better than Pittman already. So I do think we could see improvement with a couple of those routes compared to what we saw from Pittman last season. So I think that overall, I think downs, like as long as he can get the timing right with some of those, again, in breaking routes, banging a type concept routes, those are going to be the biggest questions out of 12 personnel. I think he should be perfectly fine playing on the outside.

Starting point is 00:12:58 He's not going to face much press because he's the Z wide receiver, which is the player that's going to be off the line of scrimmage compared to Alec Pierce being that X wide receiver. So the Colts will move him around a lot in motion. They'll let him kind of avoid press coverage the best they possibly can. It's not going to be as easy to avoid press as it is in the slot, but there will be ways to kind of mitigate those concerns. So yeah, I think downs would be perfectly fine playing outside and 12 personnel.

Starting point is 00:13:23 Is he going to be this huge, like incredible upgrade? Probably not. But I think he can do a lot of what Pittman did on the outside and 12 personnel stuff. When we look at the Ashton Doolin of it all, though, I think more of like, again, those like in breaking routes, the tough routes over the middle of the field, I think dueling can come in and do a lot of that stuff. When we talk about the sniffer tight end role, right, where they would motion Michael Pittman Jr. into the backfield and either have him block or be an outlet on the

Starting point is 00:13:49 backside of play action calls. I think Doolin projects exceptionally well to those. They've already done that with Doolin in the past where he's come in and played that Michael Pittman Jr. role to a degree where he's motioned into the backfield a lot. So I think Doolin projects really well to that. I think Doolin's already a better blocker as well than what Pittman was. Pittman, like, don't get me wrong. Pittman's not a horrible blocker by any means, but Pittman was more of a highlight real

Starting point is 00:14:14 blocker, right? Well, we would put out the block on social media is because he just leveled a guy on the but a lot of his blocking came down to throwing his entire body at the player for like those highlight real moments. But there were some whiffs on occasion. There was some inconsistency on occasion when it came to him as a blocker where Doolin, I think, is more of that lunch pail guy, that guy who is constantly working at it and consistently a really good blocker.

Starting point is 00:14:38 I remember against the Arizona Cardinals last season, the Colts would motion dueling into the backfield and used him as an insert blocker like into the B gap to block linebackers or block safeties that are trying to fit against John. and Taylor on the run game because they trusted Doolin with that kind of assignment because of his special team's background, because of his background as a player in this league. So I think Doolin already projects better as a blocker. I think he can do a lot of the backfield stuff and a lot of the gadgety stuff that Pittman Jr. was doing as that Z wide receiver in motion. I think he brings a lot more juice and explosion. Now, he's not going to be as consistent as Pittman where I don't think that his overall feel for where he needs to be and exact timing is going to be at the same place that it was with Pittman.

Starting point is 00:15:18 but in terms of adding more juice on the outside and adding more explosion, adding more that gadgety feel, adding more run after catchability because Doolin we've seen in the past when he gets his opportunity to create after the catch, he does it at a very high level. You think back to that Houston week one game a couple years ago where he had that long touchdown from Anthony Richardson. You think to even last year having that big explosive play against the Raiders, big explosive play against the Chiefs, Doolin can certainly create big plays when he gets the the opportunity, whereas Pittman was more consistent on an every down basis as a receiver.

Starting point is 00:15:54 Doolin has more of that juice and explosion. So even if you bump Doolin up to like a 30% guy on offense, right, where I don't, I don't think he's going to be like a starter by any means. I think he can add a little bit more juice to that role. And then we talk about some of these other guys at the bottom of the roster, you know, Laquan Treadwell, Nick Westbrooketina. I think those guys are kind of, again, more of your lunch pail type guys. Your guys who can come in do a lot of the blocking assignments, do a lot of the hard-nosed

Starting point is 00:16:17 stuff can occasionally get some blocks. But you think of them more as like a Moe Alley Cox type player where, yeah, on occasion they can get a catch. But for the most part, they're going to do more of the dirty work for your team. And then you've got to also factor in Dionne Berks. If you can stay healthy through training camp is a guy who you can get some scheme touches to, especially in like the tunnel screen game where Pittman, I think, had like five targets on screens last year.

Starting point is 00:16:40 I had also a touch pass in the back field. You look at some of like the out routes and the flat routes that Pittman ran. I think Burks could do that at a very high level. So, yeah, I think they can recreate him a bit in the aggregate here. Mostly it's going to be Josh Downs on the outside. And when you look at the route tree distribution from Michael Pittman Jr., I mean, there's nothing here that I don't think Downs can do out of 12 personnel, right? Hitch route, drag route, slant.

Starting point is 00:17:05 We have an out route here. Like, honestly, some of these, I think he can run better than Pittman, where Pittman, you could see a little bit of stiff. I don't want to say stiffness. You could see the lack of explosion in long speed to really threaten these guys, where downs is just so sudden and so quick that I think he's going to be able to create more separation on those routes. And then if you want more of that vertical element, then you have an Ashton Doolin who can also block and you can also do gadgety stuff. So all this to kind of say,

Starting point is 00:17:31 I'm not terribly concerned about the wide receiver room. Like, yes, if you lose one of those top three guys in Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, or Tyler Warren, do any kind of significant injury, then it changes the dynamic a lot, right? Like if you lose one of those top, top three target hogs. It does make the pass catching core a lot weaker, and it makes us really question a lot of the depth in the room. But as it stands right now, I think they have great role players to compliment those top three players. You know, Ali Cox is a really good tight end, two, who can get the occasional catch. I think Ashton Doolin fits a lot of what they want as that next man up at wide receiver. You have your lunch pail guys in Treadwell and Westbrook, Kina, and then you

Starting point is 00:18:12 have your explosive young player and Dionne Berks as well. So I think all this works as long as these guys stay healthy. And that's just going to be the mantra of this Colts team this year. But I think it can all work. And I think you can even have the potential to be better than what it was for the Colts last year because by and large, I mean, look, Pittman, very good all-time player for the Colts, but 111 targets to get 700 yards last year, that's just not going to cut it in the NFL. We're getting like seven yards per target at wide receiver. And I know that part of his role was really constrained to being more of that underneath guy. But I think part of that was due to his lack of juice and lack of vertical speed.

Starting point is 00:18:51 So now when Doolin's on the field, you get a little bit more juice than vertical speed. Now when Downs on the field, instead of Pittman in those 12 personnel sets, you get a little bit more of that shiftyness and that explosion and that ability to create up to the catch. I think that there is more potential with this group, even if you might lack a little bit of the consistency that Pittman mostly brought to that outside wide receiver position. So overall, I think this is going to be a good thing for the Colts. I believe in these players, especially Josh Downs. I've been waiting for that next step from him.

Starting point is 00:19:21 And I think he's fully capable of taking it this next season. And I think Ashton Dulin is a perfectly fine wide receiver three or four to have in this league as long as he stays healthy. So I think they have a lot of the ingredients that you're looking for to be successful this year at wide receiver and replace what Michael Pittman Jr. brought them last year. It's just how can these guys step up and can they say healthy will be the biggest thing. But coming up, guys, we have one more segment to touch on on this show. And we're going to talk about just that target distribution, that target share that Pittman Jr. had last year.

Starting point is 00:19:51 111 targets, they have to go somewhere. So who do we see getting that biggest bump, the biggest bump in the offense? And how are we going to see just overall the targets really divvy out amongst this group of players that we've already talked about? But for support for today's episode. episode comes from Square. The system that helps fix one of the biggest headaches in running a business. Starting a business is exciting, but actually running it, that's where things can get complicated fast payments, inventory, staff, scheduling, online orders. It's a lot to manage. That's why Square

Starting point is 00:20:25 brings everything together into one connected system. Square helps you take payments, track sales, manage inventory, and keep your business running smoothly without juggling a bunch of disconnected tools. One thing I've noticed at some of my favorite local spots is how seamless, everything feels when they use Square. Check out is quick. Receipts are easy and the whole experience just feels much more organized. There's actually a local coffee shop near me that uses Square that makes everything super simple. So when I'm going there for my wife, not for myself, because you guys know how I feel about coffee. The fast payments to Lord of rewards are everything that you're looking for. As a customer, it's convenient. And from the business side, you can tell that it helps

Starting point is 00:21:04 owner stay focused on serving people instead of constantly troubleshooting all the problems that they have with And that's what stands out to me. Square helps businesses feel more efficient, professional, and ready to grow. So if you're starting a business or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off of Square hardware at Square.com slash go slash locked on NFL. That's Square, S-Q-U-A-R-E dot com slash go-G-O-Locked on NFL. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. Already, locked on Colts every day. So we are talking all about replacing Michael Pittman Jr. Today on this show. We talked about in the first segment how a lot of his routes last year and on his targeted routes, that is, came in the short game, right?

Starting point is 00:21:56 70% of his routes came under 10 yards, under 10 air yards, so to speak last year. He was more of their zone beater. Wasn't really a guy that was beating a lot of man or press man coverage by any means. And I think that is easy to replace, relatively easy to replace with guys like Josh Downs and Ashton Doolin and just the core wide receivers that the Colts have. But I think the big thing is really, what are you going to do with the 111 targets, right? Are they all going to go to Josh Downs now? Are they going to all go to Alex Pierce?

Starting point is 00:22:25 Or could we see them kind of divvied out across the rest of the roster? So let's talk about those 111 targets, right? Because a lot of them, again, like pace setting plays. That's what Pittman was, right? First down, first and 10, we want to get five or six yards. We'll throw this hitch route to Pittman Jr. He'll fall forward and we'll be in a second and two, second and three. that's very valuable to this type of offense.

Starting point is 00:22:45 So with those 111 yards, 111 targets, you still want to get a guy doing that for your offense. So I do think we see Josh Downs as targets get up quite a bit this year. He was at 88 last season. I think we're looking at 100 plus this year. I think we're going to get a lot of targets for Josh Downs in this offense. But most notably, obviously, like the biggest boost is going to be Alec Pierce going from 84, likely up to like 120, 130.

Starting point is 00:23:10 So how much of that like Pitman early pace setting role does he take over? Is he going to be running a lot of these hitch routes? Is he going to be running a lot of these drag routes that are going to be targeted underneath the formation? And then you get like a dueling over the top that's just going to run those, those, you know, feigning those vertical routes that Pierce did a lot last year. And do defenses respect that as much? That'll be a big question that we see this next year. So Pierce, I think, is going to get like 40 to 50 more targets this upcoming season,

Starting point is 00:23:39 going from 84, likely into the 130s. I think Downs goes from like 88 up to like 110, 120 as well. Tyler Warren was already at 112 targets last year, so I don't anticipate that jumping up too much. I think we'll see him stay pretty consistent around like 112, maybe up to like 120, 1.30, like whatever it's going to be. But 112 was a good amount of targets for a tight end. I don't expect that to climb too much.

Starting point is 00:24:05 So if we're just doing our rough math here, we're kind of upping Josh Downs. and Pierce by a good, like, 80 to 90 targets combined for those guys. So the rest, we're going to have to throw to the guys at the bottom of the roster that we've talked about. Your Ashton Dooland, your Deion, your Deion, your Westbrook-Kakinas, and then whichever running backs really factor into the passing. And I think that's going to be the mode for success here. You know, I think one way to compare this past-catching trio next season is going to be like how the Indiana fever in the WMBA are running their offense right now.

Starting point is 00:24:38 one of the best offenses in all of women's basketball, and it's running all the way through Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Alia Boston, excuse me. That's where all of their offense is coming from, those three star players. I think that's what we're going to see with Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren and Josh Downs. Almost all of their targets are going to go to those three players, and they're going to be the pivotal forces in this passing game.

Starting point is 00:25:02 It's not unrealistic to think that, especially with where the Colts are putting a lot of their stock in this passing game. and Pierce making almost $30 million per year, Tyler Warren, a top 15 pick at tight end, and Josh Downs going into a contract season with a much bigger role this next year. These guys are going to be asked to carry the passing game with Daniel Jones coming off of his Achilles injury. So, yeah, I expect a really good uptick for Josh Downs and Alec Pierce especially. And even Tyler Warren could see a little bit of an uptick from the 112 targets he had last year.

Starting point is 00:25:34 So I don't know if you're listening to this part of the podcast for Fantasy, football purposes for just Indianapolis Colts fandom. But I do expect a lot more going Josh Downs and Alec Pierce's way this next year. I mean, Alec Pierce is the easy one to guess. But I mean, Josh Downs is going to be a vital piece of this offense in 2026. Right. If you want to replace the impact that Michael Pittman Jr. lost for this team that you're losing with Michael Pittman Jr.

Starting point is 00:26:00 I think we're going to see a good bit of it for Josh Downs coming out to start this upcoming season, especially again, if he's playing that outside receiver and 12 personnel, there are going to be targets to be had four downs more than just being like that third down conversion type guy. So I think Josh Downs hits a career high in targets. I think Alec Pierce obviously hits a career high in targets. And I think Ashton Doolin also hits a career high in targets. Now, he doesn't have to hit that many to hit a career high. But I do expect him to get, you know, a healthy dose of targets. I think his career high right now is in the 20s. So it's really not that crazy. I could see his targets climbing into the 30s or 40s this year. So maybe not like a guy

Starting point is 00:26:38 who goes for like 600 yards or anything, but, you know, a steady like 300 yards receiving this season, three or 400 yards is that that fourth pass catcher. I could totally see that coming Ash and Doolin's way if he stays healthy throughout this entire offseason and season as well. So I think the Colts have their plans set for wide receiver and I'm not too concerned about wide receiver. Like if you had to ask me my concern levels with places on this roster, I would certainly say that like defensive end is a bigger concern to me. I'd even say that corner could be a bigger concern just because of my skepticism with Mooney Ward's health and Cam Taylor Brits play, I would even say corner is probably a bigger need or bigger concern for me.

Starting point is 00:27:18 I'd say running back behind Jonathan Taylor is a bigger concern for me. Heck, even maybe quarterback with Daniel Jones coming off the Achilles injury, I'm more concerned maybe about those positions than I am about wide receiver because I fully expect the big breakout from Alex Pierce to continue after getting paid all that money this offseason. I expect Tyler Warren to look better in year two. and Josh Downs, I mean, I've been hoping for the breakout for a couple years, and I think he's got all the tools to make it happen in 2026.

Starting point is 00:27:46 So I think they have what it takes to be successful at the past catcher spot this next season. It all comes down to staying healthy and these guys actually producing in their new roles. But I'm not terribly concerned about past catcher. You guys can let me know what you think in the comment section below. But Michael Pittman Jr., yes, losing him was a blow to the locker room. losing him does hurt from losing like just a guy that can operate against zone coverage and underneath the defense. I think that is a valuable piece, but it's not replacing Michael Pittman Jr.

Starting point is 00:28:17 from 2021. It's not replacing your bona fide number one wide receiver. Your number one wide receiver right now is Alec Pierce. Your number two is Tyler Warren. And then we talk about like, okay, was Pittman competing with downs for like that number three receiver spot? So you're replacing a role player essentially with Pittman Jr.'s to Partcher. And I think that, you know, giving more targets to Josh Downs, giving more targets to

Starting point is 00:28:40 a dueling, predicting Pierce to become more of a traditional wide receiver one, I think those elements will make that loss of Pittman Jr. a lot more Nolan Boyd. So let me know what you think in the comment section below. But I just wanted to make, I wanted to bring numbers to my thought process on this when it comes to Pittman Jr. where like, yes, it is a loss for the Colts, but it's not like they're losing, again, the 2021 version of him. So I think this is very feasible for the Colts to do. I think they made the right decision in prioritizing Pierce, and I think that they can be better for it in 2026

Starting point is 00:29:13 if some of these things break correctly. But thank you all for tuning in to Lockdown Colts. We're back yet again tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe and follow Lockdown Colts so you get all the latest episodes. If you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur and Affleckx 2 all on social media. If you never miss an episode,

Starting point is 00:29:29 the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get us ad free. plus members only Discord access and much more. Head of locked on colds. com to join the club. Thank you all for tuning in. And we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - REPLACEMENT: Can the Colts Replace Michael Pittman Jr. with In-House Options?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.