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Over the years there have been plenty of doubters of Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton, suggesting that he’s not a true number one wide receiver for various reasons. But through it all, he’s let his play do the talking, and it’s been pretty convincing.
With another impressive performance on Monday in which he caught nine passes for 146 yards, Hilton now has 69 receptions for 1,088 yards and five touchdowns this season. He’s tied for ninth in the league in catches and second in the league in yards. Those are really impressive numbers for the receiver who’s having a career year, and to put things in perspective a bit more, it’s the fourth straight 1,000-yard season for Hilton. That makes him just one of three Colts to ever have four 1,000 yard receiving seasons in a career (joining Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne), and it also puts him in pretty exclusive territory in today’s league. According to NFL Research, only two players in the league have had 1,000+ yards receiving in each of the past four seasons: Antonio Brown and T.Y. Hilton. That’s pretty crazy and elite territory.
But Hilton also has done something that no Colt has ever done, as his 100-yard performance on Monday was his 22nd career 100+ yard game of his career. That broke a tie with Marvin Harrison for the most such games through a player’s first five seasons in team history - meaning that T.Y. Hilton has more 100 yard receiving games through his first five seasons than any Colt ever has, which is saying a lot for a franchise that has boasted the likes of Raymond Berry, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne. Hilton also passed Anquan Boldin and Calvin Johnson to move into ninth place in NFL history in the category. By comparison, Randy Moss has the most 100-yard games through his first five seasons with 30.
Hilton has been a very good player for the Colts for several years, and this year he’s taken it to another level. He’s been terrific this season and he was terrific on Monday night, helping lead the Colts to a blowout win. The Colts are 6-0 in games in which Hilton goes for at least 80 receiving yards this year, so he’s clearly been an important part of their success. And while people will continue to doubt him, this year he’s gone about convincingly answering doubts with his play by having a very good career year.