Colts’ Phillip Dorsett working on his route running this offseason

Since the very moment the Indianapolis Colts drafted Phillip Dorsett in the first round in 2015, he has disappointed Colts fans.

When he was drafted, fans were upset about taking a receiver instead of defensive help, especially with Landon Collins still on the board. And so far through his first two seasons, Dorsett hasn’t really shown any reason why that disappointment was wrong or unwarranted.

He’s disappointed, but often a wide receiver needs more than just two years to truly flourish. Year three is normally a big one, and that’s where Dorsett finds himself: entering a critical year three, with a new GM and a new wide receivers coach, trying to prove he belongs and live up to his first round status.

One of the areas in particular that he’s working on this offseason: route running.

“We got a new receivers coach,” Dorsett said yesterday, speaking of Sanjay Lal. “We work on a lot of route details and I’m definitely improving in that. Coach Sanjay, he’s great at that. Great details, he’ll slow everything down and he’ll make sure everything is perfect. Working with him has definitely been a big improvement for me.”

That route running is a good thing for Dorsett to work on. So far in his NFL career, he has largely been a deep threat guy only. He’s actually been quite dangerous as a downfield option, but that’s about all he has proven dangerous in. So working with him on his route running would hopefully help him to develop into a more all-around receiver that would be able to contribute in more ways than just deep patterns.

The Colts have been very fortunate over the years to have wideouts with very strong route running. First it was Marvin Harrison and then he passed it on to Reggie Wayne, and Wayne in turn helped T.Y. Hilton turn into a pretty good route runner in his own right. It’s a very important part of playing the wide receiver position, and that’s what Sanjay Lal and the Colts seem to be focusing on with Dorsett this offseason.

Hopefully, it pays dividends on the field in 2017 in a crucial year three for Phillip Dorsett.