Colts receiving corps pegged as one of league’s most underrated

There’s been a lot of discussion this offseason about the Indianapolis Colts receiver corps. Many wonder if last year’s receiving yardage leader T.Y. Hilton can mirror what he did last year into the 2017 season. One of the larger conversations batted back and forth has also been whether or not Donte Moncrief can remain healthy and achieve the greatness that many have pegged him as having the potential to attain.

Some of the undrafted free agents brought in have garnered attention as well, adding intrigue to the competition mantra that has surrounded the organization since Chris Ballard has taken over. Trey Griffey was one, but the majority of his attention was brought due in large part to his family tree, while others, such as Bug Howard for his size and length, and JoJo Natson for his possible return ability have also earned their way into the discussion.

More recently, however, NFL media/Around the NFL writer Conor Orr has put the group in a bit of a different light. Primarily the national opinion is that the Colts’ receivers aren’t a complete unit. Hilton is limited due to his size and perceived lack of physicality, and virtually everything else about the corps is an unknown.

Orr put together a list of what he perceives to be the most underrated receiving groups in the league, and the Colts unit was third on that list behind the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers. Like most, Orr points to Hilton as steering the ship at the position, saying that he “doesn’t get enough credit for being a No 1 in this league” and also to the question of if Moncrief can stay healthy than he expects him to shine as most analysts do.

Much of what Orr jotted down – about those other than Hilton – is pretty par for the course amongst national writers. But, even for a column that is supposed to sell the group on being underrated, he stops at Moncrief and Hilton. Questions still loom around what, if anything, Phillip Dorsett will contribute to the team, as well as the Colts adding a veteran like Kamar Aiken who’s proven he’s capable of a breakout season.

I still think that the local writers and fans of the team are the only ones excited about what Chester Rogers will add to this team — the national media hasn’t caught up yet. I have him as a breakout waiting to happen this season, and have a feeling that the national media will be fawning all over themselves to get a few words in about him in the very near future.

I do agree that the Colts receivers are underrated, but I don’t believe that it’s solely about Moncrief complementing Hilton. Make no mistake, that’s a great base for the position. Rather Rogers’ and Aiken’s ability to surprise the national audience despite the increasing possibility that Dorsett may have little-to-nothing to add to the unit’s progression significantly adds to the conversation.

There’s little argument that the Colts’ receiving corps is an interesting group to watch come training camp, but the questions regarding some of the pieces of that group are valid and will continue to stir the scuttlebutt into the preseason.