NFL Power Rankings: Projecting the best receiver groups in the league

29. Indianapolis Colts
Top 3: Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs

Another rookie quarterback and another terrible crop of wide receivers. The only difference the Indianapolis Colts have that the Panthers and Texans don't is they have a superstar running back. However, Jonathan Taylor is out for at least four weeks and he's fighting for a new contract. Still, having Taylor eventually in the backfield helps take pressure off Anthony Richardson and what is left of this wide-receiving core.

Everything falls on the shoulders of Michael Pittman. There was talk he was going to jump into the upper echelon of wide receiver last season. That didn't happen. In fact, the opposite happened. Despite catching 99 balls, he failed to break 1,000 yards receiving. He averaged 9.3 yards per reception, and his longest catch of the season was for a paltry 28 yards. He had 99 catches, and the longest was 28 yards? This feels like a poor man's Wes Welker.

The rest of the wide receiver room is paltry at best. Alec Pierce was a decent deeper threat, with 14.5 yards per reception, but he was inconsistent and frustrating. Despite his yards per reception, Pierce only had two touchdowns. They also have Josh Downs, a high-upside rookie out of North Carolina. He could be decent, but not many third-round picks make a huge impact in year one.

This comes down to Pittman. If he can bounce back with an exciting QB under center and not the corpse of Matt Ryan, then the Colts might actually surprise some analysts. For now, this is one of the worst corps in the league.