Each season there are high powered offenses that do not produce any WRs relevant for fantasy football. The 2020 Indianapolis Colts were one of those teams. They were 11th in the league in passing yards with 4,053; yet the Colts did not produce a top-36 WR. The highest scoring WR on the team was T.Y. Hilton who finished as the WR40 on the season in Half-PPR.
Part of the reason there weren’t great fantasy football options in the passing game, was that Rivers spread the ball a lot. There were 11 different players that had at least 10 receptions in a game. This offseason, the Colts did not make any major changes to their pass-catchers, and brought back seven of the top eight targets from the 2020 season.
The Colts did bring in a potential upgrade at the QB position – Carson Wentz. Wentz has constantly struggled with injuries. This includes a foot injury that’s already caused him to miss part of this preseason already. If Wentz can stay healthy, maybe he can duplicate that near-MVP level of play under Frank Reich that we’ve seen before.
With so many of the WRs returning to the team, and several new faces, it can be difficult to figure out who you should roster in fantasy football. But with the potential for an improved offense, this could be a team that we want the WR1 on. The rest of this article is going identify the potential top WRs on the Colts.
Michael Pittman Jr.
The Colts selected Michael Pittman with the 34th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he did not live up to his draft capital in year one. He only caught 40 of his 61 targets for 503 yards and one touchdown. His targets and receptions were good for 4th on the team.
Now with a significant injury to T.Y. Hilton, Pittman should expect to see more targets. As a Senior at USC, Pittman showed that he was capable of being a WR1 on a team with other NFL talent. In his Senior season Pittman had 101 receptions for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns.
I am not sure Pittman will get to those numbers as a pro, but I expect him to take a big step forward in 2021. Pittman is someone I’ve targeted in the middle of fantasy football drafts this year – and would consider trading for prior to week 1.
Parris Campbell
Parris Campbell, the super athletic and productive WR out of Ohio State has gotten off to a slow start in the NFL. He missed the majority of the year in his first two seasons due to injury.
In his limited time on the field, Campbell has been a decent option for the Colts. He has caught 24 of 33 targets for 198 yards and one touchdown. Campbell is projected to be the teams WR2 for at least the first three weeks (until Hilton returns from injury). Campbell is another player that was worthy of a late round draft pick. I am a little less confident in him, so I am not going to actively target him in trades until we see him on the field.
Zach Pascal
Even though Zach Pascal has always been deep on the depth chart, he has had multiple fantasy-relevant weeks. In two of the last three games of the 2020 season, Pascal had at least 50 receiving yards and a touchdown. In each of his three seasons in the NFL, Pascal has been able to improve in most receiving metrics.
Pascal could be heavily involved early in the season. If he is on the waiver wire in your league, he is a guy you need to be watching in Weeks 1-2. If you have an extra roster spot he is someone that could be worth grabbing considering Campbell and Hilton’s injury history.
T.Y. Hilton
Entering his 10th NFL season, there were reasons to be optimistic about T.Y. Hilton in 2021. It appeared that Hilton and Wentz were developing pretty decent chemistry. It is clear that the Colts still planned on keeping Hilton involved in the passing game.
However, just two weeks before the first game, Hilton suffered a fairly significant neck injury. This injury landed Hilton on the IR and he will miss at least the first 3 weeks of the season. If you have an IR spot and you already drafted Hilton, you should stash him there. If he is able to come back healthy later in the year he could offer starter weeks in leagues with 3WR or multiple flex options.
Mike Strachan
If you play in deep league, Mike Strachan is a name you need to be familiar with. The big-bodied WR has been looking very good throughout camp. He has also been one of the most productive WRs on the Colts during the preseason. At this point, Strachan is buried on the depth chart. But with another injury, he could be on the field in 3WR sets.
Mike Strachan goes WAY up there.
📺FOX/NFLN pic.twitter.com/TlLToaOA4r
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 15, 2021
Conclusion
The Colts have very talented WR room this season. But there are really only two that I want to have on my fantasy football rosters at this point. Michael Pittman and Parris Campbell should get enough consistent work to be rostered. Pittman should offer fantasy football managers weekly starter numbers, especially without Hilton on the field early in the season.
As the Colts WR2, Campbell will have fantasy starter week, but his usage will be harder to predict. Pascal needs to be watched in the first couple weeks to see if he sustains enough work to be rostered. If you have an IR spot Hilton is worth the stash. We will likely hear soon whether he will miss just three weeks or more time.
