What's the Colts' Biggest Hole, According to Analytics?

The Indianapolis Colts underwent a facelift on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, but don't discount the changes made on offense.

The most significant difference in the Colts' offense heading into 2026 is the absence of wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was traded in March to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a second-round pick by the Colts in 2020 and became their top receiver by year two.

After signing a massive new contract, Alec Pierce now takes the reins as the primary target in the Colts' receiver room. While he has led the NFL in yards per reception each of the last two years, Pierce has never been higher than third on the team in targets in a given season.

While the Colts lost Pittman and elevated Pierce, they did very little else to the position, adding free agent Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a veteran minimum deal.

This approach led analytics expert Aaron Schatz of ESPN to identify wide receiver as the Colts' most significant remaining need following the recent 2026 NFL Draft.

"The Colts handed Alec Pierce a huge new contract but forgot to get a good receiver to play across from him," Schatz wrote. "The second outside receiver penciled in is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who had just 11 receptions for 89 yards last season in Miami. His career numbers are juiced by nine touchdowns in 2024, but Westbrook-Ikhine has never topped 500 yards in a season. Behind him are veteran Ashton Dulin, who has seven catches over the past two seasons, and third-year receiver Anthony Gould, who has three career catches.

"Seventh-rounder Deion Burks could play a role. Obviously, tight end Tyler Warren plays a huge part in the Colts' passing game, and Josh Downs is strong in the slot, but it's still a good idea to upgrade at wide receiver."

The Colts are taking a leap of faith at the receiver position in 2026. A leap of faith that Pierce, slot receiver Josh Downs, and second-year tight end Tyler Warren will have a sort of "rising tide raises all boats" type of impact on the passing game.

The trio accounted for 284 of the Colts' 530 pass targets (53.6%) in 2025, so they're used to carrying the load, but Pittman averaged 118.2 targets per season, so there is a void to be filled by one or multiple players.

When the Colts are in 12-personnel (two receivers), Pierce and Downs are likely to be the two receivers, both lining up outside. However, when the Colts operate out of 11-personnel (three receivers), Downs will likely kick inside to his most natural position of slot, with Pierce as the X receiver, leaving an opening at the Z spot.

Ashton Dulin, 29, is most likely to receive the first shot at being the Colts' third receiver. At 6'2", 215, he already has the size. Plus, he has the speed and physicality to get open. However, he's been a minimal role player on offense throughout his career, with just 40 career receptions in 82 games.

Westbrook-Ikhine, 29, built a solid career with the Tennessee Titans before moving on to the Miami Dolphins, where the spark quickly fizzled in an anemic passing game. Westbrook-Ikhine had 126 catches for 1,773 yards (14.1 avg.) and 19 touchdowns in five years in Tennessee before flopping to just 11 catches for 89 yards in 2025 in his lone season with the Dolphins. He already has plenty of experience doing what the Colts will be asking.

Laquon Treadwell, 30, might factor into the rotation minimally, but he did make his presence felt with a special teams breakout last year. That could keep him on the roster, where he'll get some occasional looks on offense. He has 111 career catches for 1,242 yards (11.2 avg.) and five touchdowns over a decade in the NFL.

Deion Burks (23) vs. Anthony Gould (25) are two young players who could be battling for one spot on the roster. They're both undersized receivers with Slot-Z flexibility, who will compete to be return specialists. Burks is a rookie, and Gould is entering his third year, having made just three career catches in 19 games.