Source: Dylan Buell / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – It’s a stat that makes you do a double take.
No NFL wide receiver played more offensive snaps last season than Alec Pierce.
Yet, 84 different wideouts caught more passes than Pierce last year.
In playing 1,090 offensive snaps last season (99 more than any other Colts skill player), Pierce caught just 32 balls.
That breaks down to less than 2 catches per game, just 1 grab for every 34 snaps he played.
Now, undoubtedly, there’s some context around Pierce’s lack of NFL production through his first two NFL seasons (Pierce caught 41 passes in 16 games as a rookie).
The most obviously is that the quarterback play for Pierce has been less than ideal for accentuating his strength as a deep ball target.
Pierce has shown he can make some plays vertically, catching 5 balls of at least 30 yards in his two NFL seasons, but the underneath part of his game has been lacking.
Even while acknowledging the average to subpar quarterback play for Pierce, he knows that improvements are needed from him in rounding out his route tree.
“I want to show more versatility,” the former 2nd round pick says. “I want to be able to do more things in getting open on different types of routes.”
In trying to do that, Pierce has added some weight (Pierce was listed at 211 pounds last season), around 5 to 10 pounds, this offseason.
The plan to put on the additional weight for the 6-3 Pierce was something that came from the Colts higherups, including position coach Reggie Wayne.
“I talked with Reggie, the front office, they just said they wanted me to work on my play strength a little bit, so obviously that’ll going to help with upper body strength,” Pierce says.
“Hitting the weights harder and nutrition is another big thing, too.”
The hope is by doing that Pierce will be able to create more separation in the intermediate to shorter passing game, showing he can be an attractive target there, outside of his main attribute of getting open further down the field, thanks to his 4.3 40-yard dash speed.
Exiting Pierce’s career at the University of Cincinnati, those same questions have now remained through his first two NFL seasons.
At the NFL level, Pierce has shown he can be a vertical threat, which is what should play into the strengths of Anthony Richardson’s big right arm.
But to be a consistent and reliable receiving threat, Pierce knows his game has to offer more for his quarterback.
Rookie AD Mitchell has arrived and impressed in the spring.
Pierce’s stranglehold on that other outside wideout opposite Michael Pittman Jr. is no longer here.
Does Pierce still view himself as that guy?
“I think it’s my job to go in and prove that,” Pierce, who is entering Year 3 of his 4-year rookie deal, says. “I just have to let my work on the field speak for itself.
“I think there’s a lot more to my game. I just want to have the chance to showcase that and I’m just working every day in practice to earn those reps.”
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Will Anthony Richardson Unlock Alec Pierce? was originally published on 1075thefan.com
