Why Phillip Dorsett Needs to Justify the Colts’ Draft Investment Quickly in 2016

There was an immediate question when the Indianapolis Colts drafted wide receiver Phillip Dorsett with their 29th overall pick in 2015: Why?

That wasn’t a statement on Dorsett himself, who is a turf-scorcher and has the potential to jell seamlessly with quarterback Andrew Luck’s deep arm. But the Colts already had a receiver who met that description. His name is T.Y. Hilton, and he’s recorded two straight 1,100-plus yard receiving seasons while basically being a Dorsett clone.

Oh, and just a few months after Dorsett was drafted the Colts signed Hilton to a five-year contract extension worth $65 million, and $39 million of that is guaranteed.

The redundancy of having two nearly identical receivers in the same huddle hasn’t changed one year later. But some of the core players surrounding Hilton and Dorsett in that huddle were left without chairs when the offseason music stopped.

Suddenly, a surplus of speed isn’t such a bad thing at all. But whether Dorsett can separate and make himself useful next to Hilton depends on how much he evolves as a receiver in his second season.

The Colts are doing more than hoping he clears any second-year development hurdles to become a dynamic threat and a presence both underneath and deep. They need that from him badly, because a shift in personnel and scheme means that suddenly Dorsett is being trusted to emerge fast, even though he’s played just 11 games.

It’s not overstating anything to think Dorsett needs to be a central figure if the Colts are to win their division again and return to the playoffs. He has no choice, and neither does his offense.

The departure of tight end Coby Fleener, who signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints, has led to a philosophical shift. Gone are those sometimes stubborn Pep Hamilton days when dual tight ends were leaned on heavily. Instead, current offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will often trot out three wide receivers in 2016.

Immediately when training camp opened back in late July that shift became “unmistakably clear,” as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star noted. The move was a no-brainer, really, because any offensive coordinator who wishes to remain an offensive coordinator gets his best playmakers the ball as often as possible.

With Fleener gone the passing offense is now powered by three wideouts. That means Dorsett is about to get the most significant bump in playing time, going from being on the field for 28.4 percent of Indy’s offensive snaps when healthy, according to Pro Football Focus, to, well, a number much larger than that.

Exactly how high his snap percentage rises will be a barometer for the amount of aerial bombardment Chudzinski feels like dishing out. But assuming a swift upward spike is coming feels safe, especially when we consider how many Colts targets and receptions from 2015 were lost this offseason beyond Fleener’s exit.

The most …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com