Heading into the 2024 season, Alec Pierce was considered an afterthought amongst the Indianapolis Colts' wide receiver group.
Pierce was coming off a less-than-stellar sophomore campaign. The former second-round pick hauled in just 32 catches for 514 yards and two touchdowns, down from his rookie season in every statistic. With the Colts taking AD Mitchell in the second round of the NFL draft this spring, it sent the message Pierce was on his last chance to produce.
Fast forward to today, and Pierce is finally realizing the potential the Colts saw in him when he was drafted. Pierce has become one of the most electrifying deep threats in the NFL this season. He already has 13 catches for a whopping 368 yards and three touchdowns. Pierce leads the NFL with a staggering 28.3 yards per catch.
So, what's the secret to Pierce's early season success?
"Just being more consistent, more confident in myself," Pierce revealed. "Just knowing I can make the plays – playing with that swagger, playing with that confidence that I've had all my life."
One of Pierce's staunchest defenders has been Colts wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne. Wayne began coaching in Pierce's rookie year, traveling to see him work out at Cincinnati before the draft. Wayne has worked with Pierce every step of the way to help him get to this point, and now the wide receiver is seeing the fruits of his labor.
"That's 'White Chocolate,'" Wayne said about Pierce. "He's starting to be the Alec that I saw in Cincinnati. And that's just getting confidence within himself, right? That's getting the quarterbacks that can throw it to him to get him down the field. We all know Alec's a deep threat, and we've got quarterbacks that can do that. And now, he's starting to let everybody know he's capable of playing in this league and being consistent."
Wayne experienced a similar situation when he entered the league. As a first-round pick out of Miami in 2001, Wayne came to the Colts with huge expectations. However, Wayne did not even become a full-time starter until his third season, causing early production to suffer.
But Wayne continued to work behind the scenes, preparing to take advantage whenever his opportunity came. When it finally did, Wayne turned it into 14,345 yards, 82 touchdowns, and what will likely be a Hall of Fame career. Wayne's experience allowed him to connect with Pierce and guide him through the tough times.
"He always told me, especially these last two years, just to stay patient, wait for the opportunity," Pierce explained. "He can relate exactly to that. So yeah, he just told me before this year, ‘I think this is going to be a big year for you.’ I think just with kind of the quarterback situation, stuff like that, it was going to play better off to my game.”
Pierce has benefitted greatly from the Colts' quarterback situation this year. His primary quarterbacks the past two seasons were Matt Ryan and Gardner Minshew, two signal-callers who did not threaten a defense downfield. Pierce's opportunities as a deep threat were impacted as a result, leaving him to be a decoy on most pass plays.
With Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco slinging the football around the field, Pierce and his big-play ability have been on full display. In the first five games, Pierce has plays of 65, 60, and 57 yards. He has earned the trust of his quarterbacks to look for him deep, regardless if he is covered or not.
"We always talk about 50-50 jump balls, but with AP, we pretty much know that's like 99-1 jump ball right there," Richardson remarked. "So, we’ve got a lot of faith in him going up and getting the ball. So, we’re just trying to put it in the right spot for him.”
But Pierce is not just a jump ball winner. At 6-3 with 4.41 speed, he can cover a lot of ground quickly. Once Pierce gets a step on a defender, it is rare to see them recover.
Pierce has shown improvement in other areas this season as well. He has begun to make more plays in the intermediate parts of the field, proving there is more to his game than just a deep threat. Pierce has also put a considerable amount of time into his route running to be a more well-rounded receiver.
"If you look around the league, some of these guys that are catching these deep balls, a lot of them are speed guys," head coach Shane Steichen mentioned. "But it does, it allows you to take the top off. But again too, even with this speed, there is that intermediate threat too of like, ‘Shoot, am I always running deep? Oh shoot, back up. Here comes 14.’ And the next thing you know, he does something else. So, it definitely helps with the speed.”
“He’s fast, he can jump, knows how to track the ball and go get the ball," Richardson stated. "So, I think that's all the tools you need to be a deep threat right there. ... God blessed him with his tools. He's using them to the best of his ability and I love that for him. He's also great at running other routes. So, I'm just glad AP is doing his thing this year.”
Pierce will look to continue doing his thing against the Tennessee Titans this weekend. The Titans have produced the top pass defense in the league through five weeks, allowing only 124.0 yards per game through the air. Pierce alone had 134 yards receiving last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Titans will pose the greatest challenge the Colts' passing attack has faced all season. Their secondary will undoubtedly keep close tabs on Pierce, doing everything they can to prevent him from beating them deep. But so far in 2024, not many defenses have been successful in accomplishing that task.
And if you ask Wayne, this is only the beginning of Pierce terrorizing defenses.
"I have all the confidence in Alec," Wayne proclaimed. "Y'all was ready to shut down on Alec. All of y'all. I was in the battlefield with him, and now everybody (wants) to buy him a cake."
Nobody is shutting down on Pierce now. We all want to see more.
