Five Underneath/Slot Receivers That The Colts Could Target in Free Agency

The Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for arguably the most important offseason of the Chris Ballard tenure. After a disappointing 2021 season, and with major questions still at the quarterback position, this front office needs a home run offseason to get back on track.

The first order of business in the offseason is free agency. Ballard mostly sat out of this phase in 2021, as he only signed four players that would make the opening day roster (Isaac Rochell, Eric Fisher, Antwaun Woods, and Julie'n Davenport). Of those four signings, only Fisher saw real action as a starter for a majority of the season.

While this is an offseason that will, hopefully, change Ballard's mindset a little bit when it comes to free agency, I highly doubt that he starts dealing out massive contracts to top free agents. In his five years with the Colts, Ballard has only signed one outside free agent to a contract worth more than 10 million dollars a year (Justin Houston in 2019).

With all that in mind, this new series for the site will try to identify some potential fits for the Colts in free agency without just listing all the 15+ million dollar a year players that Ballard will never look at.

Yesterday, I looked at five deep threat receivers that could fit this Colts team. Today, I dive into some underneath players/route runners that could fit in this offense:

Christian Kirk | Arizona Cardinals

The biggest name target on this list of receivers is Arizona Cardinals' wideout Christian Kirk. Kirk has been a steady contributor for a stout offense over the past few seasons, and he enjoyed an impressive breakout campaign in 2021.

He finished this past season with 1,035 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 83 receptions. According to Next Gen Stats, he created an average of 3.3 yards of separation despite being targeted at an average depth of 11.4 yards down the field.

By adding Kirk, the Colts would have another steady option alongside Michael Pittman Jr that simply understands how to get open. The Colts haven't had two reliable receivers in this offense, arguably, since Reggie Wayne and T.Y Hilton back in 2012.

While Kirk would be a bit more pricey than Ballard's typical free agent target, PFF has him at a 11.67 million per year projection, but he would be a great fit in Frank Reich's offense.

Jamison Crowder | New York Jets

If the Colts want to go a little bit cheaper and look at more of a slot option, veteran Jamison Crowder could be an excellent pickup. Crowder has never been a huge producer in the passing game in his career, but he has built up a reputation as one of the better slots in the league.

He created an average of 3.4 yards of separation per route this past season, which was in the upper half among all receivers. He is a savvy route runner that has managed to produce over 50 receptions a season with some truly awful Jets' teams the last three years.

Crowder wouldn't be a splashy move by any means, but he would be a massive improvement to the Colts' wide receiver room. The slot receiver position would finally have a consistent producer if the Colts decide to pursue Crowder.

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Zay Jones | Las Vegas Raiders

One of the biggest breakout players of the 2021 season was Zay Jones. A former second rounder that was written off as a bust after a short stint with the Buffalo Bills, Jones seemingly turned it all around with the Raiders this past season.

He finished the year with 607 yards receiving on 52 receptions as the third option in the offense. He created an average of 3.3 yards of separation per route run this past year, and he did that on a whopping 13.9 air yards per target.

Jones just screams Ballard type of receiver. He is a bigger bodied player that is a reliable player underneath and does all the little things for the team. While he will certainly have a market come free agency, I do think this could be an interesting mid-level move that the Colts need to make.

Byron Pringle | Kansas City Chiefs

On the lower end of the free agent totem pole, Byron Pringle is a super interesting name from the Chiefs. He has traditionally been a depth player in his career, but he exploded for 650 yards receiving and eight touchdowns in the Chiefs' elite offense in 2021.

While playing alongside Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce certainly helped him, Pringle was second in the NFL in created yards of separation per route run with 4.1 this past season. He was the only player in the NFL over 4.0 yards in this separation category to have an average depth of target past 10 yards.

Pringle may not be a number one receiver in this league, or even a number two, but he is a talented route runner that is still improving. He also adds a ton of value to special teams, which could be another major selling point on his game in free agency.

Kalif Raymond | Detroit Lions

The last player on this list is an underrated player from one of the worst teams in football. While being a special teamer for most of his career, Kalif Raymond enjoyed a nice little breakout in 2021 with the Lions.

He finished the season with 576 yards receiving on 48 catches this past year. He created an average of 3.7 yards of separation per route run, which was good for Top 12 in the league this past year.

Raymond is obviously just a role player in the NFL, but he did put some good things on film a year ago. He could be a sneaky signing for a team that is trying to improve the overall depth of their receiver room for 2022.

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