A couple of days ago, the Colts signed pending free agent tight end Jack Doyle to a multi-year deal. That raised some questions about Dwayne Allen's future, but I figured the Colts play a lot of sets with two tight ends, so maybe it's not a big deal to have two well-paid ones. Evidently it was; they traded Allen to the Patriots on Wednesday.
Considering Indianapolis' only gain from the deal was moving from the middle of the sixth round to the bottom of the fourth (let's say 45 picks or so), it's more of a salary dump than anything else. Just a year ago, after all, they picked Allen over Coby Fleener, letting Fleener depart for New Orleans. And now they're changing their minds again, picking Doyle over Allen.
Of course, the Colts have a new decision-maker in GM Chris Ballard; it was his predecessor, Ryan Grigson, who gave Allen the big contract. Grigson was fired last month.
Allen has missed time due to injury in each of the last four seasons, and didn't reach 500 receiving yards in any of them. But he caught 6 and 8 TDs in two of the last three years, so he was a noteworthy part of the offense.
Doyle, with 59 catches for 584 yards last year -- more than Allen had put up in any of his seasons -- seems to be the better player. But it's a little easier to question Indianapolis' personnel moves than New England's, which evidently targeted Allen as a viable replacement for Martellus Bennett, likely to sign elsewhere in the next day or two, and a sound insurance policy behind oft-injured Rob Gronkowski.
I'm definitely intrigued by Doyle. The Colts threw 12 TDs to their tight ends a year ago, 2nd in the league, and Doyle is now the clear No. 1 at the position. But I'll be interested in Allen in New England. They've got a pretty good track record of getting production out of the position.
The table below shows team passing touchdowns a year ago, sorted by tight end touchdowns. Only San Diego was better than the Colts and Patriots.
| 2016 PASSING TDS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | Total | TE |
| San Diego | 33 | 15 |
| Indianapolis | 32 | 12 |
| New England | 32 | 11 |
| Tampa Bay | 29 | 11 |
| Atlanta | 38 | 10 |
| Tennessee | 29 | 10 |
| Washington | 25 | 8 |
| Seattle | 23 | 7 |
| Minnesota | 20 | 7 |
| San Francisco | 21 | 7 |
| Houston | 15 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh | 33 | 6 |
| Miami | 27 | 6 |
| Cincinnati | 18 | 6 |
| Jacksonville | 24 | 6 |
| Oakland | 29 | 5 |
| Kansas City | 19 | 5 |
| Philadelphia | 16 | 5 |
| Baltimore | 20 | 5 |
| Chicago | 19 | 5 |
| Cleveland | 15 | 5 |
| New Orleans | 38 | 4 |
| Dallas | 25 | 4 |
| Buffalo | 17 | 4 |
| Carolina | 21 | 4 |
| Green Bay | 40 | 3 |
| Arizona | 28 | 3 |
| NY Giants | 26 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | 14 | 3 |
| Denver | 20 | 2 |
| Detroit | 24 | 1 |
| NY Jets | 16 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson