Not much went right for Indianapolis on Thursday night. A month into the season, it’s clear that Matt Ryan is well past his pull date – he can’t play anymore. But the Colts have to be feeling good about wide receiver Alec Pierce.
The Colts selected Pierce in the second round, and after the last three games, he’s looking pretty firm as a keeper. Not that he’ll necessarily ever develop into one of the game’s top dozen receivers (there are a ton of good ones) but a guy who’ll be a starter for years.
Pierce came up with 8 catches for 81 yards on Thursday night. On one deflected, fluttering ball, Damarri Mathis was positioned for an interception, but Pierce was able to reach over him and take it away (see picture).
Pierce is a ball winner. He’s big (6-3, 213), and with good hands and concentration. He came down with another notable contested throw in the Kansas City game. And they’ve been starting to get him downfield. He had 44- and 25-yard catches against the Titans and a 30-yard play against KC.
To me, Pierce looks very entrenched as the second-most productive pass catcher for Indianapolis. I don’t think he’ll be as productive as Michael Pittman, but he might be in some games (with Pittman tending to get more attention from defenses). And Pierce looks a lot better than Parris Campbell. (Both Pittman and Campbell, by the way, were also selected with second-round picks.)
To me, Pierce makes a lot of sense in a dynasty league. I think he’s going to be a starter for a bunch of years. In terms of rookie receivers, there’s the first rounders, along with a pair of Packers and George Pickens. I think Pierce belongs in that group, with a decent chance of having a better career than some of those guys.
My top 80 dynasty receivers appear below. This is assuming PPR scoring, and I’m think of a 12-team league, with each team starting about three each week, with another 4-5 on rosters.
Rookies are tagged with black dots.
DYNASTY LEAGUE WIDE RECEIVERS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Tm | Player | Age |
1. | MIN | Justin Jefferson | 23.3 |
2. | CIN | JaMarr Chase | 22.6 |
3. | LAR | Cooper Kupp | 29.3 |
4. | BUF | Stefon Diggs | 28.9 |
5. | SF | Deebo Samuel | 26.7 |
6. | CIN | Tee Higgins | 23.7 |
7. | DAL | CeeDee Lamb | 23.5 |
8. | PHI | A.J. Brown | 25.3 |
9. | MIA | Tyreek Hill | 28.6 |
10. | SEA | DK Metcalf | 24.8 |
11. | MIA | Jaylen Waddle | 23.9 |
12. | LV | Davante Adams | 29.8 |
13. | IND | Michael Pittman | 25.0 |
14. | TB | Mike Evans | 29.2 |
15. | PIT | Diontae Johnson | 26.3 |
16. | TB | Chris Godwin | 26.6 |
17. | DEN | Courtland Sutton | 27.0 |
18. | JAC | Christian Kirk | 25.9 |
19. | DET | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 23.0 |
20. | LAC | Mike Williams | 28.0 |
21. | NO | • Chris Olave | 22.3 |
22. | CAR | DJ Moore | 25.5 |
23. | ATL | • Drake London | 21.2 |
24. | WAS | Terry McLaurin | 27.1 |
25. | BUF | Gabe Davis | 23.6 |
26. | BAL | Rashod Bateman | 22.9 |
27. | HOU | Brandin Cooks | 29.1 |
28. | PIT | • George Pickens | 21.6 |
29. | DEN | Jerry Jeudy | 23.5 |
30. | PHI | DeVonta Smith | 23.9 |
31. | WAS | • Jahan Dotson | 22.6 |
32. | CHI | Darnell Mooney | 25.0 |
33. | CLE | Amari Cooper | 28.3 |
34. | SF | Brandon Aiyuk | 24.6 |
35. | ARI | DeAndre Hopkins | 30.4 |
36. | LAC | Keenan Allen | 30.5 |
37. | NYJ | • Garrett Wilson | 22.2 |
38. | DET | • Jameson Williams | 21.6 |
39. | GB | • Christian Watson | 23.4 |
40. | ARI | Marquise Brown | 25.4 |
41. | GB | • Romeo Doubs | 22.5 |
42. | SEA | Tyler Lockett | 30.0 |
43. | TEN | • Treylon Burks | 22.6 |
44. | IND | • Alec Pierce | 22.4 |
45. | DAL | Michael Gallup | 26.6 |
46. | NO | Michael Thomas | 29.6 |
47. | LV | Hunter Renfrow | 26.8 |
48. | KC | JuJu Smith-Schuster | 25.9 |
49. | GB | Allen Lazard | 26.8 |
50. | NYJ | Elijah Moore | 22.5 |
51. | WAS | Curtis Samuel | 26.2 |
52. | BUF | Isaiah McKenzie | 27.5 |
53. | ATL | Calvin Ridley (susp.) | 27.8 |
54. | KC | • Skyy Moore | 22.1 |
55. | PIT | Chase Claypool | 24.3 |
56. | MIN | Adam Thielen | 32.2 |
57. | BAL | Devin Duvernay | 25.1 |
58. | NE | Jakobi Meyers | 25.9 |
59. | TEN | Robert Woods | 30.5 |
60. | CLE | • David Bell | 21.8 |
61. | LAC | Josh Palmer | 23.1 |
62. | HOU | Nico Collins | 23.6 |
63. | KC | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 28.0 |
64. | CIN | Tyler Boyd | 27.9 |
65. | NYG | • Wan'Dale Robinson | 21.8 |
66. | JAC | Zay Jones | 27.5 |
67. | NYJ | Corey Davis | 27.8 |
68. | NYG | Kadarius Toney | 23.7 |
69. | BUF | • Khalil Shakir | 22.7 |
70. | DET | Josh Reynolds | 27.7 |
71. | LAR | Van Jefferson | 26.2 |
72. | MIN | K.J. Osborn | 25.3 |
73. | DET | DJ Chark | 26.1 |
74. | NE | • Tyquan Thornton | 22.2 |
75. | NE | Nelson Agholor | 29.4 |
76. | CLE | Donovan Peoples-Jones | 23.6 |
77. | ARI | Rondale Moore | 22.3 |
78. | LV | Mack Hollins | 29.1 |
79. | DEN | KJ Hamler | 23.3 |
80. | CHI | • Velus Jones | 25.4 |
I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday, rotating between the four notable positions. To see previous versions, use the “past issues” navigation box.
Last week: Tight ends.
Next week: Quarterbacks.
—Ian Allan