WESTFIELD, Ind. – Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Alec Pierce huddle together, kneeling on the sideline at the football field at Grand Park. The on-field drill is for special teams, so the three wide receivers use the few minutes they have to catch their breath and get a drink of water before getting back to work.
Reggie Wayne strides over, kneeling with his top three receivers to complete the circle. As he begins to talk, all three sets of eyes and ears focus on him. Water bottles are taken and handed back without looking and cameras are ignored. The only thing that matters is what their coach is telling them.
It’s too loud to know what Wayne is saying; music blaring from the speakers, whistles blowing on the field and fans chattering in the stands combine for your typical training camp noise. But Wayne’s face is serious, and he’s speaking with purpose.
Because even though Pittman, Downs and Pierce have established themselves as the starting wide receivers for the Colts, Wayne doesn’t accept any kind of complacency from any of his players – he expects competition, all day, every day.
“The state of the room is, nobody’s safe,” Wayne explained with a smile. “That’s how I like to keep it. It’s always, when you come here in training camp, I’m gonna treat you like a rookie. We’re in a performance-based business, we need you to perform…I never want them to get comfortable.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s Pittman, entering his sixth season in the NFL, or Adonai Mitchell, in his sophomore season, or Anthony Gould, who played primarily on special teams his rookie season but is making the most out of his training camp reps. Every wide receiver Wayne coaches is equal and is held to the same standard of excellence.
“We won’t allow it,” Wayne said about players getting comfortable. “Not just myself, the room. We all try to hold each other accountable. I want a nice, healthy competition every single day, especially training camp, right?”
There’s not a competition like there was in 2024, when Pierce and Mitchell were battling for a starting spot, but make no mistake – everyone in the room is still fighting for something. For Pierce, it’s living up to the standard he set for himself last year, when he had a breakout sophomore season and led the NFL in yards per catch. For Downs, it’s staying fully healthy and playing at 100 percent so he can keep being the kind of player who set the franchise record for most receptions in his rookie year (68).