Colts’ Justin Walley getting adjusted to NFL game
Indianapolis Colts cornerback Justin Walley discusses getting adjusted to the NFL.
Alec Pierce is headed into the final year of his rookie contract, and is coming off a breakout season as a deep threat.
WESTFIELD — Alec Pierce put together a breakout season in 2024, fully realizing his potential as one of the NFL’s best deep threats.
Pierce played well enough to put himself in line for a potential contract extension with the Indianapolis Colts. The 2022 second-rounder is headed into the fourth and final season of his rookie deal, the first year a player is eligible to sign a contract extension.
But it sounds like Pierce expects to wait until the end of the 2025 season to cash in his potential, although his agents and the Colts have talked about an extension multiple times this offseason.
“I haven’t even thought about it too much in terms of myself,” Pierce said. “My agents might have talked with them a while back, but I feel like on that front, it’s going to be play the season out, kind of see where things go.”
Pierce, the ultimate team player, has been far more focused on his play through the first four days of training camp.
He’s always been able to get deep. Pierce caught 37 passes for 824 yards and seven touchdowns last season, becoming the first wide receiver to average more than 22 yards on at least 37 catches since DeSean Jackson in 2010.
“Alec’s doing what I think he’s always done,” wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “He’s very consistent, he’s very fast. He’s the best deep ball threat in the NFL.”
Which makes the first week of this training camp even more interesting.
Pierce has been the team’s most consistent wide receiver through the first four days, and he’s been making catches even though he hasn’t been given a good opportunity on a deep throw by either quarterback yet.
For example, on a bad Saturday night for the passing offense, Pierce caught two touchdowns, hauling in a hard crossing route from Anthony Richardson for a score during one period, then running away from two defenders to catch a touchdown from Daniel Jones on another.
“Man, I’ll tell you what, he just keeps making strides,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “He’s an explosive player that’s got a ton of ability.”
Pierce has been hard at work in training camp.
During special teams periods, Pierce has often been locked in conversation with Colts receivers coach Reggie Wayne, diving into the minute details of route running. Sometimes Pierce is talking about a play he just made; sometimes it’s about a play coming up in the practice. Wayne, a legendary Colts receiver, has been giving Pierce the deep tricks of the trade, a graduate level course in the art of getting open.
“We’ve kind of been getting into more of the fine details of route running,” Pierce said. “I think it’s that time for me, being Year 4. I know the play, I know where to line up, I kind of know stuff, so I have a lot more opportunity to get into the fine details.”
Pierce says he’s not thinking about his contract. Or about his personal goals at all, really. A lot of players set detailed personal goals for each season; DeForest Buckner, in particular, said at the opening of training camp that he believes the two goals go hand-in-hand. If Buckner is playing well, the three-time Pro Bowler reasons, he’s helping the Colts win.
Pierce has a different take.
“I usually don’t,” Pierce said. “I’m team-first. I want to win the division, I want to get to the playoffs.”
Pierce’s take on individual goals likely got him to this point.
For better and for worse, his numbers are heavily dependent on the quarterback. Pierce caught 73 passes for 1,107 yards and four touchdowns over his first two seasons, but he also spent most of his time playing for quarterbacks who were unwilling or unlikely to push the ball down the field. He spent a lot of time getting open deep, only for the ball to get checked down to a closer target.
Now that he’s fully established himself as one of the NFL’s best deep threats, Pierce wants to develop the parts of his game that will allow him to make an impact even when teams are taking away the deep ball. All of Pierce’s catches in training camp so far have been on short to intermediate routes, beating a secondary that has racked up pass breakups against the passing offense so far.
“It’s great getting different looks from the defense this year,” Pierce said. “A lot more man coverage, kind of gives you a lot of opportunities to work. Basically every play is a one-on-one opportunity, so you really get to work on your route-running, your craft.”
And every time he gets a chance, he heads to Wayne to get an expert’s opinion.
Pierce is a man on a mission.
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