Wide receiver depth was a topic of conversation when Colts head coach Frank Reich spoke to the media earlier this week and it came up again when General Manager Chris Ballard held his own press conference on Friday.
Ballard said “everybody’s scared of the unknown” when it comes to the outside perception of a group that is lacking proven performers behind Michael Pittman Jr., but argued that the team has younger players ready to “ascend” in 2022. Whatever Ballard’s feelings on that front, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be putting all his eggs in that basket.
Drafting a wideout is on the table and so is bringing back the opposite of the unknown. T.Y. Hilton remains a free agent and Ballard made it sound like a return for an 11th season remains on the table. Ballard said he spoke to Hilton this week and expects to have more conversations in the near future.
“We’ll still have some talks with T.Y. . . . I think he can still play, he can still play productive football,” Ballard said.
Ballard responded “we’ll see” to a question about whether any further developments with Hilton would wait until after the draft. Given the overall makeup of the receiver group and Hilton’s age, it would seem unlikely that bringing him back would preclude a draft addition next week.
Chris Ballard: We will still have some talks with T.Y. Hilton originally appeared on Pro Football Talk