Let's talk about Alec Pierce's other catch in Week 1.
Not his 60-yard touchdown or his 57-yard go-up-and-get-it grab downfield, which accounted for two of his three receptions and 117 of his 125 yards. This is about the third catch he made against the Texans, which wide receiver coach Reggie Wayne said "was probably harder than the other two."
The other catch came on a second-and-10 at the Texans' 29-yard line with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter. Out of a tight formation, Pierce ran a drag route from the right to left, working into space between Texans linebackers Henry To'o To'o and Azeez Al-Shaair.
Richardson was under some pressure and threw a dart high and away from Pierce, who was about to sit down on a hashmark in the space between those two linebackers. The pass led Pierce a bit to his right, and he extended his arms to catch it, then quickly turned upfield for an eight-yard gain.
"He got under a little bit of pressure and got it out of his hands a lot quicker than we had probably anticipated," Pierce said. "So as soon as I turned my head to look for the ball, it was already on the way. I was able to use my length there to pluck it out of the air."
After the catch, Richardson tapped Pierce, telling him with awareness that pass came in hot: "Hey, appreciate you catching that ball."
And it showed that Richardson (not that he didn't before) can trust Pierce on more than just deep throws.
"That could've easily went through his hands," Wayne said. "Those are the catches that I like. The post route was good, the other one where he had to out-jump the guy, that was great. But it's the other little catches like that I'll be like, that's the one that was difficult. I expect you to make the other ones, but that one right there, that was kind of tough."
Was it Pierce's most notable play of Week 1? Hardly. But it underscored a focus for Pierce in 2024: To be consistent on more than just deep passes and 50/50 balls. He didn't want his good days to only come when he caught something down the field or boxed out a defensive back.
Throughout training camp, Pierce accomplished being consistent on a day-to-day basis whether Richardson targeted him on a deep pass or not. It's why Wayne came out of August with plenty of confidence in the work put in by Pierce.
"Alec had the best camp of them all," Wayne said. "And it was good to see that it wasn't just camp, he was able to transition that to the regular season."
Pierce's ability to win on deep passes is, of course, "one of his superpowers," as Richardson said. The Colts never lost confidence in Pierce's ability to win on those, even as opportunities were limited over the last two seasons. With Richardson behind center, Pierce will get more chances to win deep than he did in 2022 or 2023.
"This is what you've been waiting on," Wayne said. "No disrespect to Matt Ryan and to Gardner Minshew, but you got Anthony that can throw it that far, right? Not very many quarterbacks can throw it that far."
But those plays can be fleeting, even for offenses that want to push the ball downfield as much as possible. In 2023, only six wide receivers were targeted at least 15 times on passes traveling 30 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage:
| Player | Team | Targets | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry McLaurin | WAS | 17 | 5 | 175 | 3 |
| D.J. Moore | CHI | 17 | 6 | 228 | 3 |
| Chris Olave | NO | 17 | 2 | 76 | 0 |
| DeVonta Smith | PHI | 16 | 6 | 262 | 3 |
| A.J. Brown | PHI | 15 | 5 | 201 | 2 |
| Rashid Shaheed | NO | 15 | 9 | 408 | 4 |
As opposing defenses adjust to the threat of Richardson lighting the fuse on a 60-yard bomb to Pierce, the third-year receiver sees more opportunities on short and intermediate passes for not only himself, but for the rest of his teammates. Richardson, too, trusts Pierce – like the rest of his receivers – to get open on whatever route gets called.
"Obviously, people know he's the deep threat," Richardson said. "So, just switching it up a little bit, getting him – because he can run as well. So just getting him the ball early sometimes, that means a lot."
Pierce was able to carry over his strong training camp into his regular season debut. And as he looks to carry over what he did in Week 1 to the rest of the 2024 season, his focus will be on being a playmaker wherever and whenever Richardson throws him the ball, whether that's sixty or six yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
