How Mo Alie-Cox's dedication to 'dirty work' has him closing in on 100 games with Colts

As Jonathan Taylor accelerated toward the end zone on Sept. 22, homes around Indianapolis erupted in a cacophony of cheers, celebrating yet another remarkable touchdown scored by the Colts' running back.

The reaction in Jack Doyle's household was no different. His kids screamed Taylor's name. Doyle, the longtime Colts tight end, cheered for the guy who scored, of course, but he also excitedly highlighted something else to his family.

"But look at Mo on the back side!"

Tight end Mo Alie-Cox sustained his block on Chicago Bears defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker, opening up a lane for Taylor and helping him go untouched for a 29-yard score. Those plays get Doyle, who played with Alie-Cox from 2017-2021, to jump out of his seat on Sundays.

"We're big Mo Alie-Cox fans at the Doyle household," Doyle said.

Doyle remembers Alie-Cox making a strong early impression on him back in 2017, when the Colts took a flier on the former Virginia Commonwealth basketball star and signed him to their practice squad. All Alie-Cox wanted to do back then was not screw up as he transitioned from being a full-time basketball player to a full-time football player, but Doyle noticed something: Alie-Cox was disciplined, he had a strong work ethic, and despite not having much experience as a football player, he asked intelligent questions.

"The discipline of his work ethic and the consistency, that's the key to a long career," Doyle said. "And you saw that right away with Mo."

When Alie-Cox takes the field for the Colts' Week 7 game on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, it'll be the 98th game of his career – all with the Colts. He's on track to become only the seventh tight end in Colts history to appear in at least 100 games, a list that includes Doyle, a fellow undrafted free agent who made good on his opportunity in Indianapolis.

Alie-Cox learned plenty from Doyle, who retired after the 2021 season, during their time together. It's been years since Alie-Cox was mostly an amusing story of sorts – his college basketball background has been talked about enough – and, over the last few years, he's become a valuable leader within the Colts' offense.

Teammates see plenty of similarities between how Alie-Cox leads now, and how Doyle led before him.

"Mo, he's the guy now," Taylor said. "Before it was Jack and we knew Mo was right there, but right now it's Mo leading those guys and he's somebody that's on the field, just how Jack Doyle was. He's on the field every single day, every single game, but he's also making plays. He's leading – whether it's blocking, whether it's down the field, catching the ball over guys' heads. He's just a prime example of what it means to be an Indianapolis Colts tight end."

For Alie-Cox, he brings a lead-by-example, not-overly-vocal approach to the Colts' tight end room. He noticed Doyle's humble, even-keel approach to football, one which resonated with him – and now resonates with his younger teammates, all of whom are still on their rookie contracts.

"(Doyle) never complained of what was asked of him to do," Alie-Cox said. "He just went out there and got it done. So I just try to help the young guys understand that and pass that down to them.

"... I just try to give them the advice to just impact the game no matter what they ask you to do. You step on that field, make sure they notice that you're on the field. Everybody might not know, but the coaches and the scouts, they see everything that we do. Make your impact felt out there."

If you're just looking at the box score, it might seem like Alie-Cox isn't having an impactful season. If you're just watching the highlights, you might've only noticed Alie-Cox once or twice this year. He hasn't caught a pass in three of the Colts' six games, and he enters Week 7 with seven receptions on 11 targets for 100 yards with a touchdown.

But the Colts have asked their tight ends to impact games in different ways this season – like in Week 4, when that group either chipped or full-on blocked Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive end T.J. Watt on nearly half of his pass rushing snaps.

The message to the Colts' tight ends heading into into that game – which ended with Watt not getting a sack and the Colts winning – was, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said: "It's going to be unselfish. It's probably going to be all of you, and you may have to sacrifice running a great route after that in order to sort of help slow (Watt) down so the pocket's a little bit cleaner, so the quarterback can maybe throw it somewhere else."

Added Cooter: "That group took on that task with great sort of enthusiasm and zeal."

It may not be glamorous, and it may not get you on someone's fantasy team, but it's important work – with Alie-Cox leading those efforts. And the veteran's commitment to, as tight ends coach Tom Manning calls them, "dirty work games" has certainly been noticed by the folks inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.

"I talk to other guys, they really respect how Mo plays and how he carries himself and handles himself," Cooter said. "Every room sort of rolls with the punches of its leader, of its veteran, of its respected vet, and (you) couldn't ask for a guy to set a better example than Mo. Those guys show up every single day. They work hard, they learn their role. Sometimes we're dressing three or four of those guys and they have different roles, and I'm sure sometime one of them wants to run a route that the other one's getting to run. But they just show up and keep working and go execute the role and try to help the Colts get a win. That's a cool thing to see and it's a great room to work with."

Alie-Cox, then, embodies what the Colts want out of their tight ends – and his example sets a tone for the rest of that group.

"At the end of the day, individual stats matter but we're all trying to go 1-0," tight end Kylen Granson said. "That's the biggest thing. Stats come secondary."

And it's not just that Alie-Cox is a willing participant in a game plan that doesn't call for him to get the ball much, if at all. He's succeeding at the other stuff, as evidenced by not only the tape – like on Taylor's touchdown run against Chicago – but by Pro Football Focus' grading scale:

Alie-Cox is the only tight end in the NFL who enters Week 7 with PFF grades over 70 in overall offense (81.1), receiving (73.9), pass blocking (70.7) and run blocking (77.7).

"Mo is an ultimate team guy and he's a guy that doesn't want to let anybody down — certainly doesn't want to let himself down," Manning, who first coached Alie-Cox as the Colts' tight ends coach in 2018 before returning in 2023, said. "He has great pride in what he does. I think the Indianapolis Colts are very, very important to Mo and him doing a good job is a daily basis, he takes extreme pride in."

Since joining the Colts' practice squad in 2017, Alie-Cox has developed into a consistent, available, dependable – yet unsung – player. It's no accident he's played seven seasons, earned a second contract and is closing in on 100 games played. Nobody – certainly not a former undrafted free agent with zero seconds of collegiate football film to go off – makes it that far in the NFL without doing plenty of things right.

Safety Nick Cross recently asked Alie-Cox if he expected to play in the NFL this long. Truthfully, Alie-Cox had no idea what to expect seven years ago. He'd mess up in practice and wonder if his keycard would still work the next day.

But here he is, the last remaining running back, wide receiver or tight end on the Colts to catch a pass from Andrew Luck*. His first career touchdown was a spectacular one-handed grab on the road against the Raiders; he landed in a black end zone that still had "OAKLAND" painted across it in white letters, in a stadium and city that no longer is home to any major professional team.

"It's kind of crazy," Alie-Cox said. "When I think about it, eight years – a lot of guys don't make it to that point. So for me, I'm just trying to get to double digits and see how it goes from there."

Alie-Cox just keeps going, staying consistent and delivering a level of play and leadership the Colts value. Maybe most people won't notice what Alie-Cox does during a game when they gather around the TV on a Sunday. But his friend and former teammate will, eagerly pointing out the little things Alie-Cox is doing to have a big impact on the Colts.

"He's one of the better run blockers in the NFL in my opinion and he still can make plays in the pass game. He's proven that time and time again," Doyle said. "... He's playing great football, and I couldn't be more proud."

*Technically speaking: Center Ryan Kelly caught a pass from Luck in 2018, when a pass deflected off the hands of running back Jordan Wilkins to Kelly, who caught it for a loss of four yards.