INDIANAPOLIS — It's likely safe to say that wide receiver will be a major point of emphasis for the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
The team on Friday announced the signing of Rodney Adams to a Reserve/Future contract, the seventh wide receiver added to the offseason roster since the end of the 2017 season, joining Dres Anderson, Seantavius Jones, Justice Liggins, Kolby Listenbee, DeAndre Smelter and James Wright.
When looking at the potential returners for the Colts at the wide receiver position, however, it's not difficult to figure out why general manager Chris Ballard is trying to find as many options as he can at this point.
Barring any other moves, when the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 14, the Colts will have just two major contributors at the wide receiver position — T.Y. Hilton and Chester Rogers — set to return in 2018. Donte Moncrief and Kamar Aiken are set to become unrestricted free agents, while Quan Bray was waived from injured reserve on Dec. 26.
That leaves K.J. Brent, who finished the regular season on the Colts' 53-man roster, and Krishawn Hogan, who suffered a season-ending injury Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers, as the only other receivers left on the offseason roster.
So with so many younger players getting an opportunity to show what they can do with their Reserve/Future contracts, let's take a look at what a guy like Adams brings to the table.
At 6 foot 1 and 189 pounds, Adams is a quick, wiry receiver who has shown the ability to be dangerous in motion and on screen plays. A fifth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings last year out of South Florida, where he was a teammate of Colts running back Marlon Mack, Adams spent Weeks 1-8 of the 2017 season on the active roster, but did not see game action.
He was a playmaker during the preseason, however. He caught nine passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns, ran the ball once for 14 yards and also showed up well as a returner — and having a 4.4-second 40-yard dash certainly helps matters.
So with that in mind, let's take a look at Adams' preseason highlights to get a sense of what kind of player he can be:
