This past weekend the Indianapolis Colts were knocked out of the playoffs by the Kansas City Chiefs. The final score was 31-13.
Andrew Luck played well, throwing 203 yards with one touchdown. But he alone wasn't enough to match the Chiefs' high-powered offense.
The Colts were missing something offensively. Sure, they didn't have a feature running back. Marlon Mack has played well this past season, but he isn't someone they counted on bringing in over 1500 yards from scrimmage.
They had T.Y. Hilton as the deep threat. But otherwise, Eric Ebron received the second most targets on the entire team last season.
Not one player had more than 75 receptions or 800 yards, except for Hilton. He only had 76 receptions on the season.
There has been no player for Luck to go to when he needed a first down. There hasn't been an elite wide-receiver other than Hilton in Indianapolis since a 34-year-old Reggie Wayne in 2012 had 106 receptions for 1,335 yards with five total touchdowns. That was in his rookie year.
Since then, Luck has hardly had any legitimate weapons for him to go to other than Hilton.
It's quite ludicrous` that the Colts haven't been able to give him the pieces he needs to succeed. It took until this season for him to rise above mediocrity and the expectations put on himself to be the NFL's next best quarterback.
The Colts need to find that true wideout that he can go to on third downs and move the chains. Someone he can trust to be efficient, with strong hands and great route-running ability.
That man is Golden Tate.
Tate has been a consistent weapon in the slot since his breakout year with the Detroit Lions in 2014. Since then he's had three seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and four seasons with over 90 receptions.
He's also able to be a kick and punt returner. Though he hasn't been used exclusively as one since his time with the Seattle Seahawks, he has the ability to get plenty of yards after the catch.
Now as a free agent after finishing the year with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tate is a 30-year-old wideout that is on the back end of his career and likely won't be as effective a few years from now.
The Colts should acquire him to be the weapon that Luck always needed, but never had.
Follow Us
Subscribe