Getty ESPN football analyst Louis Riddick predicts Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich will have a player "shock everyone" during the 2022 season.
Twitter discussions are usually left for fans to debate popular NFL topics. But NFL players and analysts sometimes join the discussion too.
On July 22, NFL TV analyst Louis Riddick of ESPN responded to a tweet from FanDuel intended to spark an NFL conversation. The tweet asked fans to pick an “NFL player who’s going to SHOCK everyone next season.”
Riddick predicted it would be Indianapolis Colts rookie wide receiver Alec Pierce.
At the end of Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft, Riddick mentioned the Colts as a team who did well in the second and third rounds. His opinion apparently hasn’t changed on Pierce, who is quietly becoming a top pick among NFL rookies to shine in 2022.
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Pierce’s Opportunity to Start
Michael Pittman Jr. enters this season as Indianapolis’ top outside weapon, but the Colts are looking to pair him with one of the other young wideouts on the roster. Pierce and Parris Campbell are the most likely candidates.
Campbell has three years of experience on Pierce, but Campbell has only appeared in 15 NFL games over three seasons due to numerous injuries. He posted 10 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in 6 games last year.
Colts head coach Frank Reich was complimentary of all the team’s wide receivers during OTAs and training camp, giving no real indication of who may start opposite Pittman. But despite his lack of experience, Pierce’s intelligence and Indianapolis’ persistence to push the rookie has him in the mix.
“He’s a very smart guy,” Reich said to reporters on June 1. “He’s really learned the offense quickly. He’s done a good job.
“He’s going to have to compete for every snap. It’s a very competitive group. But we’re definitely pushing him.”
High Expectations Developing for Pierce
Despite 11 wide receivers going before Pierce in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Colts rookie wideout has become a popular pick to standout among first-year players in the NFL this fall.
On July 13, NFL writer Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report boldly predicted that Pierce would win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
“Even though the Colts have fielded a run-heavy offense with running back Jonathan Taylor over the last two seasons, Pierce should see plenty of targets in an aerial attack that only features one reliable pass-catcher in Michael Pittman Jr,” wrote Moton.
Pierce standing at 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds, Moton was also complimentary of his physical traits.
NFL writer Mike Clay of ESPN was high on Pierce as well when projecting rookie stat leaders for the upcoming season. Clay predicted Pierce would finish fifth in receiving yards among rookies with 746 yards.
Clay wrote that the only first-year wideouts that will have more yards than Pierce will be Drake London, Treylon Burks, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
“Second-rounder Pierce is a bit of a surprise on this list, but even in a run-heavy offense, he has a clear path to a big workload opposite Michael Pittman Jr,” wrote Clay.
The Colts don’t possess a wide receiver older than 25 and Pittman is the team’s only wideout with more than 400 receiving yards in a single season. The opportunity for Pierce to play a lot early in the season appears to be there.
But as Reich said, the rookie will have to earn his playing time. Clearly, it’s also Pierce’s talent that gives NFL analysts such as Riddick confidence that he will play well in 2022.