Indianapolis Colts: drafting Phillip Dorsett is a mistake

By Federico Ferrari | May 1, 2015

With so many good defensive players still on the board the Indianapolis Colts made an odd choice with Miami’s speedster Phillip Dorsett. With many holes on the defensive side and after all the free agents additions on offense why did GM Ryan Grigson decided to add another offensive weapon instead of getting a defensive playmaker?

For example, Alabama’s safety Landon Collins was still available and the Colts decided to pass on him. Texas’ defensive tackle Malcom Brown was still available and the Colts decided to pass on him too. Is Phillip Dorsett that good?

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Dorsett is a great weapon and there’s no doubt he will upgrade the Colts’ offense. His greatest asset is obviously speed, he is a pure burner. He ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, his explosiveness is impressive to say the least. The 5’10” senior is versatile enough to play both inside in the slot and outside and can be a productive player anywhere you put him. He is an electric playmaker that can be very dangerous when he catches the ball in open space.

Dorsett played 45 games with the Hurricanes (30 starts) racking up 2132 receiving yards (17.6 average) and 17 touchdowns. He was also a threat returning kickoffs with a net average of 19.1 yards per return.

NFL.com’s draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Dorsett:

Dorsett is an ascending prospect who has averaged more than 25 yards per catch since 2012. He can challenge teams vertically inside or outside and he has home-run potential after the catch as a slot receiver. With smaller wide receivers like T.Y. Hilton and Antonio Brown proving that small and fast can win in the NFL, Dorsett should be coveted by more than one team and has the potential to turn into a star in the NFL.

That’s the problem right there. Do you really need two T.Y. Hiltons on your offense? The pick does make sense because now the Colts can play with T.Y. Hilton as their no. 1 receiver, Andre Johnson/Donte Moncrief as the no.2 wideout and Dorsett from the slot. Sure, now Indy has an elite offense and will score a ton of points every game but what happened to the good old saying “defense wins championships“?

The fact is that the Colts could have picked an impact player on defense without reaching for him. Safety Landon Collins is a top player at his position in this class and almost nobody thought he would have been available at 29. Same goes for defensive tackle Malcom Brown: nobody saw him falling that far and his value is undeniable. Both players would have filled a big need for a defense-needy Indianapolis team without being a reach at that point.

Anyway, the choice has been made so enjoy some Phillip Dorsett highlights and think about what he can do with Andrew Luck throwing the football to him. A lot of fantasy football players are already going crazy over this pick – myself included.

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