Indianapolis Colts: Dwayne Allen Will Make or Break Andrew Luck

Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen is now the top tight end on his team, and if he’s able to turn that into solid production this season ,Andrew Luck will reap the rewards. If Allen struggles, though, Luck may be in for another long season.

Now that Andrew Luck has secured a long term contract he can just focus on playing football, and fans of the Indianapolis Colts have to hope he’s focusing pretty hard. 2015 was a disappointing season for the Colts, not the least because of Luck’s struggles and injuries. The star quarterback started only seven games and was fairly ineffective even when he was on the field. Tight end Allen could be key to Luck’s return to form in 2016, or his failure to live up to expectations.

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The Colts have done what they could to bolster Luck’s offensive line, using four draft picks on the position this season, and they hope that will be enough to keep their franchise quarterback healthy all year. They failed to make huge improvements at the offensive skill positions, however, which means Luck will need to squeeze all he can out of the existing players on the roster. One player in particular who needs to play his best football for Luck to succeed in 2016 is tight end Dwayne Allen.

The Colts have used tight ends heavily since Luck has been their quarterback, and when Luck has had the most success has been when he’s had tight ends he could rely on to make plays. For several years that has mostly come through Coby Fleener, but Fleener now plays for the New Orleans Saints, leaving Allen as the team’s go-to receiving tight end.

It’s probably a good sign that Allen and Andrew Luck have been hanging out in London, England recently helping to bring American football enthusiasm to the UK, as a strong relationship between a quarterback and his receiver is always a huge plus for offensive performance.

Allen has played for the Colts ever since he entered the league in 2012, and his best seasons were his rookie year when he managed 521 yards and three scores and 2014 when he totaled 395 yards and an impressive eight scores. Overall he’s struggled to stay healthy, missing a total of 21 games in his four year career, including all but one game in 2013. When healthy he’s been effective though, and the Colts need him to stay on the field this season.

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In his four year career, the Colts are an impressive 11-3 when Allen catches more than 35 yards worth of passes and are 7-4 when he catches a touchdown. By contrast they are 2-4 when he fails to accumulate any yardage in a game.

Now with Coby Fleener gone there will be even more pressure on Allen to produce because he is the only proven pass-catching tight end on the team. Luck likes to throw to his tight ends, especially near the goal line, and if Allen can’t produce then the team may find itself with another disappointing season.

If he’s able to be successful however, Andrew Luck could thrive in 2016. Luck’s best season was in 2014 when Fleener and Allen combined for 1,169 yards and 16 touchdowns from the tight end position. With Rob Chudzinsky taking over for his first full season as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Colts may look to their tight ends even more.

Chudzinsky’s presence in Carolina helped to develop Greg Olsen into the star he is today, and when he was head coach of the Browns in 2013 tight end Jordan Cameron flirted with a 1,000 yard season. His hands on the offense could be just what Allen needs to develop into the top-tier tight end the Colts thought he could be when they drafted him in the third round four years ago.

If the trend continues, Chudzkinsky will likely continue to rely heavily on his tight ends, especially with the limitations of the rest of the receiving corps. T.Y. Hilton is certainly a star, and Donte Moncrief showed a lot of promise last year but there is a significant drop off in receiving talent after that. Running back Frank Gore hasn’t been a top-end receiving weapon since 2010, and Allen’s fellow tight end hasn’t had much of a chance to prove himself.

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The Colts are hoping their offense as a whole will be improved from last year, but much of that relies on Luck being a more effective passer. For him to do so he’s going to need people to throw the ball to, and Dwayne Allen is probably his second or third best target. If Allen can stay on the field and be an efficient receiver Luck could bounce back in a big way this year, but if he continues to struggle with injuries or fails to produce 2016 could be a long year for the star quarterback.