Colts Sign DHB

[ThunderHorse]

I haven't watched the guy play, but I'm hoping this 1 year deal motivates him enough to put up some numbers.

I agree about Hilton. He was a great pickup last year, and I hope he stays in the organization for a while. As long as the Luck situation pans out over the next decade he might even be able to work up to the caliber of play that Reggie Wayne puts out. Reggie Wayne had all that time developing behind Marvin Harrison, and who knows, he could be our future guy at the #1 spot.

Hilton isn't big enough to ever be able to play that position. He's a tiny quick twitch athlete with very little muscle. He's not going to be a a guy who can go up and fight for the football (Wayne is good at that and it's impressive considering Wayne is not an exceptionally big receiver), and in this power run scheme that I hope they're trying to put into place I don't see Hilton being the guy on the outside who can block the way he needs too. Part of the reason Reggie Wayne played in the slot so much last year was the fact that Arians likes to move that receiver around a lot and use him for blocking. Reggie has been an outstanding blocker for most of his career and he fit this "Hines Ward" role perfectly.

Now what Aso is saying is a little different than what I've been reading on other forums. The feeling on some Colt boards is that the jury is still out on DHB but they don't think he's really a deep threat receiver. Their reasoning is that DHB is a possession guy who will move the sticks that will get his yards after the catch, but he doesn't have the skills in his route running to get space on defenders for deep throws.

Whatever type of WR he may be, with his physical abilities it seems to me that Indy is looking for another Pierre Garcon or an explosive WR that can make his own plays and isn't a walking toothpick like Hilton.

[Influence]

Whatever type of WR he may be, with his physical abilities it seems to me that Indy is looking for another Pierre Garcon or an explosive WR that can make his own plays and isn't a walking toothpick like Hilton.

Reminds me of Marvin Harrison, although he was on an entirely different level. Harrison was listed at on 185 pounds when he played. T.Y. Hilton is listed at 183 pounds, and he's only listed at 5'9". Harrison was listed at 6'. So we could assume that Marvin Harrison was even more of a toothpick than Hilton

[ThunderHorse]

Reminds me of Marvin Harrison, although he was on an entirely different level. Harrison was listed at on 185 pounds when he played. T.Y. Hilton is listed at 183 pounds, and he's only listed at 5'9". Harrison was listed at 6'. So we could assume that Marvin Harrison was even more of a toothpick than Hilton

Marvin is a HOF player though. He never made his bread on jump balls either he made it other ways.

Marvin also had an undeniable edge, he may have been small but that was a tightly wound angry little dude.

[Influence]

I miss that Colts era..

I know Marvin Harrison was on a different talent level all together, I was just trowing that out there about his size. It really just comes down to route running, hands, and QB chemistry for any receiver to succeed in this league. It just takes a drive and some motivation to improve in those areas.

I'm a little biased though. I love T.Y. Hilton, and I just want to watch him succeed.. him and Dwayne Allen. My favorite 2 rookies from last year, behind Andrew Luck.

[JBregz]

T.Y Hilton will play slot, no way they'll have a 5'9 receiver playing outside. DHB will Likely play outside along with Wayne and will be used to stretch the secondary downfield allowing T.Y and Wayne more room to roam through the middle.

[Tailback U]

DHB really isn't that much of a deep threat, more if a possession guy with YAC ability like TH said.

I expect his numbers to be something like that 45/600/5td. He will contribute but he's going to be the 3rd or 4th target in that offense unless Wayne or Hilton miss time.

Not to mention he is not the smartest WR and is still young in terms of football years. I think it will take him some time to learn the offense and get on page with Luck. That's always been his biggest struggle as a WR. Great athlete, average football IQ.

[JBregz]

DHB really isn't that much of a deep threat, more if a possession guy with YAC ability like TH said.

I agreed with most of what you had to say but this part. You can't call him a possession guy when his hands are his biggest fault. The guy runs a 4.3 40..He's similar to a Mike Wallace type player which is pushing the secondary deep most of the time.

[Tailback U]

I agreed with most of what you had to say but this part. You can't call him a possession guy when his hands are his biggest fault. The guy runs a 4.3 40..He's similar to a Mike Wallace type player which is pushing the secondary deep most of the time.

Just because the guy runs a fast 40 doesn't mean he is a deep threat. I guess he could be, but he wasn't with the Raiders and he didn't showcase any type of deep playmaking ability whatsoever.

He had 8 catches of 40+ yards in 4 years with the Raiders. Wallace has had more than that in a single season and has a total of 27 in that same time span.

Maybe it's because the Raiders didn't use him that way or his QB's weren't as good but until he shows that he is a deep threat, he's not a deep threat.

[JBregz]

Just because the guy runs a fast 40 doesn't mean he is a deep threat. I guess he could be, but he wasn't with the Raiders and he didn't showcase any type of deep playmaking ability whatsoever.

He had 8 catches of 40+ yards in 4 years with the Raiders. Wallace has had more than that in a single season and has a total of 27 in that same time span.

Maybe it's because the Raiders didn't use him that way or his QB's weren't as good but until he shows that he is a deep threat, he's not a deep threat.

He hasn't shown much in his career at all to be honest. I'd bank on the two reasons you listed as to why he doesn't have those kind of stats. Looking at his stats and play in Maryland, he was drafted with the intentions to be a vertical guy for the Raiders. It'll be interesting to see how he does regardless though.

[Tailback U]

He hasn't shown much in his career at all to be honest. I'd bank on the two reasons you listed as to why he doesn't have those kind of stats. Looking at his stats and play in Maryland, he was drafted with the intentions to be a vertical guy for the Raiders. It'll be interesting to see how he does regardless though.

I don't know how much of the Raiders you've watched over the last 4 years, but I watched them a decent amount and DHB was good at catching bubble screens, curls, deep comebacks, and some stuff over the middle. He never got separation downfield nor did he show any ability to go up and make tough catches over corners.

He's also got much better size than Hilton at 6'2" 200 which is why I think he'll be better off running intermediate stuff while the Colts let Hilton stretch D's.

[JBregz]

I don't know how much of the Raiders you've watched over the last 4 years, but I watched them a decent amount and DHB was good at catching bubble screens, curls, deep comebacks, and some stuff over the middle. He never got separation downfield nor did he show any ability to go up and make tough catches over corners.

He's also got much better size than Hilton at 6'2" 200 which is why I think he'll be better off running intermediate stuff while the Colts let Hilton stretch D's.

If you can't catch a bubble screen or hooks, you shouldn't be in the NFL lol.
He's had his fair share of deep balls over corners. Just a few examples found on youtube:

At 6'2 and with plenty of speed if anything it makes him the vertical guy in Indy now. T.Y Hilton is not tall enough nor skilled enough right now to make up for that lack of size to play the outside and be a vertical threat. You also are forgetting that Hilton is doing their PR duties and he was the primarily used for intermediate crosses through the middle, reverses, the slot guy, etc.

[Aso]

Last year Wayne played 61% of his snaps in the slot. He is there slot receiver. Hilton played about 42% of his snaps from the slot.

[JBregz]

Last year Wayne played 61% of his snaps in the slot. He is there slot receiver. Hilton played about 42% of his snaps from the slot.

Donnie Avery was in Indy last year giving Wayne the opportunity to play there. With the addition of DHB I just don't see Hilton at the outside consistently compared to slot. We'll see though.

[ThunderHorse]

Donnie Avery was in Indy last year giving Wayne the opportunity to play there. With the addition of DHB I just don't see Hilton at the outside consistently compared to slot. We'll see though.

As I've said before,

The only reason Wayne was in the slot so much was because the #1 WR in Arian's offense played that role. Hines Ward perfected it during his time in Pittsburgh. Reggie Wayne is not Indianapolis' Slot Receiver, he is their #1 Receiver.

[ThunderHorse]

Usually I hate articles from Bleacher Report but this one was pretty good.

It was posted on another forum I read and it's perfect for this thread.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1589761-what-does-darrius-heyward-bey-offer-to-andrew-luck-and-the-colts