Colts Keep Wide Receiver Pipeline Alive and Well with T.Y. Hilton's Emergence

The NFL's top passing pipeline is in the Midwest, in the city once nicknamed the "Crossroads of America." Indianapolis, home to the nation's first Union Station, has fielded a prodigious passing offense powered by two elite quarterbacks and three receivers for what is approaching two decades.

The league's most enviable passing succession plan transitioned from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck at quarterback, and from Marvin Harrison to Reggie Wayne to T.Y. Hilton at receiver. And since 1999, the Colts have ranked in the top five in scoring 10 times, including No. 3 this season.

"We knew exactly what we were looking for," said Bill Polian, the architect of the pipeline as the Colts general manager. "We were able to develop a template for each position."

Though he inherited Harrison, Polian picked Manning with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, and the pairing flourished in 1999, with the veteran receiver topping 1,100 yards in each season until 2006. In 2001, though, Polian selected Wayne at the end of the first round. And from 2004 until 2012, Wayne averaged 1,240 receiving yards per season.

But even after Polian's ouster in 2011, new general manager Ryan Grigson selected Luck with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft—a no-brainer at the time—but what he did after that pick has defined his success as a GM to this point.

"The Indianapolis Colts had 13 years of Peyton Manning and now they've got Andrew Luck. That's potentially 30 years of elite level of quarterback," said former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick, who is now an NFL Network analyst. "They put their resources around that lead dog to the exclusion of the defense.

"My gosh, if I could have gotten that, I'd still be coaching."

And by "that," he also means the next star receiver in Indianapolis and the young man who is well on his way to ascending to the same heights as Harrison and Wayne before him.


Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2296857-colts-keep-wide-receiver-pipeline-alive-and-well-with-ty-hiltons-emergence