While the storylines of spring practices should all be taken with a grain of salt, it’s always encouraging to see a player like Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Dezmon Patmon flash as he has throughout the offseason workouts.
As the Colts work their way through figuring out the depth in the wide receiver corps, the third-year receiving in Patmon has been making his case this spring.
The former sixth-round pick has been seeing more time with the first-team offense, and has been taking advantage of those reps by making some big plays.
“The time is now,” Patmon told reporters via IndyStar. “It’s going to be a battle this year for all those spots.”
Patmon is one of the wide receivers in the room that brings an impressive blend of size and speed. Coming into the league at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Patmon ran a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash with a 36-inch vertical jump.
Now, that he has a full offseason to work with the team and go through drills—something he hasn’t truly done since being drafted due to the pandemic—Patmon is grabbing this opportunity and running with it.
Being one of the bigger receivers in the room, of course Patmon is going to look at the Matt Ryan-Julio Jones connection as inspiration.
“I grew up wanting to be Julio (Jones), A.J. Green or Calvin Johnson,” Patmon said. “You idolize those bigger-body receivers because you can envision yourself becoming what they are. I definitely grew up watching Julio, and Matt was throwing him the ball.”
While Mike Strachan has missed valuable time due to an undisclosed injury this spring, Patmon has been making his case for the No. 4 role in the wide receiver room behind Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Parris Campbell.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Brady sees a player who is working more naturally rather than thinking too much during a play.
“He’s just developing, getting all the reps down, more so than last year,” Brady said. “What’s helping him is mentally understanding the offense, where he’s not thinking and he can just go out there and use his physical tools.”
The WR4 spot should be an intriguing competition when training camp rolls around, and Patmon is making his case for that spot this spring.
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