The Indianapolis Colts have their top tight ends set to lead the way in 2020, but head coach Frank Reich indicated Monday that the team has seen a lot of growth in the game of Mo Alie-Cox.
Though he’s currently behind Jack Doyle and Trey Burton on the tight end depth chart, Alie-Cox is continuing to grow his game through run-blocking and route running.
Asked about TE Mo Alie-Cox, Reich says he took a big step last year and is expected to be a huge key to the running game in 2020. Reich adds that Alie-Cox's biggest area of improvement last season was "route running." Perhaps that pays off this year?
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) June 1, 2020
There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Colts offense but adding another element to the unit that stems from the tight end room has to be intriguing for Reich.
Alie-Cox has seen just 24 targets in the last two seasons with the Colts so he won’t be expected to take up much of a target share in the offense. But improving his skills as a pass-catcher could be nice for the Colts, a team whose offensive game plan features tight ends heavily.
In his own room, Alie-Cox will have to work behind Doyle and Burton—both of which should see plenty more targets than the former. Then come the targets that will go to the wide receivers and running back Nyheim Hines. It’s tough to see Alie-Cox truly breaking through in a big way in terms of target share.
However, Alie-Cox has elite size, movement skills and power for the tight end position. He still has to refine his game, but he should be an interesting watch for 2020.