The Colts won the AFC South last season despite losing several key offensive players to season-ending injuries with tight end Dwayne Allen near the top of that list.
Allen played just a handful of snaps before a hip injury that required surgery turned him into a spectator for the rest of the year. Allen’s absence left the team without the ability to mix and match him with Coby Fleener at tight end, but Allen is healthy now and tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts thinks that his return opens many new doors on offense for the coming season.
“It makes us a better football team,” Roberts said, via the team’s website. “Getting him back is like getting a brand new player. [Allen] gives you a chance to do some other things. His skillset allows us to protect it up, or throw it or run it when we see the advantage. He gives us an advantage because he can do some things in the backfield, do some things in-line where Coby we feel like has blossomed as an outside guy. It gives you a little more of a chance to be creative.”
There’s something similar going on at wide receiver where Reggie Wayne returns from injury to join newcomer Hakeem Nicks, T.Y. Hilton, Da’Rick Rogers and rookie Donte Moncrief in a deep group that offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will be able to deploy in a variety of ways. All of which should leave Andrew Luck with plenty of targets when the Colts put the ball in the air and that should mean the quarterback continues to rise in his third pro season.
