Indianapolis Colts Should Phase Hakeem Nicks out of Offense

After watching an undermanned group of wideouts and tight ends struggle in the wake of injuries to tight end Dwayne Allen and receiver Reggie Wayne in 2013, the Indianapolis Colts entered the offseason determined to make sure that quarterback Andrew Luck had enough weapons to compete in a shootout.

Allen and Wayne were to recover, but the team also brought in wideout Donte Moncrief with a third-round pick and signed wideout Hakeem Nicks away from the New York Giants in free agency.

As it turns out, the Colts have been able to smooth out this chink in their armor.

Wideout T.Y. Hilton has taken the leap to become a true No. 1 receiver, Allen has been excellent in his return and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton has made weapons out of running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson in the backfield.

The passing game is blossoming, and even with Wayne temporarily sidelined, Luck is spoiled for choice on every dropback.

Moncrief came on strong last week, catching seven of 12 balls for 113 yards and a score against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, he played just 41 snaps because the Colts are devoted to the idea of Nicks rather than results that they've seen.

It's not a gigantic surprise that the Colts are continuing to load up Nicks' plate.

After all, head coach Chuck Pagano similarly shoehorned Hilton at the start of last season, burying him behind scrapheap signing Darrius Heyward-Bey because Heyward-Bey was a better blocker and ignoring the fact that Heyward-Bey has banana peels for hands.

But it is startling just how bad Nicks has looked. The timing between Luck and Nicks isn't right.

Moreover, as Bleacher Report's Kyle Rodriguez pointed out, Nicks made almost zero effort to get to the pick-six that Luck threw.

This is where Nicks is as Luck is stepping into the throw:

Source: NFL Game Rewind

This is where Nicks is as the ball arrives:

Source: NFL Game Rewind

Between the poor effort, the lack of knowledge of the playbook and his one-year contract, the Colts should have no reason to not cut Nicks' role in the offense.

If we want to talk about run-blocking, not only is Nicks at a negative there via Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but Moncrief is a 6'2", 220-pound tank of a wideout. He's an ideal run-blocker for a wideout.

And Nicks' empirical results? Let's see if we can find a massive outlier among all Colts receivers that Luck has targeted:

Receiver	Targets	DVOA	DYAR	Catch Percentage
T.Y. Hilton	78	33.1%	282	68%
Reggie Wayne	62	1.1%	66	63%
Donte Moncrief	23	11.5%	43	70%
Hakeem Nicks	37	-20.5%	-24	49%

Keep in mind, it's not just that Nicks has an awful DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) or that he catches 49 percent of his balls. It's that he does so despite being completely surrounded by players having amazing seasons.

In theory, defenses should play off and be giddy when Luck throws at Nicks. That should mean that Nicks is taking uncontested balls and at least going somewhere with them.

Instead, he's the worst receiver on the team by a country mile. This comes after an offseason during which Hamilton declared him out of game shape, per the Tribune-Star.

I can't give you an exact answer on why Nicks is playing poorly. I don't think he ever properly recovered from his knee problems in 2012. His talent may just be that of a borderline NFL receiver at this point. If that's the case, the Colts can find plenty of those players that actually play with effort.

It's nice that Pagano will publicly stand up for the players in his locker room, but there is no world in which Nicks' performance this season could be qualified as a "great job."

Every snap he plays ahead of someone more talented is holding back this offense, and when Wayne gets back, it'd be best for all parties if Nicks were benched or released.

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.