Colts' T.Y. Hilton Has Established Himself Among NFL's Elite Wide Receivers

The Indianapolis Colts completely altered the future of their franchise in the 2012 NFL draft, taking Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick. They weren't done there, either, adding more offensive talent with two tight ends in Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen.

But while Luck was easily the team's best selection from that draft, the receiver that they took out of Florida International in the third round might have given the Stanford quarterback a truly elite weapon in T.Y. Hilton.

Many were quick to overlook the 5'9'' receiver, but the Colts saw something in Hilton. Whatever they saw, they were smart in bringing him in, as Hilton has officially established himself as one of the elite wide receivers in the NFL during just his third season in the league.

The Colts have been known for having excellent receivers throughout their history from Bill Brooks to Marvin Harrison to Reggie Wayne. Through 44 games played, Hilton has begun to look like some of the former Colts greats, catching 210 passes for 3,239 yards and 19 touchdowns. He's still got three more games this year, but his numbers already compare well to guys like Harrison and Wayne.

Player	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
T.Y. Hilton	210	3,239	15.4	19
Marvin Harrison	196	2,478	12.6	21
Bill Brooks	170	2,720	16.0	14
Reggie Wayne	144	1,899	13.2	11

This season has been an especially impressive one for Hilton. Through 13 games, he currently ranks second in the NFL in receiving yards (1,295), eighth in receptions (78) and tied with Emmanuel Sanders for second with catches of at least 20 yards (20).

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Hilton has been known to make elite defensive backs look silly in the past. Just ask Richard Sherman and the Legion of Boom about last year's regular-season matchup when Hilton caught five passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns, burning by the Seattle Seahawks secondary.

The third-year receiver officially solidified his status as an elite NFL receiver on Sunday. The Colts played an ugly game on offense, and Hilton fumbled a ball away to start the second half. However, after catching just one pass in the first half, Hilton began to dominate Joe Haden in the second, finishing with 10 receptions for 150 yards and two scores, including the game-winning touchdown and this jaw-dropping 42-yard score.

After another huge performance, it looks like Hilton should be on his way to his first Pro Bowl, and the advanced statistics back that up. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has Hilton as the third-highest-graded receiver in the league behind just Antonio Brown and Demaryius Thomas. Meanwhile, Football Outsiders has Hilton as the sixth-best receiver in terms of defense-adjusted yards above replacement, or DYAR.

Kevin Bowen from Colts.com also believes that Hilton should be heading to the Pro Bowl after this season.

The numbers can say a lot about just how much Hilton means to the Colts offense, but even when he doesn't have the ball, "The Ghost" can open up the passing game for Luck by drawing extra attention from opposing secondaries.

Let's look back at Week 13 against Washington, when Luck threw for a career-high five touchdowns due to multiple defensive lapses that left receivers wide open. Luck's first touchdown came on a 30-yard pass to Fleener with no one around the tight end.

Why is that? Because both the safety and cornerback focused in on Hilton down the field, leaving no one to cover Fleener.

NFL Game Rewind

Brandon Merriweather was also caught watching Hilton in the fourth quarter. With Hilton running an out route, Merriweather began to creep up, allowing Donte Moncrief to get past the Cover 2 after the corner covering him thought the safety would be there and let up. Moncrief would go all the way for a 79-yard touchdown.

NFL Game Rewind

But let's not forget that Hilton can also make plays for himself, too. In that game against Washington, he caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, with the score coming on this terrific move to completely lose his defender, following it up with a nice catch.

Considering the recent struggles of Wayne, it appears that Hilton has officially taken the role as the Colts' franchise receiver. The scariest part of that is that Hilton is just 25 years old, meaning that he has likely yet to reach the prime of his career, but he's still talented enough to be late to a game due to the birth of his daughter and still go off for 122 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown.

Hilton will continue to be under-appreciated because of his size, but there are possibly fewer than five and definitely fewer than 10 receivers in the NFL who can confidently say that they are better than the Ghost. As long as Luck is is quarterback, Hilton will continue to grow and become the next great receiver in Indianapolis because of his speed, elusiveness and deep-threat ability.

Don't blink, or you might just miss him. 

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