There was an immediate question when the Indianapolis Colts drafted wide receiver Phillip Dorsett with their 29th overall pick in 2015: Why'That wasnt a statement on Dorsett himself, who is a turf-scorcher and has the potential to jell seamlessly with quarterback Andrew Lucks deep arm. But the Colts already had a receiver who met that description. His name is T.Y. Hilton, and hes recorded two straight 1,100-plus yard receiving seasons while basically being a Dorsett clone.Oh, and just a few months after Dorsett was drafted the Colts signed Hilton to a five-year contract extension worth $65 million, and $39 million of that is guaranteed.The redundancy of having two nearly identical receivers in the same huddle hasnt changed one year later. But some of the core players surrounding Hilton and Dorsett in that huddle were left without chairs when the offseason music stopped.Suddenly, a surplus of speed isnt such a bad thing at all. But whether Dorsett can separate and make himself useful next to Hilton depends on how much he evolves as a receiver in his second season.The Colts are doing more than hoping he clears any second-year development hurdles to become a dynamic threat and a presence both underneath and deep. They need that from him badly, because a shift in personnel and scheme means that suddenly Dorsett is being trusted to emerge fast, even though hes played just 11 games.Its not overstating anything to think Dorsett needs to be a central figure if the Colts are to win their division again and return to the playoffs. He has no choice, and neither does his offense.The departure of tight end Coby Fleener, who signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints, has led to a philosophical shift. Gone are those sometimes stubborn Pep Hamilton days when dual tight ends were leaned on heavily. Instead, current offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will often trot out three wide receivers in 2016.Immediately when training camp opened back in late July that shift became unmistakably clear, as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Starnoted. The move was a no-brainer, really, because any offensive coordinator who wishes to remain an offensive coordinator gets his best playmakers the ball as often as possible.With Fleener gone the passing offense is now powered by three wideouts. That means Dorsett is about to get the most significant bump in playing time, going from being on the field for 28.4 percent of Indys offensive snaps when healthy, according to Pro Football Focus, to, well, a number much larger than that.Exactly how high his snap percentage rises will be a barometer for the amount of aerial bombardment Chudzinski feels like dishing out. But assuming a swift upward spike is coming feels safe, especially when we consider how many Colts targets and receptions from 2015 were lost this offseason beyond Fleeners exit.The most significant subtractions there are Fleener and wide receiver Andre Johnson. But even the minor role players add up, and in total the Colts have lost the pass-catchers who were on the other end for 38.3 percent of their throws in 2015.Thats a quick changeover, and the hole left could develop into a cavernous pit of despair if Dorsett cant elevate his play. He needs to do that in the right way, too, while filling a specific need.Sure, Dorsett will still get sent deep often enough, because thats what he does best. Putting shackles on a receiver who needs only 4.25 seconds to run 40 yards is a good way to get banished from football forever. The 23-year-old averaged an absurd 24.2 yards per reception during his final year of college.We saw that version of Dorsett briefly, but also impressively early in his rookie season before he missed five games with a fractured ankle. Over his first three games of 2015 he recorded 113 receiving yards on only five catches. As Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus noted, Dorsetts yards per route run during that small sample size was quite spectacular:But ultimately, the mission ahead with Dorsett is to achieve balance and let him use his hot wheels in a variety of ways, all while avoiding that redundancy with Hilton.The Colts dont need to orchestrate touches for Dorsett, or structure an entire series of plays around him in the same way that, say, the Los Angeles Rams often do with wide receiver Tavon Austin. But they do need someone with speed to occupy the underneath territory opened up by Hilton.Dorsett can be can be that guy as long as he continues to refine his route running. Theres so much paralyzing fear about his speed that opposing cornerbacks are forced to give him a cushion, which provides automatic room to work with. What happens next is up to him.We saw that give-then-take scenario at work against the Baltimore Ravens during Week 2 of the preseason. Dorsett demonstrated a skill that will take him to the next level as a receiver. He was given some space, and then created even more with quick acceleration out of his break.The route he ran early in the first quarter was simple enough. He was the third read during a 1st-and-10 situation, and the ball came his way on a out-breaking route to the far sideline. But what happened before that shows the power of Dorsetts speed and how he can evolve into a more versatile weapon suited to what the Colts need.He can still be a deep threat, which will always be the foundation for Dorsetts skill set. However, he can also utilize his quickness to become a chain-mover at key moments on throws of intermediate depth. That is what Dorsett did while leaving Ravens cornerback Shareece Wright searching for that flash of light hes supposed to be covering.Dorsett first sold a deep vertical route, and sold it hard. He blasted off from the line of scrimmage, forcing Wright to bail. He was sprinting downfield toward the inside with his shoulders lowered. Then, suddenly, all his rapid movement stopped. Everything stopped:Dorsett needed just two abrupt and almost jarring steps to halt his forward momentum. Then he pivoted before Wright even had a chance to process what was happening.He swung to the sideline with his weight quickly transferred only a split second after it was all forward as he sprinted downfield:Then his speedometer climbed again, this time with Dorsetts wheels headed in another direction. Instantly he was gone, with the gap between defender and receiver growing, along with the ample throwing window offered to Luck.Please note the direction Wright is still facing as Dorsett separates:The space between Dorsett and Wright grew further, because thats what Dorsett does. He either capitalizes on the space given to him or generates more.Speed has a funny way of scaring the bejesus out of defenders and forcing cornerbacks to respect it, and then they leave themselves exposed. Thats why although 40-plus-yard deep bombs are sexy and Dorsett should still haul in plenty of them, he may be even more valuable in the Colts offense when using his speed in different situations and for different results.Weve already seen hints of how Dorsett can complement Hilton while giving Chudzinski an outlet for offensive creativity. During two preseason games hes been targeted seven times, and two have come behind the line of scrimmage, per PFF. Only one throw in his direction has traveled beyond 20 yards through the air.That mirrors Dorsetts 2015 season, when nearly half of his 36 targets came within nine yards of the line of scrimmage, again per PFF. Hes very, very good at accelerating deep. But his bag of wide receiver goodies is filled with more than just that one skill and one way to contribute.Dorsett needs to keep maturing as an NFL receiver and refining his route running further. The Colts aim is to have two similar receivers in Hilton and Dorsett, but there will still be enough separation between them for an offense that as a whole can attack in multiple ways.Getting there means Dorsett has to justify the draft risk taken by Colts general manager Ryan Grigson. He can start by helping to push his team back to the playoffs, erasing the memory of a stumbling, injury-filled 2015 season.
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