Shane Steichen: Alec Pierce has made huge strides in his game

Alec Pierce is set to be one of the top receivers on the free-agent market next month.

The Colts would like to keep him, though General Manager Chris Ballard said this week that he'd prefer not to use the franchise tag to do so.

While Pierce is known for his ability as a deep threat, part of the reason why Indianapolis is trying to retain Pierce is his development into a more complete receiver.

“I think he’s made huge strides in his game,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said during the scouting combine this week. “Obviously, he’s a big home run threat for us, as we know. But the intermediate stuff, the way he’s coming in and out of breaks at the top of routes, the comebacks, the one-on-ones on the outside, running in-breaking stuff — he’s made a lot of strides in all those areas. Even the 50-50 balls down the field, he's making those 70 percent of the time now. You throw it up and you've got a chance he’ll go make a play for us.”

Pierce, 25, caught 47 passes for 1,003 yards with six touchdowns in 2025. He’s led the league in yards per reception over each of the last two years, setting the mark at 22.3 in 2024 and 21.3 in 2025.