T.Y. Hilton’s Issue is Mental, Not Physical

Three dropped passes in two games have prompted questions about Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who says a call from his grandma helped set him straight on what's wrong.

INDIANAPOLIS — Entering this NFL season, the question about Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton pertained to whether he could stay healthy.

After two games, he still is. But the sure-handed receiver has dropped three passes. Based on what Hilton has said, the 30-year-old star’s problem has been letting his head get in the way.

It’s so obvious, a family member noticed and gave him a call.

“I’m very confident,” Hilton said on a Thursday video call. “I just have to stay with it. Rough two weeks, but we’re 1-1. I just have to find a way to start making plays. I got a call Monday night – a call that I really needed. I’m finding myself. So, I’m back to being me.”

Who called?

“My grandma,” he said.

What did she say?

“She just always keeps it 100 (percent) with me,” Hilton said. “She always shoots it straight with me – and let me know what’s up. She’s my rock, she’s my heart and she called me and told me that the person that she is seeing on TV wasn’t her grandbaby. That wasn’t me.

“It hurt me for her to tell me that. But she’s always kept it real and she said, ‘You look frustrated.’ That’s not the way I play this game. I’m always happy, always excited. I’m back to being me. I’m good.”

In fairness to Hilton, the third drop on a 44-yard touchdown pass in Sunday’s 28-11 home win over Minnesota was blamed on losing the football in the sun with the Lucas Oil Stadium roof being open. That said, any time a ball hits Hilton in the hands, as this perfect Philip Rivers pass did, he expects to catch it.

“It definitely was in my eyes,” Hilton said. “I don’t make excuses, but I couldn’t see the ball. I was fading, I was squinting. I tried everything to catch it. I was still looking up and, the next thing I know, the ball was in my hands. But it’s a drop, it is what it is.”

Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton is in a contract year in 2020 :: Jenna Watson/USA TODAY Sports

The four-time Pro Bowl player who has proven himself in eight previous seasons as one of the NFL’s best deep threats is understandably frustrated. He’s in a contract year and has said he wants to be “a Colt for life.”

Perhaps his future is weighing on him, too, although he wouldn’t admit it.

Before the season opener at Jacksonville, the normally understated Hilton was talking loud. He raised eyebrows in his statement that defenders couldn’t cover him when he was hurt or healthy.

Then Jaguars rookie C.J. Henderson had a memorable debut in limiting Hilton to just three catches for 28 yards. Henderson also had an interception.

Why would Hilton be talking so much? A proven player shouldn’t need to say such things, to be honest. Confidence is one thing, but after missing six games due to a calf injury and putting up the lowest numbers of his career in 2019, Hilton boosting himself up was a surprise.

Again, that suggests his head was getting in the way of Hilton being the speedy playmaker everyone expects. Just play fast and loose, right? That’s what his grandma is used to seeing, too.

Since being drafted in the third round in 2012, the Colts have needed Hilton in the lineup. They’re 1-9 when he’s been sidelined by injuries — that’s why his health was supposedly the biggest concern in 2020. Hilton has 552 receptions for 8,598 yards and 45 TDs in his regular-season career. And add 45 receptions for 749 yards and three TDs in eight playoff games.

The Colts (1-1) host the banged-up New York Jets (0-2) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium (4:05 p.m., CBS-4 TV). The Jets secondary, like much of the roster, has been impacted by injuries. Hilton will undoubtedly see a familiar face in cornerback Pierre Desir, who was with the Colts the previous three seasons. They know each other well from practice matchups.

What’s also clear is the Colts will keep feeding Hilton the ball. Although he has just seven catches for 81 yards — which would be a modest one-game total for him — he leads the team by a wide margin with 14 targets.

If Hilton listens to his grandma and is back to his old self with the mindset that he will just enjoy playing the game, the numbers should take care of themselves.

If not, considering the Jets are one of the NFL’s worst teams, then it’s fair to wonder if Hilton’s problems are more than mental. But it’s too soon to suggest he’s lost it physically.

“I’m not worried about T.Y.,” head coach Frank Reich said. “He’s the last guy I worry about.”

Rivers says he isn’t concerned, either. Although they’ve been together for just a couple of months, the quarterback expects Hilton will sort it out.

“There is zero lost confidence or anything for that matter,” Rivers said.

He later added, “No concerns whatsoever from me.”

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(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)