Frank Reich High on Colts Young Receivers

Is receiver a weakness for the Indianapolis Colts? It doesn't look that way to head coach Frank Reich.

The Indianapolis Colts have one of the strongest rosters in the NFL including two No. 1 players as ranked by their peers in Shaquille Leonard and Quenton Nelson, and a third, Jonathan Taylor, just missed the top spot.

However, after Michael Pittman, there are questions about the Colts receiving room and weapons new quarterback Matt Ryan has to work with to take pressure off Taylor and the Colts' running game.

After two days of camp, head coach Frank Reich likes what he sees from the young receivers including second-round pick Alec Pierce who has been tabbed a rookie of the year candidate. 

"I have a lot of confidence in these young guys, really a lot of confidence," Reich said after practice on Thursday. "I know a lot of the chatter in the outside world, but all I can tell you is I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys. Reggie’s (Wayne) doing a great job. It’s really about the players, though. They’re fast, they’re strong, they’re smart, and just a lot of upside there. Really excited about it. It’s so early, but very excited about that group."

Reich mentioned "smart" as a key attribute for the young receivers to hit the ground running.

"Not a surprise because you know we draft and sign smart guys," said Reich. "It’s such a premium, Chris (Ballard) and I talk about that all the time. There are a lot of smart players in this league, and we all know that. It’s just really a premium for our skill guys to be smart, and our guys (are) not only smart, they have character. They work hard at it, they do the extra study, they know we count on them. We can’t afford to have mental mistakes and have to run plays over. So, they’re taking a lot of responsibility and it’s been a good start."

With Ryan pushing the tempo at practice to a level the Colts haven't seen before, Reich and Indianapolis are hoping the good start can lead to a great finish.