Colts 2021 Fantasy Preview: TE Mo Alie-Cox

Is 2021 the year that Mo Alie-Cox becomes the Colts' TE1? Fantasy owners sure hope so.

In the NFL, "project" players rarely seem to consistently progress over time and reach their potential. The Indianapolis Colts undertook a handful of these players in recent memory, and it looks like they've actually struck oil with one of them in tight end Mo Alie-Cox.

Alie-Cox was general manager Chris Ballard's first free-agent signing in 2017 and was making a return to football after not having played the sport since his freshman year of high school. Between then, Alie-Cox had been a star on the basketball court, most recently for the VCU Rams.

In the four years since he's been in the league, Alie-Cox has gone from re-learning the sport while on the practice squad to being the Colts' most dangerous tight end.

The natural arc of his development is to take over as the Colts' top tight end in 2021. Will that happen?

Average draft position and positional rankings from FantasyPros. Projections are based on traditional lineups with PPR scoring.

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Relevant to all Colts fantasy players, quarterback Carson Wentz underwent a procedure on his foot on Mon., Aug. 2 and is expected to be out anywhere from 5-12 weeks, which puts his return in the regular season roughly between Week 1-Week 8. Although the team will have a better idea of his approximate timetable for return a few weeks post-op, they believe his return will be on the quicker side of the range.

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TE Mo Alie-Cox

• Current ADP — 288.0
• Current Positional Rank — TE33
• 2021 Strength of Schedule — 10th hardest
• 2018 — 9 games, 7 receptions (13 targets), 133 yards (19.0 avg.), 2 TD
• 2019 — 16 games, 8 receptions (11 targets), 93 yards (11.6 avg.)
• 2020 — 15 games, 31 receptions (39 targets), 394 yards (12.7 avg.), 2 TD
• Average per game — 1.2 receptions (1.6 targets), 15.5 yards (13.5 avg.), 0.1 TD

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The first thing we have to address when discussing Colts tight ends is that they like to use three on a regular basis. For Alie-Cox, that means he shares the field with Jack Doyle and rookie Kylen Granson.

We discussed in Doyle's fantasy preview (linked below) that he's on the downslope of his fantasy effectiveness while Alie-Cox and Granson both have their arrows pointing up.

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar, Indianapolis Star via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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The Colts love them some Jack Doyle, make no mistake about it, so that's going to keep him on the field quite a bit. However, Alie-Cox is likely to see the most action in the passing game.

Considering his abilities as a blocker, there really is no reason Alie-Cox shouldn't be the Colts' most-used tight end, but I'll believe it when I see the Colts put Doyle on the back burner.

Last year in his most significant action, Alie-Cox had a breakout year of sorts and put up actual numbers, finishing as fantasy's TE25.

Before Philip Rivers — one of the most productive quarterbacks in the history of the NFL — got settled into the Colts' offense and had total command of it, Alie-Cox was his guy. He had a big first four games of the season, totaling 11 receptions (13 targets) for 194 yards (17.6 avg.) and 2 touchdowns. Afterward, Rivers began spreading the ball around quite a bit more, but it's very telling that a guy of that stature would gravitate toward Alie-Cox as his go-to man.

Pro Football Focus graded Alie-Cox as the sixth-best tight end in the entire NFL with a grade of 78.2. He trailed only Travis Kelce (93.5), Darren Waller (86.5), George Kittle (84.9), Mark Andrews (81.8), and Dallas Goedert (79.6). His 81.8 grade in pass blocking was third, his 76.6 receiving grade was ninth, and his run blocking grade of 68.2 was tied for 18th.

As a receiver, Alie-Cox's 6.0 yards after catch per reception were tied for the third-most among tight ends behind only Kelce (7.1) and Kittle (6.2). His 2.07 yards per route run were fourth behind Kittle (2.84), Kelce (2.50), and Waller (2.28).

Alie-Cox has clearly proven to have the capability of being one of the better tight ends in the NFL if put into a larger role.

It seems like the natural next step for Alie-Cox to truly become the Colts' TE1 in 2021. In his three years, he's started one game, then two, and then six games last year. In 2021, he should be a consistent starter and perhaps the team's top pass-catching tight end.

Are you planning on targeting Alie-Cox in your fantasy drafts? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

See Below for More in This Series:

• QB Carson Wentz
• RB Jonathan Taylor
• RB Nyheim Hines
• WR T.Y. Hilton
• WR Michael Pittman Jr.
• WR Parris Campbell
• TE Jack Doyle

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