The Indianapolis Colts are coming into 2013 after a magic season last year that saw the team make the playoffs after being worst in the NFL and now the team is going through its first big adversity of this season, as tight end Dwayne Allen was injured and will be out for the year.
According to ESPN.com, Allen will be out for the season with a hip injury and he will undergo surgery and then will recover in time for next season. Allen going out is just the latest hit to the Colts offense for quarterback Andrew Luck, as the team also lost Vick Ballard and Donald Thomas this season and now has to scramble to help get more depth. The team luckily has another quality tight end in Coby Fleener, but it was Allen that emerged last season as a consistent threat for Luck in the offense.
Allen played in all 16 games last season and made 45 catches on 66 targets for over 500 yards and the Colts were expecting to use him even more this year. He scored three touchdowns and averaged over 10 yards per catch last season, which is a nice amount for a tight end and now the team has to deal with another player being out of the starting lineup for an extended period of time. Allen was a security blanket for the Colts and Luck and his size gave him some nice advantages over opposing defenses.
The loss of Allen gives the other receivers in the offense a better chance to put up numbers, including names like Darrius Heyward-Bey and TY Hilton, and obviously Fleener as well after he was teammates with Luck in college. Hilton likely will be the biggest beneficiary of losing Allen, as he is a big play receiver with speed and could score plenty of touchdowns for the team this year. Hilton has nine catches for 144 yards this season and with the team playing against San Francisco on the road in Week 3, they will need all the help they can get.
The loss of Allen is a big blow, but it is something the team can recover from with Fleener in the lineup. Allen was originally injured in the Week 1 game against the Raiders and now he will be out of action for quite some time.
Darrius Heyward-Bey and TY Hilton could put up some solid stats this season and should be considered very big sleepers, especially with Andrew Luck developing in his second season. Last year Hilton made 50 catches for 861 yards and seven touchdowns and he showed a knack for the big play, averaging over 17 yards per catch and this season he could be even better. Last season he had five games with 100 yards receiving and that is huge for fantasy owners and his speed makes him a touchdown target for Luck on the turn in Indy. Some have compared Hilton to Percy Harvin and while he has yet to put up production like that, it could be the start of something special this season.