While the Colts bolstered their war chest of draft picks in trading away free-agents-to-be Keenan Allen and Josh Downs on Tuesday, there still are eight games left in the 2026 season.
And Allen and Downs, over the first nine games of the season, made up well more than half of the Colts' production from the wide receiver position prior to being traded:
Allen was on the field for a little over half of the Colts' offensive snaps, while no receiver played more than Downs, whose 479 snaps represented a touch over 80 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps in 2026. Those two averaged a combined 88 snaps per game – snaps that, now, will have to be filled in by the five receivers currently on the Colts' 53-man roster.
"Those guys took up a lot of the offense, a majority of the passes," wide receiver Laquon Treadwell said. "We were doing a lot of the dirty work, me, (Ashton) Dulin, (Deion) Burks. Like (Reggie Wayne) told us, it's another opportunity to put some tape out there. This is our bible, in a sense, for our life. We gotta go out there and perform and make plays and make sure we leave a good taste in our fans' mouths."
The Colts certainly will look to get tight end Tyler Warren more involved in their passing game (53 targets, 38 receptions, 275 yards, two touchdowns), and running back Jonathan Taylor has the fourth-most targets (36) of any Colts player this season. But that doesn't mean the Colts' entire offense will run through its tight end and running back.
So here's a look at those five receivers who stand to play more and/or get more targets over the Colts' next eight games:
Anthony Gould
2026 stats: 2 snaps, one target, one catch, 16 yards
Gould is probably the most one-for-one "next man up" out of this bunch, with the 5-foot-8, 174 pound former fifth-round pick stepping into a starting slot role with Downs in Kansas City.
Gould primarily has worked as a punt and kick returner over the last three seasons, and of his 75 career snaps on offense, a little more than half (39) came with Downs out for the Colts' 2025 Week 7 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He only caught one pass for three yards in that game; in his career, he has four catches for 45 yards.
"I'm excited. It's something I've been waiting on," Gould said. "I talked about it with Reg yesterday. I'm excited to go out there and play ball. Whatever the team needs me to do, I'm willing to go out there and do it. I'm excited for the new opportunity, be able to step up and really just make a name for myself."
At the 2024 NFL Combine, Gould ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash (88th percentile among wide receivers) with a 1.49-second 10-yard split (94th percentile), highlighting both his quickness and top-end speed.
Deion Burks
2026 stats: 93 snaps, nine targets, six receptions, 60 yards, three rushes, 21 yards
Speaking of speed, Burks ran the 40 in 4.3 seconds – the fastest 40-yard dash time of any player currently on the Colts. The Colts have sprinkled in ways to weaponize Burks' speed this season both horizontally (on jet motions with the occasional handoff and on shallow crossing routes) and vertically.
The biggest vertical play: In Week 6, quarterback Daniel Jones and Burks connected on a well-timed deep corner route for a 36-yard gain.
It's also worth noting 44 of Burks' 55 snaps on receiving plays came with Allen off the field. Expect his role to increase as an outside receiver in place of Allen.
And one other thing about Burks: He's a tough football player, the kind of guy who's on the smaller side (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) but is remarkably strong (26 bench press reps, which is in the 98th percentile among all receivers at the NFL Combine since 1999). He's willing to scrap and battle opposing players not only with the ball in his hands, but in the run game as well – a trait that'll continue to earn him playing time as a rookie.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
2026 stats: 19 snaps, one target
No receiver on the Colts' roster has more production in his career than Westbrook-Ikhine, who has 137 receptions for 1,862 yards with 19 touchdowns over seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2020-2024), Miami Dolphins (2025) and Colts (2026). The Colts quickly signed him to the 53-man roster from their practice squad after dealing Allen, and the 6-foot-2, 211 pound Indiana alum will likely play a bigger role over the second half of 2026.
Ashton Dulin
2026 stats: 14 snaps, nine targets, four receptions, 84 yards, one touchdown, two rushes, six yards
Here's a stat: Three of Dulin's five career offensive touchdowns have been for more than 50 yards. He caught a 62-yard bomb from Carson Wentz in 2021, a 54-yard catch-and-run strike from Anthony Richardson Sr. in 2024 and then his 55-yard dash on a screen from Jones on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Dulin, over his eight-year career, has made a name for himself as one of the NFL's best special teams players, with his speed, toughness and physicality making him a weapon in that phase. He's never had more than 15 receptions in a season; over the last three years, he has 11 receptions. But Dulin has been trusted by multiple coaching staffs to make plays whenever his number is called on offense, which could become more frequent moving forward.
Laquon Treadwell
2026 stats: 453 snaps, 29 targets, 16 receptions, 215 yards
Treadwell's playing time won't be impacted by the departures of Allen and Downs, as he's filled in at the X receiver position after Alec Pierce went on injured reserve. But as most of the Colts' targets went to Allen and Downs, Treadwell – the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft – could be in line to take on a larger share of offensive usage moving forward.
The 31-year-old Treadwell's voice, too, carries plenty of weight within the Colts' wide receiver room.
"We got to put our head back down and go to work," Treadwell said. "No team's going to come here and give us empathy. No team's going to come here and feel bad for us. Every week is your resume in the sense of your play."
Alec Pierce
2026 stats: 49 snaps 7 targets, five catches, 72 yards
Pierce is not part of this equation right now, as he remains on injured reserve without a timetable to return, Steichen said Wednesday. The Colts placed Pierce on injured reserve in September after he reaggravated a heel injury during Week 2's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
