Numbers don't lie, but rarely do they tell the full story, especially when it comes to football – and even more so when it comes to Alec Pierce.
Pierce has built a reputation as one of the NFL's premier deep threats, and while that remains true – he's averaging a league-high 20.9 yards per catch this season – to reduce the wide receiver to just that does a disservice to the rest of his game.
Even in 2024, Pierce's breakout year statistically, his intangibles were just as important as his eye-popping numbers. His work ethic, motivation and competitiveness made him invaluable. It just so happened that his whopping 22.3 yards per catch and career-high seven touchdowns were able to reflect that.
But with Pierce, you have to watch the tape to even begin to understand how improbable some of his catches are and how multi-faceted he actually is.
For example, take his efforts on Jonathan Taylor's record-setting 83-yard touchdown run in the Colts' Week 10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Pierce was matched up with Falcons cornerback Keith Taylor and kept pace with him all the way down the field, eventually overtaking him and blocking him from reaching Taylor as he scampered down the sideline.
"I kind of had a two-man police escort with AP and Tyler (Warren)," Taylor said. "That's how those runs happen."
Pierce's hand-to-hand battle with Taylor – which lasted a good 20 yards during their full-on sprint – won't show up anywhere on the stat sheet. Neither, for that matter, will the impressive speed he reached on the run or the countless other times he kept defenders occupied to help the rest of his teammates make a play throughout the game.
No longer is Pierce's calling card just his deep threat ability – instead, it's his overall playmaking ability.
In eight games this season (he missed Weeks 4 and 5 with a concussion), Pierce has tallied 585 receiving yards and one touchdown. He leads the league with 20.9 yards per catch and is averaging a career-high 73.1 yards per game. He's on pace for over 1,000 receiving yards this season for the first time in his career.
And yet, he doesn't have a reception for longer than 50 yards. In fact, he only has two receptions for longer than 45 yards. In the lone game in which he had over 100 receiving yards – 115 in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers – his longest reception was 36 yards.
Pierce would say his numbers are a testament to the versatility of the Colts offense that's allowing them to spread the ball around, not forced to rely on one or two playmakers (or one or two big plays) every week, and he'd be right.
What he won't as readily take credit for, though, is his own hard work to expand his route-running abilities and grow into the all-around threat he always knew he could be.
"He's always had the ability to do it," wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne said. "It's just him locking in on it and doing it and now we're all seeing the results.
"A lot of people look at him as a one-trick pony, but he's been working hard and diligent as far as how to get his intermediate route game up, and I think when you watch him, he'll surprise you. I've had defensive backs and defensive back coaches come and talk about him, and just say 'Man, he's gotten a lot better.'"
Of course, Pierce's presence as a downfield threat is still a major part of his game and will likely continue to be what sets him apart.
"No matter what I do, I still think that's always going to be scout number one for me," Pierce said. "Even if I'm doing other stuff, you can live with the other stuff. The deep balls, the explosive plays, you know, that's what they harp and they want to limit."
But now, Pierce can more easily pivot and still help his team in other ways – and like the entire Colts offense, it will be even more difficult to completely shut him down.
"He's worked really, really hard at it – different technique issues, or just sort of strategy thoughts with how to run a route versus a certain DB," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "He, I know, takes pride in being able to make plays at all different levels of the field and different route concepts and routes that can develop for receivers...I think he has the ability to threaten the defense – deep, intermediate, short, all those things, catch and run, which is a great thing for a receiver to have."
"He's making big-time plays down the field," head coach Shane Steichen said. "His intermediate game is making big strides so he's able to do a lot for us offensively – moving him around, trying to get certain matchups. His route-running ability, coming in and out of the breaks have been huge for us. He's made huge strides in that. His catch radius has been strong. So, he's been awesome for us last year, and obviously this year, the way he's playing has just been phenomenal for our football team."
It took until Week 9 for any Colts player to have over 100 receiving yards in a game, but never once was that a bad thing. Pierce and his fellow receivers were happy to spread the wealth, taking advantage of their opportunities and finding ways to make their presence known in other ways on the field – especially when it came to blocking during Taylor's runs.
"I like playing unselfish football and just knowing my role and doing my job, doing whatever it takes for the team on the play," Pierce said. "Blocking is exactly that. It's unselfish. I have a lot of respect for guys that do that across the league, obviously linemen – that's all they do, that's basically their job – but guys like Ashton (Dulin), where they come in there and they make those tough blocks, stuff like that, I have a lot of respect for those players."
That kind of effort is the standard and the expectation in Wayne's room. He won't be the one to call attention to it, because it's what needs to be done. It's part of the job. But that doesn't mean the rest of the team doesn't still notice it.
"They give us a lot of love, especially the O-line coach (Tony Sparano Jr.)," Pierce said. "Running backs coach, pretty much all the guys that are really in that run game, they give us a lot of love."
It's no secret that Pierce has earned the respect of his teammates and competitors around the league thanks to both his natural athleticism and his hard work. But, as is the case with every professional athlete, he knows he can always keep improving – and he keeps pushing himself to be better.
Case in point: he doesn't think he's all that tough.
"I don't know if I've ever thought of myself as a tough player, per se," he explained with a smile. "I think Pitt (Michael Pittman Jr.) is a tough player, (I'm) trying to be like Pitt."
Anyone who's seen Pierce fight to make tough catches and consistently crash into the ground (with the football firmly in his hands) after the fact would say differently – and even Pierce himself eventually agreed that yes, his toughness is a big part of his game. But therein lies a pretty good representation of Pierce: someone who is never satisfied, someone who knows he can always get better and someone who wants to do whatever is necessary for his team.
That's why he's put so much effort into expanding his own game and why he's started to emerge as a full-fledged threat across the board. So even if he's not necessarily making those 60-yard highlight-reel catches, make no mistake – Pierce is still continuing to make a name for himself and the Colts are still benefiting from every little thing he does.
