Alec Pierce and Daniel Jones are cut from a very similar cloth.
They're naturally talented but still work as hard as anyone to hone their craft. They're reserved in media sessions but can get along with just about anyone, and are generally some of the most respected guys in the locker room. They're competitive, they're humble and they're willing to do anything to help their team succeed.
They're the kind of players you want in your locker room and by your side on the football field – and after officially re-signing with the Colts this week, that's exactly where the dynamic duo of Pierce and Jones will be this season.
Knowing how valuable Pierce and Jones can be, especially when paired together, the Colts made it a priority from the beginning of the offseason to retain both players. And when both players made it clear they wanted to return to the Colts, well, the pieces all just fell into place.
"That first half of the season, I think we truly had something special going," Pierce said on Wednesday, referencing the Colts' 8-2 start in 2025, in which they boasted the most efficient offense in the NFL, in large part thanks to Jones' on-field operation. "And I know we didn't finish the way we wanted to finish, but I think I'm able to look back to that and look at how we were playing, and know we can be the best team in the NFL."
Pierce and Jones instantly hit it off when Jones was first signed by the Colts prior to the 2025 season, bonding over everything from football to golf and anything in between. That camaraderie translated on the field, as Pierce quickly became a popular target for Jones; in the 10 games they played together, Pierce had 33 receptions for 689 yards and two touchdowns, and Jones averaged just over 20 yards per completion when targeting Pierce.
Now, Pierce has set his sights on becoming the Colts' No. 1 receiver, ready to shift from being just a downfield target to an all-around threat. He already started to build out his route tree in 2025, and Jones – who already knows he can trust Pierce to produce – is just as eager to help Pierce reach his goals.
"I think he's capable and has the skillset to do that," Jones said Thursday. "I think last year he did a lot of that. He was obviously down the field making plays like he has his whole career, and then made a lot of plays in the intermediate game on crossers and in-cuts and deep outs and stuff like that, and he'll continue to do that for us. And I think continuing to feature him, I think he's capable of all of it. There's nothing he can't do from a route receiver standpoint, so it's our job to get him the ball."
But why Pierce wanted to keep playing with Jones goes far beyond success on the football field. For Pierce, it was just as important to have a reliable and cerebral leader (and friend) as it was a quarterback who trusted him to catch the football.
"If you just look at how we were playing, purely numbers-wise and how dominant we were early in the season, that's the big thing and kind of the obvious thing I think for everyone to look at," Pierce said. "But then I would say, really, just who he is as a person and how he works and how he prepares, I think that is something that gives us so much confidence."
From the moment he signed with the Colts, Jones impressed everyone around him with his preparation and work ethic every day. He was consistently one of the first guys in and the last guys out of the building every day, and there quickly became a running joke about him being late to dinner with his teammates because he was watching film. But that's just how he operates, and clearly it pays off.
"I know he's going to be ready to go and he's going to be prepared as well as he can for the game, and obviously the quarterback is kind of like the leader and the heart of the team, and I think we all as a team kind of feed off that," Pierce explained. "And I feel like preparation is confidence, and I think that allows us to go into the game feeling confident because we just feel prepared, because it's like, I know this guy knows exactly everything he needs to know going into this game about the game plan. He could probably read the game plan to you just out of his mind. So I think that's the biggest thing."
