'Don't listen to anything anyone says online' – Colts WR Alec Pierce sends valuable message to young NFL players struggling early in their career
Alec Pierce's NFL career didn't get off to as fast of a start as he or the Indianapolis Colts would have liked after he was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He didn't let the outside world lower his confidence because he knew the type of player he was, and he's putting […]
Alec Pierce's NFL career didn't get off to as fast of a start as he or the Indianapolis Colts would have liked after he was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He didn't let the outside world lower his confidence because he knew the type of player he was, and he's putting it on full display as he is on pace to shatter his career highs this season.
Alec Pierce's advice to young NFL players facing criticism due to early career struggles
I was a part of a media availability today that allowed myself and others who cover the team to speak with Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce. This season, we've seen fans, as well as local and national media, have plenty of criticism to throw at Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and rookie WR Adonai Mitchell. So I thought it would be great to hear what advice Pierce would have to players like Richardson and Mitchell, who are currently dealing with exactly what Pierce had to go through early in his career.
"Yeah, the biggest thing, is number one, don't listen to anything anyone says online, because they don't see the full picture. They're not in the building every day, seeing the work put in. Football is such a complicated sport. It takes so many things to go right, especially for a receiver specifically. There's the play call, there's the protection, there's the quarterback. It's a lot of things that go into it. And when your sample size is so small earlier in your career, you see some guys play really well their rookie year, and then kind of fade off. So, when the sample size is small. It's kind of hard to judge the player."
– Colts WR Alec Pierce
Alec Pierce is a testament to why it's important to be patient with young players
Pierce is still only 24 years old and just now playing in his third season. But there were many people loudly writing him off as a player going forward. They say patience is a virtue, but in my experience, most football fans lack in that category. However, neither Pierce nor the Colts coaching staff lost faith in the talent they knew he had in him.
As Pierce said, many things play into young players' success early in their careers. For him, he had to deal with poor QB play and flat-out instability at the position over his first two seasons. A key part of his game is clearly the deep ball, and he didn't have a QB in either of those seasons to get that job done. This year, having QBs like Richardson and Joe Flacco who want to target deep downfield has truly flipped the script on the national perception of Pierce. He has already set his career high with three touchdowns in a season. And he currently leads the NFL in yards per reception with 25.5 yards.
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