Bottom Line

Woods easily leads the Colts TEs in upside, both this year and long term. The biggest question will be volume. Does he get on the field enough to be a regular option for fantasy lineups? And just how many targets will be available.

Fortunately, Woods won’t be going anywhere close to starter range in fantasy drafts. He’s an upside TE3 for best ball formats and likely a waiver-wire watch for lineup-setting leagues.

What We Learned Last Year

• Woods ranked third among Colts TEs in playing time and routes as a rookie. But he tied Kylen Granson for the target lead at the position, also tying RB Jonathan Taylor for fourth on the team.
• Woods trailed Granson and Mo Alie-Cox in catch rate, with his 62.5% low for a TE.
• The rookie made up for that by averaging 2.6 more yards per catch than Alie-Cox and 2.8 more than Granson.
  • Credit an average depth of target that beat his TE teammates by 4.5+ yards.
  • Woods ranked third in aDOT among all TEs with double-digit targets, trailing only Darren Waller and Kyle Pitts.
• His playing time grew significantly through the year.
  • Woods drew 0 targets while playing just 16 total snaps over the first two games.
  • He then played 23-38% of snaps in seven straight outings before missing two weeks with a shoulder injury.
  • Woods played a season-high 64% of snaps in his return and delivered easily his biggest game of the year: 8 catches, 98 yards vs. Pittsburgh.
  • He topped 50% playing time in four of the final six contests.
• Woods beat Alie-Cox and Granson in Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade but trailed both in pass blocking. He graded much better in pass blocking than run blocking over four college seasons.

What to Expect in 2023

• Woods looks like the best bet among Colts TEs going forward.
  • The team is still paying Alie-Cox significant money ($5.3 million cap hit this year), but he can be cut in 2024 with no dead money. He turns 30 in September and his seen his receptions decline each of the past two years.
  • Granson’s playing time more than doubled last year, from 20.5% in his rookie campaign to 45% for the 13 games he played. But he only reached 50% playing time in four of those games, with two of those coming the first two weeks.
    • Granson is averaging just 9.7 yards per catch through two seasons.
  • One wild card could be Drew Ogletree, a sixth-round pick last year. He did some impressing over the summer before missing the season because of injury.
• Woods’ size-speed combo stands out even in a beastly Indy TE room. At 6’7, he’s 2 inches taller than any TE teammate. And Woods’ 4.61-second 40 time at last year’s Scouting Combine rates 88th percentile for the position. Combine that with his weight (253 pounds), and you get a 94th-percentile speed score.
• As the downfield operator of the group, Woods should vibe with QB Anthony Richardson. The rookie passer completed just 53.8% of his total passes in his lone starting season at Florida. But his best work came in the deep range.
  • Among 148 QBs with 20+ deep attempts (20+ yards downfield), Richardson ranked (per PFF):
    • 25th in total deep attempts
    • 20th in deep-passing grade
    • 16th in deep-passing yards