The Indianapolis Colts (1-1-1) were able to come away with a 20-17 upset victory Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs (2-1) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
With their backs against the wall, the Colts got the job done. It was their first fourth-quarter comeback since the 2020 season with Philip Rivers. While they got some help from a costly penalty, the fight and fire finally showed up after two pretty rough outings to open the season.
Between performance and usage, we can gather a lot of information about a player’s stock. While we know the stock for the big-name players like Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr., it’s the other pieces on the roster whose stock is likely to change the most throughout the season.
It’s important to remember that the stock report is fluid. A player whose stock fell in one week can rise the following week, and vice versa. It’s more about spotting trends and potential for the future based on what we saw in the game that week.
Here’s the stock report for the Colts following the Week 3 win:
Stock Up: TE Jelani Woods
Despite playing only 16 snaps on offense and seeing three targets throughout the game, the rookie tight end made his presence known. Woods caught two touchdowns Sunday, the first to get the Colts on the board and the second to put them ahead late in the fourth quarter. He’s still likely behind Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson on the depth chart, but this was a very encouraging outing.
Stock Down: LT Matt Pryor
Though Pryor was credited with only one total pressure, according to Pro Football Focus, I’ll go ahead and disagree with that assessment. Pryor doesn’t look comfortable manning the left tackle position. He looks slow diagnosing moves and oftentimes finds himself too high when going against a dip move or speed rusher. The Colts need to have serious conversations about potentially moving him to right guard.
Stock Up: DE Yannick Ngakoue
Finally, we got to see the pass rusher the Colts acquired this offseason. From his relentless motor to his speed while running the arc, Ngakoue was feeling himself on Sunday. Though he only came away with one sack, Ngakoue was credited with four total pressures and was constantly wreaking havoc from the edge. This is the type of presence the Colts pass rush needs from Ngakoue.
Stock Down: RG Danny Pinter
The Colts may need to have a serious conversation about moving Pinter away from the starting role. He’s simply too much of a liability in pass protection. Granted, he saw a lot of reps against Chris Jones on Sunday, which is no easy task at all. But Pinter’s errors when facing a blitz will be an area that other teams will exploit easily. It’s both a communication and technique issue and if the Colts want to string some wins together, Pinter’s development may have to take a back seat.
Stock Up: WR Alec Pierce
The rookies had quite the game on Sunday. Coming off of a concussion, Pierce was a major catalyst for the passing offense. He caught three of his five targets for 63 yards, including a 30-yard reception down the sideline when the Colts were backed up to their own one-yard line. He also caught a 12-yard pass that set up the eventual go-ahead touchdown to Jelani Woods. It was an encouraging outing for a player the Colts view as their eventual No. 2 wideout.
Stock Down: S Nick Cross
This one is a bit confusing, and maybe we’ll get an answer later in the week. But Cross has clearly been demoted. Unless he’s dealing with an injury we don’t know about, the starting safety job belongs to Rodney McLeod. Cross played just one snap on the defensive side of the ball Sunday, and that was after he saw a decrease in snaps during the Week 2 loss. Cross still has the talent and upside to figure it out down the road, but it seems he’s no longer the starter on the backend of the defense.
