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Colts beat writer Nate Atkins believes “the upside is still extremely high" on TE Jelani Woods. The 25-year-old missed all of last season with a hamstring injury. Back healthy, Atkins points out Woods’ freakish athleticism and the opportunity awaiting him at TE.
Here’s Atkins’ bullish take on where Woods could fit in.
“The Colts have left their top tight end role open to him, and if his off-season work to reshape his lower half can create a sustainable year, he could break out in the biggest of ways with a play designer like Shane Steichen and a downfield quarterback like Richardson in a run-heavy, play-action-heavy offense.”
Atkins continued:
“It's not hard to picture Woods excelling on Steichen's tight end screens, in the run-pass-option game and up the seam when safeties commit to Michael Pittman Jr.”
Last year, Colts TEs combined for only 6 screen targets, per Pro Football Focus.
As a 2022 rookie, Woods tallied 25-312-3.
Among 38 qualifiers, he ranked 12th in yards per route run, ahead of names like Evan Engram and Dalton Schultz.
So the Colt has already flashed something to garner attention.
With that said: Indy recently extended a clear WR1 in Michael Pittman.
Adonai Mitchell arrives as an upside Round 2 pick, while Josh Downs returns as a reliable slot.
Even at TE, Woods will need to earn snaps over names like Will Mallory, Mo Alie-Cox, and Kylen Granson.
Plus, a team with Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor simply won’t project for a high pass rate. Our current numbers have them at a 53.5/46.5 pass-run split.
Woods is fine to draft late in TE premium formats; his fantasy football ADP shows he’s essentially free.
But unless he pops as a TD scorer, Woods probably won’t make a true fantasy impact.
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