Hakeem Nicks the Missing Piece to the Puzzle for Indianapolis?

Normally when you have a regime change like the Colts had a couple years ago there is a season or two of toiling in obscurity before becoming competitive again. Instead, the team only had to suffer through the dreaded 2-14 year before returning to the playoffs. Of course when you have a turn around like that fans go back to expecting things from the team.

So the question becomes this--what is going to take to get there? What will it take to get to the next level? Could the answer be in their latest free agent acquisition, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks?

via Gifulmination.com

With the NFL becoming more and more of a passing league each season success seems to be contingent upon having not just a solid No. 1 wide receiver but a No. 2 as well. Reggie Wayne was easily the No. 1 guy for Indianapolis last season. The hope was that T.Y Hilton or Darius Heyward-Bey could be the No. 2 with Lavon Brazill the No. 3 (along with the tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener).

Up until Wayne's injury it looked like things were going to work out for the Colts. Hilton was stepping up more and more in each passing week and looked every bit the No. 2 Indianapolis needed, but when Wayne went down things became a whole lot tougher. Hilton was good, but not a No. 1 quality guy. Heyward-Bey was pretty much a bust and Fleener was productive, but hard to count on (Allen was injured).

The team was still good enough to win the division and make the playoffs, but a lot of their success was due to Andrew Luck making some tremendous plays. You know what I'm talking about--the kind you don't want to count on your guy making, but you are damn glad when he does.

So--back to the original question. Will Hakeen Nicks be the missing piece to the championship puzzle?

Quite possibly.

Unlike Heyward-Bey, Nicks is a proven commodity. He has excelled in the NFL before (1000+ yard seasons in '10 and '11). He can do the job with a good quarterback throwing to him, and he'll have that in Luck.

However, his last two seasons in New York were not overly impressive.  Is that because the Giants suffered in general? Was it due to Eli Manning having a rough year last season? No one knows, but that is why the Colts went with a one-year contract worth a maximum of $5.5 million. They want to see Nicks earn it.

Nicks wants to earn it too. He is headed to the IMG Academy to train with the next crop of NFL greats as they prepare for the draft. What better way to stay hungry than to work out with the guys that want to take your job?

The NFL is a passer's league now and with the addition of Nicks to the roster the Colts are going to be a much tougher team. With Wayne expected to return and Hilton entrenched as the No. 2 the world will not be expected right off the bat from Nicks, but should he perform like a quality wide receiver should in a contract year Colts fans are going to be very, very happy next year.

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