The Indianapolis Colts agreed to a deal with pending free-agent wide receiver Ashton Dulin before the official start of free agency Wednesday.
Though it may not be one of the big high-profile signings of the offseason, bringing Dulin back is a solid move for a Colts team that needs depth at the wide receiver position. Not to mention, Dulin is one of the premier gunners on special teams across the league.
Keep up to date with the latest news, signings and rumors through our free agency tracker for the Colts.
Here’s our instant analysis for the move:
How he fits in the depth chart
While Dulin is currently slotted in as the WR3 on the depth chart, it’s likely he’ll get bumped down as the Colts add more talent to the position. Whether that’s through the draft or another addition in free agency remains to be seen, but Dulin will provide more depth on offense than anything while acting as the gunner on special teams.
Here’s an updated look at the projected depth chart:
| XWR | Slot | ZWR |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | Ashton Dulin | Alec Pierce |
| Mike Strachan | Vyncint Smith | Kristian Wilkerson |
| Malik Turner |
Dulin is better suited as the backup Z receiver behind Pierce, but if the season started today, Dulin would be the slot option. Expect the Colts to add a slot receiver at some point this offseason.
How this impacts the draft
Re-signing Dulin shouldn’t keep the Colts from prioritizing the wide receiver position in the draft. They need to find more upside behind Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce so it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they used a Day 2 or early Day 3 pick at the position. Dulin simply reinforces the back-end depth in the room.
How this impacts free agency
It will be interesting to see how active the Colts are in the wide receiver market in free agency. There aren’t a whole lot of exciting options out there. With Dulin in the mix, the Colts could try to bring back Parris Campbell to give them a solidified slot receiver depending on his price tag while adding more upside through the draft. Another pure slot receiver the Colts could target is Richie James.
Contract details
We don’t have the full breakdown of the contract as of this writing, but we do have the basic numbers. It’s a two-year deal worth up to $9.2 million, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. That’s a solid deal for a special teams ace and depth wide receiver so we should have no qualms about it.
WR Ashton Dulin is re-signing with the #Colts for two years and up to $9.2M, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 15, 2023
Instant grade
As long as Dulin doesn’t enter the season as the WR3 on the depth chart, this will be a good signing. Even just on his special teams presence alone, this is a solid deal for both sides. Dulin brings speed to the wide receiver room, and he could hold a Quez Watkins-type of role in Shane Steichen’s offense.
In a word? Nice!
Grade: B
