The Indianapolis Colts signed two veteran free agents from the University of Miami this offseason to help their offense. They drafted another former UM star on Thursday night.
Speedy wide receiver Phillip Dorsett -- who runs a 4.25 40 -- went to the Colts with the 29th pick; he joins free agents Frank Gore and Andre Johnson as new toys for quarterback Andrew Luck.
"This kid flies," was the succinct observation by NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin during coverage of the draft.
Dorsett had an uneven career at Miami, finishing with 121 career catches -- three fewer than Amari Cooper had in 2014 alone. But that speed is impressive, and he is a definite deep threat, which he proved by averaging 24.2 yards per catch in 2014.
"I love DeSean Jackson," Irvin said. "I talk about DeSean Jackson having speed but having the hands of a real receiver. So does this kid. He's got track speed but real receiver's hands.
"I'm shocked that the Colts took him because they have so much speed with T.Y. Hilton. Now you put both of these guys together on the outside and let Andre Johnson become the middle man that works the middle of the field? I'll you what: Andrew Luck got lucky today."
NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock also was a fan of the pick and also touted Dorsett's speed: "When he gets vertical, forget about it."
Stanford coach David Shaw was serving as a guest analyst on NFL Network and likes how the Colts are adding weapons for Luck, whom he coached in college.
"You're putting guys around your quarterback. ... They're taking a shot; they're trying to win it all," Shaw said.
Later, when referencing the receiving corps, Shaw said, "You've got juice on the outside. Andre Johnson, who's a crafty veteran now; he's not that young burner that he used to be. He's a crafty veteran that can work the middle of the field and is a very dependable receiver. You've got some guys outside now. (Opposing DBs,) you better flip your hips and run because this ball's going downtown."
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
