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T.Y. Hilton primed to join Brown, Beckham in top WR tier

Brian Spurlock / USA TODAY Sports

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

The 2016 season didn't go as planned for the Indianapolis Colts, but two players on offense really stood out: Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton.

New general manager Chris Ballard has his work cut out for him to build this roster to where it needs to be, but he does have two foundational pieces in place in Luck and Hilton.

Though Luck is coming off the best season of his career, Hilton was simply outstanding in 2016 and really has been a consistent force for the Colts since entering the NFL. Last year he racked up 91 catches for 1,448 yards, both career highs. That was Hilton's fourth straight 1,000-yard season.

In the 2014 and 2016 seasons, when Luck was healthy, Hilton averaged over 90 receiving yards per game. And he was basically the entire Colts passing attack last year.

Hilton's speed is the first thing that stands out; he can run with any player in the league. But Hilton also possesses fantastic acceleration and explosion. He is a great deep threat, but he doesn't run as many go routes as you might expect. Some of that surely has to do with the Colts' pass protection issues over the past few years, but it also indicates that Hilton is far more well-rounded than you might think.

Hilton is obviously small compared to the rest of the league. However, he plays bigger than his height and weight would indicate and has really improved in contested ball situations. Hilton is also highly competitive fighting for the ball in the air, but isn't quite as sure-handed as Indianapolis would like.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Hilton is also a developed route runner and realizes that opposing cover men fear his speed, but his lateral quickness and agility is also top notch. Therefore, Hilton has really turned into an excellent runner of routes like comebacks and hitches at the intermediate levels. He consistently gains separation at all levels of the field.

Hilton also aligns all over the formation, including a lot of time in the slot, in Indianapolis' offense. He has also only missed two games in his career. The Colts obviously understand Hilton's great value and have him locked up through 2020.

The term "No. 1 wide receiver" gets thrown around too liberally. There certainly are not 32 No. 1 receivers. Not every team has one - and most of the league's true No. 1s are in the Julio Jones/Dez Bryant prototypical mold. Smaller wide receivers like Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown have to be special players to make up for what they lack in size and physicality.

Hilton isn't quite on Beckham and Brown's level, but there is no denying that he is a No. 1 receiver. And at age 27 and coming off his best campaign, assuming Luck is ready to go to start the season, Hilton's best might still be yet to come.

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