Tyler Warren should be the next Colt fantasy managers target after Jonathan Taylor. Taylor can carry the offense with volume, while Warren keeps the passing game from becoming a weekly guessing exercise. Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, and Daniel Jones remain useful only when their specific jobs match the roster being built.
Start with Taylor when you want the settled workload. Make Warren the next Indianapolis player you target. Pierce belongs on rosters that can absorb uneven weeks, Downs fits managers willing to choose matchups, and Jones stays a conditional multi-quarterback option until his movement and passing volume look secure.
FFN's 2025 offensive profile recorded Indianapolis throwing on 60.4% of its plays and 62.0% in neutral situations. Shane Steichen's offense gave the passing game enough work to support useful roles around Taylor. The question for 2026 is whether Jones can keep the short, intermediate, and vertical parts of the route tree alive at the same time.
Taylor gives everyone else room to breathe
Jonathan Taylor is a running back whose workload sets the terms. His Weeks 14-18 line included 19.4 carries per game and a 77.6% snap share. Indianapolis could hand him the ball on early downs, use him as the outlet when pressure arrived, and keep the entire call sheet available near scoring range.
As of August 6, Taylor sits first overall in FFN's standard rankings. That placement will move as the preseason changes, but his football case doesn't need a spreadsheet to prop it up. He can win with rushing volume, receiving work, or touchdowns. The other Colts need the passing game to cooperate in a much more specific way.
The reduced finish deserves attention. Taylor averaged 17 carries over the final three weeks after handling 22.3 over the previous three, and his playing time slipped with it. The Week 18 finale against Houston brought 14 carries and 34 snaps. One reduced game doesn't erase a season-long role, though a preseason pattern that removes him on passing downs would trim the advantage that makes him the safest Indianapolis pick.
Taylor buys the Colts patience. He doesn't buy every pass catcher a fantasy floor.
Warren is the passing-game priority
Warren already did the difficult part for a young tight end: he stayed on the field. Over the final five weeks, he played 86.2% of the snaps and saw 6.8 throws per game. Those weren't specialty-package numbers. Indianapolis trusted him as part of its normal personnel, which allowed him to release into the middle of the field without advertising the play.
Week 18 against Houston is the memory worth carrying into draft season. The Colts called 39 pass plays, Warren drew eight targets, and he logged 53 offensive snaps. He could be present for the full offense, then become the available throw when the rush arrived or the deeper route took too long.
The production still has to catch up. Warren averaged 6.3 PPR points over that five-week finish despite the sturdy role. A snap by itself doesn't score, and an underneath target can die quickly if the offense can't extend drives. Jones must turn enough of those routes into first downs and red-zone trips.
We're willing to bet on the opportunity. Draft Warren as FFN's TE2 in the August 6 standard rankings, and hold us to at least 100 targets in 2026. His path includes ordinary completions on early downs, pressure outlets, and designed work from a formation the Colts can also run from. He doesn't need to live on touchdowns to stay involved.
How Indianapolis fits your roster
Taylor is the foundation for a manager who wants weekly touches without waiting for a quarterback answer. Warren is the priority when the roster needs a tight end who can grow through routes and targets. Those two bets can coexist because Taylor keeps the offense on schedule while Warren gives Jones a nearby throw.
Pierce is different. Add him only after the roster already has reliable target volume, then use his deep role as a source of spike weeks. Downs fits deeper managed-lineup builds where a manager can respond to matchups and personnel usage. Jones is for multi-quarterback formats and benches that can wait through August for health and first-team work.
Five Colts can matter in fantasy without carrying five equal recommendations. The roster should tell you which kind of uncertainty you can accept.
Pierce needs Jones to keep looking deep
Pierce finished 2025 with a real vertical assignment. From Weeks 14-18, he saw five throws per game and accounted for 30.1% of Indianapolis' intended air yards. His average target traveled 17.9 yards, more than twice Warren's depth and well beyond the quick-game work that suits Downs.
That assignment changes how he belongs on a fantasy roster. A deep completion can rescue a quiet afternoon in one play. It can also leave a manager with three quarters of sprints and very little in the box score. Pierce makes more sense when the rest of the receiver group already supplies steady opportunities.
FFN's Week 18 role record showed the reward. Pierce pulled seven targets, commanded 40.9% of the Colts' intended air yards, and scored 29.2 PPR points. That's the football memory behind the appeal: Houston had to account for the shorter options, and Pierce punished the space farther downfield.
Watch what happens after play action with the first-team offense. Repeated deep attempts from Jones matter more than a long preseason catch from a reserve quarterback. Pierce becomes difficult to carry if Indianapolis shortens the route menu or Jones repeatedly checks the ball down before the vertical route develops. Until those first-team shots appear, treat Pierce as a volatility piece rather than a weekly lineup default.
Downs needs a job that survives heavy personnel
Downs works closer to the quarterback. His average intended target traveled 7.9 yards downfield late last season, and he drew 5.6 throws per game from Weeks 14-18. That profile can help Jones beat pressure, attack soft coverage, and keep the offense moving when the defense retreats to respect Pierce.
His playing time creates the concern. Downs was on the field for 68.0% of the Colts' offensive snaps over that stretch, far below Warren and Pierce. A receiver can survive fewer snaps when his routes are designed to attract the ball. The margin shrinks when Taylor encourages heavier personnel and the offense can remove a receiver without changing its rushing threat.
Take Downs as matchup-based receiver depth. His case improves if he remains on the field when Indianapolis uses two receivers or controls hurry-up work before halftime. We don't need to attach an internal label to that job. We need to see him beside Warren and Pierce when the Colts can run or pass without substituting.
Downs and Pierce shouldn't be evaluated as interchangeable depth. Pierce asks whether Jones can wait for a deeper route. Downs asks whether the formation lets him run enough routes in the first place. One quarterback decision can reward either player, but it rarely rewards both on every drive.
What Jones must prove
FFN's transaction record shows Jones returning to Indianapolis on a multi-year agreement with a path to start. His rushing ability gives him a way to add fantasy points when the passing line is ordinary. His late-season five-game line averaged 28.2 attempts and three carries, with a partial last outing pulling down the workload.
The preseason test should look like a football series, rather than a box-score chase. Can Jones move normally outside the pocket? Does Warren remain the quick option against pressure? Will he give Pierce a chance downfield after play action? Does Downs stay involved when the offense speeds up? One sharp drive helps. Repeating that distribution while Taylor remains central tells us much more.
Jones doesn't have to create a weekly shootout. He has to sustain enough efficient possessions for Warren to reach triple-digit targets while keeping one receiver useful beside him. What breaks Warren's case? Jones fails to extend drives, leaving the tight end with shallow, low-scoring volume. In multi-quarterback leagues, keep Jones in the QB2 pool while those first-team reps build. In one-quarterback formats, the Colts' pass catchers offer more useful ways to invest in the offense.
The last August clue won't be the longest completion. Watch which two targets stay on the field with Taylor on third down, when Indianapolis still has its full playbook available. Warren should be one of them. The other name will show whether Jones is being asked to attack deep or get the ball out quickly, and that choice will separate the Colt worth carrying from the one best left for a different roster.