Stephen Holder

stephen.holder@indystar.com

Colts at Texans, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, NBC

INDIANAPOLIS – The conventional wisdom – and certainly the prevailing fantasy football wisdom – had Indianapolis Colts receiver Phillip Dorsett playing a much larger role in the team’s offense during the absence of starter Donte Moncrief.

Yet, as Moncrief recovers from a shoulder fracture, Dorsett has continued to have a secondary role.

In two games with Moncrief in the lineup, Dorsett was targeted 11 times. In the three games since, with Dorsett promoted to the starting lineup in two-wide receiver sets, Dorsett has been targeted 10 times.

That's not necessarily a criticism of Dorsett’s play nor his coaches’ strategy. But it certainly is surprising.

So, why is this happening?

The answer isn’t clear, but just by virtue of his expanded playing time, you have to presume Dorsett is seeing more attention from defenses. And that creates challenges.

Insider: How can flawed Colts win? Go deep.

“Teams definitely scout me and look at my speed,” said Dorsett, one of the fastest players in the 2015 NFL draft. “I already knew I was going to get keyed on a lot because of that. … You see a lot of corners who don’t want to get beat deep. So they’ll play off or even if they do play press (at the line of scrimmage), they’ll bail real quick. But we have ways to beat anything. So, we just have to look at those tendencies and figure them out.”

Dorsett’s biggest play this season – a 64-yard touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars – came on a coverage bust that allowed him to run totally free without a defender in sight. It counts all the same, but it wasn’t an example of Dorsett beating a defender.

T.Y. Hilton’s recent contributions perhaps make the lack of receptions from Dorsett less noticeable. But it’s still striking to look at Dorsett’s catch numbers in relation to his teammates. The 2015 first-round pick is sixth on the team in receptions. Among those with more catches: backup running back Josh Ferguson and No. 2 tight end Jack Doyle.

But Dorsett believes there will be more to come, provided he’s patient.

“Everybody can always do more,” he said. “But you have to run the plays that are called and stay within the flow of the offense. You can’t get ahead of yourself. Fantasy football people look at it differently. But in the film room and on the field, it’s a lot different.”

Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

Colts at Texans, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, NBC

Is the Colts offensive line getting better? Or worse?