Bengals at Colts, 7 p.m. Thursday, WXIN-59

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chuck Pagano calls him “The Flea.” Towering teammate Zach Banner, who’s roughly 14 inches taller and 205 pounds heavier, affectionately labeled him “Ant Man.” Pretty soon the Indianapolis Colts might call him their sixth wide receiver.

JoJo Natson stood 5-6 and weighed a measly 125 pounds as a high school freshman. Too small. He was 5-7 and 130 as a college freshman. Too small. Now he’s 5-7 and 158 as an NFL dreamer – “160 after lunch!” he notes – trying to do what guys his size are never supposed to do: make it in the toughest job market in the world, where brute strength and size are prerequisites, and the diminutive often get buried.

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Too small? Natson’s heard it all before.

“You can’t teach speed,” he comes right back.

He’s right. He proves it.

Natson was supposed to be too small for Division I football; he landed at Utah State, where the coaches saw his size and figured he’d redshirt his freshman year. Problem was Natson was so dang explosive during early-season practices they had to play him. He ended his college career at Akron, where he was a team captain as a senior and hauled in 59 catches for 837 yards and 10 scores. He also took two punt returns to the house.

He was supposed to be too small for an NFL training camp; here we are, a day before the Colts’ preseason finale, and Natson is firmly entrenched in the receiver race, thanks in part to that game-breaking ability on special teams.

“Fearless,” coach Chuck Pagano has called him. “A home-run hitter.” Pagano has also indicated that Natson’s potential, both as a sure-handed slot receiver and a capable return man, will “weigh heavy” into the team’s decision on whom to keep and whom to cut this weekend.

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If Natson makes the squad – the Colts have to cut 37 players by Saturday – and suits up for the season opener in Los Angeles, he’ll be the smallest NFL player in five years, according to pro-football-reference.com. Brandon Banks, who at 5-7 and 150 was roughly the same build as Natson, saw action in 12 games for the Redskins in 2012, mainly as a kick returner. The smallest before that? You have to go back to Tony Jones, a 5-7, 142-pound receiver for Houston in 1993. They were still the Oilers back then.

And only six players since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger listed at 5-8 and 160 pounds or smaller have totaled 100 receiving yards in their careers.

Told of the long odds, Natson shakes his head.

“Crazy.”

Natson gets a laugh at the grocery store sometimes. He’ll stroll through, in Colts attire, and earn second looks. “You don’t play for the Colts, do you?” fans will ask. He nods, politely. Believe it.

So far this preseason, he leads the Colts in receptions, receiving yards, punt and kick returns. He nearly broke one loose for a score in the preseason opener; Natson, after getting tripped up, sprang to his feet and bolted down the field as if he’d never been tackled.

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“What planet are you from?” Pagano jokingly asked him later. “What league did you play in?”

“I didn’t hear a whistle,” Natson responded.

Pagano liked that.

Natson’s in the receivers race for a few reasons. His ability, for starters, is obvious. It seems like he’s running 4.4 speed every time he touches the football.

The Colts’ depth at receiver, viewed before training camp as one of this team’s strongest assets, now seems shaky. Of the top seven receivers, only Natson and Kamar Aiken have been injury-free throughout training camp and the preseason. T.Y. Hilton has missed time of late. Donte Moncrief has been in and out of the lineup with a shoulder injury. Phillip Dorsett’s had a hamstring. Ditto for Chester Rogers.

The player Natson is likely competing with for that final receiver/return man spot is Quan Bray, who has battled injury and has caught only two passes and returned one punt and four kickoffs this preseason. Pagano often preaches that “the best ability is availability.” In that department, Natson has an edge over Bray.

“Coming out of college, a lot of scouts were questioning my size,” he said. “I knew I had the speed and the athletic ability. That’s what a lot of people were sleeping on. I’ve just been waiting on my moment.”

He won’t have to wait much longer. Thursday’s his moment. It’s the meaningless, final preseason game, a sleeper for most NFL teams.

It means everything for JoJo Natson. It’s the last chance for "The Flea" to prove he deserves to stick around.

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.