Can Jalen Travis’ emergence provide the Colts with a reason for hope?

Stop me if you heard this one. “The Colts have let four defensive starters and Michael Pittman go, without replacing them. ” I can’t argue that the statement is categorically incorrect, but to say that we can’t still be improved at any or all of those positions, would not be categorically correct either.

I’ll give you Pittman. His production will have to be moved around, rather than being replaced by one player. I know that getting 8 yards when you need 7 yards is a skill, but it seems like an easier skillset to replace than that of a playmaker like Pierce.

If Pierce, Downs and Warren all get one more target per game, that replaces 51 of the 111 targets that were sent at Pittman. Even if you believe that Dulin or Westbrook-Ikhine are incapable of replacing 60 targets, I don’t think that is a daunting number for a rookie, especially if you are not focused on the explosive trait. So how does Travis figure into this?

When complaints are made about not having replacements for Paye, Franklin, and Cross or even Pratt, no one mentions replacing B. Smith. That must come from the fact that Travis was ready to takeover.