The Indianapolis Colts ended up a disappointing 8-8 record and missed the playoffs. It was a major dud of a year, but grading T.Y. Hilton's season is much tougher given that Andrew Luck missed the majority of the season. What grade should the Colts' wide receiver get for the 2015 NFL season?
Hilton was still able to come through with a decent season, even though he had Matt Hasselbeck, Charlie Whitehurst, Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley at the quarterback position through different parts of the season.
He ended up catching 69 passes for 1,124 yards and five touchdowns throughout the season. It wasn't his best season, but he still found ways to impact the game despite his superstar quarterback on-the-field. Hilton gets added credit for the numbers he did put up even through all the adversity and change that he had to go through.
At 26 years old, Hilton was expected to break through with the biggest season of his career in 2015. He was awarded a big contract extension and was considered to be the No. 1 wide receiver for the Colts by far. While that still is the case, Hilton still could have played much better even with the quarterback change that the Colts were forced to go through.
Indianapolis needs Hilton to take the next step next season, but this year was a reasonable season from him.
Grading his season comes down to simply seeing the potential that he had even without Luck. There is no denying that he left some on-the-field this season, but he can't be judged too harshly. Even though there was adversity, however, he can't be given a pass either.
Looking back on the season, fans have to be happy with the production that he gave but upset with the effort. He seemed to give up halfway through the season when Luck went down and allowed his frustration to get the best of him. Publicly calling out the coaching staff was not the right move and he needs to be held accountable for those actions.
All of that being said, Hilton deserves a middle of the pack grade and a much more scrutinized 2016 season.
T.Y. Hilton 2015 NFL Season Grade: B
