BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Indianapolis Colts wanted a versatile tight end that could catch and block. The New Orleans Saints wanted a pass-catching tight end.
It’s for those reasons that the decisions by the Colts to re-sign tight end Dwayne Allen (four years for $29 million) and by the Saints to sign Coby Fleener (five years, $36 million) appear to create a win-win situation for both teams.
Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that he watched every one of Fleener's snaps the past two seasons.
"He’s exceptionally fast," Payton said. "I think he’s a guy who is real good in creating separation with his routes. I would say he’s an elite route-runner off of the two years that I watched."
The Colts knew they would likely have to choose between Allen and Fleener at some point after they selected them in the 2012 draft. General manager Ryan Grigson made it seem like it was an easy decision for them based off his rather blunt answer when asked about their decision to re-sign Allen and let Fleener walk.
"Scheme would be the underlying factor," Grigson said. "Dwayne, his skill set is pretty broad, but he’s a very powerful and tenacious blocker at the point of attack. I would say that was one of the strongest factors in that decision, because we all know what Coby can do in the passing game. Dwayne brings a stouter presence in-line that we need with this offensive scheme."
Allen had the worst receiving season of his four-year career -- 16 receptions -- last season, aside from 2013, when he only played one game. But what doesn’t appear on the final stat sheet from last season is the extra blocking Allen provided because of the Colts’ instability along the offensive line. Allen was used basically as an extra offensive tackle last season.
"(Allen) gives you versatility there," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "One of the better blocking tight ends in the league. With Andrew Luck">Andrew (Luck) down and circumstances, we didn’t get him the ball as much as we liked to. We’re going to address that this year."
Fleener, who had 54 receptions for 491 yards last season, is going from Luck to Drew Brees at quarterback. That’s not a bad situation to be in for Fleener.
"He knows the system that we’re running," Payton said about Fleener. "There will be a little bit more vertical in it for him in regard to some of the seam routes, but he’s a big target. I think he knows how to separate from defenders. When I see him in man or match coverage, I watch him do the right thing every time. There are games where you can watch the tape and say, 'Man, if we threw [to] him eight times in a row we’re going to have eight completions.' I think after seeing his first season, I remember having the discussion thinking 'I know exactly how we’ll use this player and I’m confident that he’ll [have] success.'"
