Mark my words, Ashton Dulin is about to have a break out season. Last year was a breakout year for Josh “First” Downs. Michael Pittman had amazingly consistent production. Alec Pierce had just enough deep balls to remind us who he could be. Then at the end of the season, DJ Montgomery decided to make himself known. Now, after the draft, there is focus on the new blood of Adonai Mitchell and Anthony Gould.

During the last offseason, the Colts resigned Ashton Dulin, who had been the Colts’ unexpected speed receiver, gunner and punt returner, to a two year deal. One of those years was taken away from him due to an ACL tear in his right knee. This is something Liam knows well having been toward the latter part of his rehabilitation at the time Dulin suffered his injury.

This was Dulin’s first major surgery and major injury of any kind. “It was a simple play, really nothing crazy. Non-contact, made a cut, felt a pop,” Dulin said about the moment it happened. This describes exactly what happened with Liam as he went to make a cut in the backfield, his go to reverse field, against the grain, weak side touchdown move. Then there was a pop, he went down, “it didn’t feel right,” as Dulin said, then the MRI revealed what would be a 10 month journey of building back muscle and mobility as well as mental toughness and tenacity.

“You learn how to do everything again,” Dulin said about his recovery, “whether it’s walk, run, cut. Knowing that I did it before, I just do it again and having that mental side and trusting that everything will be alright.” Liam has said the same thing that the mental wherewithal that it takes to push and hold back when necessary was just as difficult if not more than the physical side.

But back to the bold hypothesis. A few months after Dulin’s season ending injury, he was joined on the season ending IR by a younger member of the team in Anthony Richardson. Their injuries were completely different on completely separate parts of the body. But they shared their first major injury, surgery and recovery road. They were, as Dulin put it “getting our bodies together and who we used to be.”

This gave them unique opportunities to build a bond and a connection that I am sure would not be the same had they not had this shoulder to shoulder road through adversity. “Learning him as a person outside of football as a person.” Dulin said of his time with Richardson. “That was the most exciting part about it was learning each other outside of football.”

One of the mantras of Shane Steichen is “if you are connected, you are committed.” Dulin and Richardson’s unintentional time together in rehab is a living, breathing example of this principle. Which leads me back to the original premise.

The Colts receiver room that mainly included only four receivers last year. It has now grown to six or even eight. So how is a gunner and punt returner going to have a breakout season in the middle of a crowded receiving corps? The answer lies within the connection laid out before. Dulin and Richardson now have a unique connection and bond over their time in recovery and it will lead to a unique on field connection.

The Colts have seen this unique connection before with Peyton and Marvin, Luck and TY, way back to Unitas and Berry, and even shorter stints with Peyton and Reggie, Luck and Reggie, Peyton and Gonzales, Luck and Fleener. Going through a shared experience builds brotherhood and Dulin and Richardson now have been forged together through this time.