Mo Alie-Cox

8 seasons in Indy — the only NFL home he's ever known after a college basketball career at VCU.

A former VCU forward who never played college football, Alie-Cox signed with the Colts as a UDFA in 2017 and has stuck in Indianapolis for eight straight seasons — extraordinary tenure for a converted-hooper TE.

The career arc peaks at the 2020 season (394 yds on 31 catches) when injuries pushed him into a starter role, then settles into a stable TE2/blocker profile of ~120-190 receiving yards and 1-4 TDs per year.

Why it matters. Eight seasons with a single franchise is rare for any NFL player, almost unheard of for a converted athlete who never played college football. The arc shows how a role can be created and sustained for a specialist.

Career-high 111 yards vs Minnesota in 2020 Week 2 — his only 100-yard game.

In Week 2 of 2020 against the Vikings, Alie-Cox went 5-of-6 for 111 yards — the only 100-yard receiving game of his career across 100 regular-season appearances. His best multi-TD outing came in 2022 Week 4 vs Tennessee: 6 catches, 85 yards, 2 TDs.

Why it matters. Context for how rare big games are for Alie-Cox — in 100 appearances, he has exactly one 100-yard game. Defines the realistic ceiling of the role.

16 career TD catches across 8 seasons — 1 every 6.25 games as a true TE2/blocker.

Alie-Cox has 16 receiving TDs across 100 career regular-season games — a rate of about one TD every 6.25 games. That's exactly what you want from a TE who plays the blocking role: a red-zone option who rotates in on jumbo packages and converts when looked at.

Peak red-zone year: 2021 — 4 TDs on just 24 catches. Despite catching only 13 passes in 2025, he still found the end zone once.

Why it matters. Highlights Alie-Cox's consistent value as a red-zone weapon despite low volume — 16 TDs on a career diet of 200 targets is respectable efficiency for a TE2/blocker.

127-of-200 career receptions (63.5%) — efficient on a limited target diet.

On a career diet of about 25 targets per season, Alie-Cox has converted at a 63.5% catch rate and averaged 12.2 yards per reception — both healthy numbers for a TE asked to operate mostly as a blocker.

He's never crossed 50 targets in a season; his ceiling is 45 (2021). The role is what it is.

Why it matters. Career catch rate and YPR show that when targeted, Alie-Cox is dependable — a catch-rate above 63% and YPR of 12+ are solid for a TE2 who does most of his work as a blocker.

From VCU forward to 100 NFL games — basketball-to-football TE conversions almost never last this long.

Alie-Cox played four years of basketball at VCU (no college football), signed with the Colts as a UDFA at age 24, and has now logged 100 NFL regular-season games across 8 seasons.

The basketball-to-TE pipeline (Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas) is famous for the rare hits and far more common misses. Alie-Cox didn't become a star, but the longevity — 8 seasons, all with one franchise — puts him among the most durable conversions of the modern era.

Why it matters. Context and rarity: reaching 100 games as a converted basketball player with zero college football is genuinely rare, and the single-franchise loyalty amplifies the narrative.