Let the numbers do the talking.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne is:

Second in the NFL in receptions with 51, although the top pass-catcher, the New York Giants’ Steve Smith, has played one more game and leads Wayne by just two catches.

Second in the NFL in reception yards, although the No. 1 guy, Houston’s Andre Johnson, has played one more game and has just eight more yards than Wayne.

First in the AFC in TD receptions (six, and it would be seven if not for that oops against Tennessee), first in the AFC in receptions for first downs (29), tied for second in the AFC in third-down receptions (15) and third in the AFC in third-down reception yards (191).

Wayne is on a pace to have his best statistical season. He has caught 51 passes in seven games; his career high is 104 in 2007. He has caught six TD passes; his career high is 12 in 2004. And he’s just off a career pace in reception yards (689), with his career best being 1,510 in 2007.

“My best year?” Wayne said, repeating the question. “I won’t know that until the season’s done. Right now, there’s something bigger at stake.”

Here’s the larger part of the Wayne story. He’s doing it without Marvin Harrison — although you could argue the real Marvin wasn’t here the past two years — and without the injured Anthony Gonzalez. Wayne is having a career year, along with Dallas Clark, despite the increase in attention he’s drawing from opposing secondaries.

If you’re in an opposing defensive backfield, who are you going to double cover, Wayne or Pierre Garcon? Which side are you going to roll that safety, the side with Wayne or the side with rookie Austin Collie?

He’s also doing it from different spots on the field, often moving from his familiar left side and playing the slot or going in motion.

“This has been a different type of year for Reggie,” quarterback Peyton Manning said. "He’s really taken some of these young guys under his wing, and (assistant head coach/wide receivers) Clyde (Christensen) has challenged Reggie to take his game to the next level, and Reggie has answered that.

“Any time you have young, unproven (receivers), defenses will test them. Maybe they’ll form a different impression after the game, but before the game, they want to test them because they know what Reggie can do. Let’s try and double (Wayne) or rotate coverage to his side, so he’s certainly seeing help from safeties or usually getting their best corner.”

Some of Wayne’s best work — some of the best work of this team’s experienced core — has come on days other than Sundays. That’s when Wayne, along with Manning and others, have taken young players like Garcon and Collie under their tutelage and taught them, as Harrison once helped a young Wayne.

“Sometimes I’ll forget to ask a question, but Reggie will turn the corner and answer the question before I can even ask it,” Collie said. “Because he knows. He understands where (the young receivers) are at in our careers, and he wants us to get better.”

Said Wayne: “I know exactly where Collie is coming from. At this stage, your first year in this offense, you’re going to think waaaay too much. And all of a sudden, you’ll forget how to catch the football. So I know where he’s coming from, and I tell him to relax, be cool and let it come to you.”

When Wayne came to the Colts in 2001, Harrison was the undisputed leader in the receivers’ room.

“You’ve got a future Hall of Famer in there. What am I going to say?” Wayne said. “Now that he’s gone, that’s got to be me, either by example or by saying a few words here and there. I look at those guys (Collie and Garcon), that’s me nine years ago. They’re seeing the single coverage. I always made it my duty to get some of the focus off of Marv. It took me some time, but I did it.”

The Colts’ veteran core doesn’t let rookies be rookies. It’s why Manning spends extra time throwing to new receivers, and why Wayne has accepted the mantle of leadership from Harrison.

“That says a lot, especially about a receiver, because receivers always want the ball and they want all the attention on themselves,” Collie said. "But Reggie is different. He impresses me every day. He’ll do anything for this team.

“Not just the way he helps the young players, but the things he’ll do for this team as far as blocking, the fact they’re bringing him in tight, putting him on the ‘hands’ (onside kickoff receiving) team. I would expect a lot of franchise wide receivers would complain about being on the hands team because it’s a dangerous play, but he says, ‘Pick me, I want to be there.’ It shows a lot about a person.”

Wayne laughed.

“I don’t like being on the hands teams because it’s suicide,” Wayne said. “Been on it for nine years. Me and Marv (Harrison).”

The beauty of his game is, we say it virtually every year: His reception numbers improved for seven straight years before dipping slightly last year. Now, he’s back again, better than ever, as elite a receiver as he’s ever been.