According to NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice, the Indianapolis Colts have a Top 10 scoring offense league-wide ahead of the 2024 campaign—rounding it out at the 10th spot:
10. Indianapolis Colts
SIGNATURE STRENGTH: Anthony Richardson’s superheroic upside under Shane Steichen. Yep, I’m bringing some spice at No. 10. Or am I? Steichen’s offense scored the 13th-most points in the league during his debut season with the Colts — and that was with backup QB Gardner Minshew taking 85 percent of the snaps! Now his hand-picked signal-caller is back in the fold. Given the immense growth Jalen Hurts experienced with Steichen as his offensive coordinator in Philadelphia, it’s impossible not to get swept up by Richardson’s potential under the cunning coach. And it’s not simply because the 6-4, 244-pounder offers video game traits via his arm and legs. By all accounts, Richardson was a quick — and passionate — study in his first year under Steichen. Anyone assuming this is a raw athlete lacking mental acuity or feel for the position is grossly mistaken. I can’t wait to see what we get from a full year of Anthony Richardson. Well, if we get a full year of Anthony Richardson …
WORRYING WEAKNESS: Anthony Richardson actually thinking he’s a superhero. There’s no question Richarson is one of the most impressive physical specimens we’ve ever seen at the quarterback position, but I kind of wish AR himself didn’t know that. He plays with such reckless abandon at times, and it takes a real toll on his body. That’s why his rookie season lasted a grand total of 173 snaps before he landed on IR, with injuries sidelining him during three of the four games he played and a concussion causing him to entirely miss a fifth contest. Unfortunately, this isn’t anything new: Richardson missed significant chunks of time due to injuries in college and high school. Can he break the cycle? For the good of entertainment, let’s hope so.
There’s a lot of reason for optimism next season regarding the Colts offense, particularly when regarding a fully healthy Anthony Richardson at starting quarterback behind center.
The rookie Richardson, and 4th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, had a super nova start to his debut pro campaign, amassing 7 total touchdowns during his first 4 starts in 2023.
Richardson showcased his dynamic dual-threat ability as an elite rusher, but it was his surprising pocket presence/poise, progression in his throwing reads, and throwing ability that were well beyond his years. After all, many draft pundits initially labeled the then-21 year old Richardson as a raw passing project, which didn’t turn out to be remotely true.
Perhaps most exciting is that Richardson gets to hopefully team up with star workhorse Jonathan Taylor for a full season, as the explosive pairing was limited to just 2 total snaps last season before Richardson was shut down with a season-ending shoulder injury. Taylor should not only make Richardson’s young quarterback life easier, much like Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James did for Peyton Manning early in his legendary career, but that 1-2 combination of ‘AR and JT’ in the RPO game has the potential to be lethal for opposing defenses.
Taylor battled through some injuries (namely an ankle and thumb injury), but when fully healthy, showed that he’s all the way back to his All-Pro self—as he rushed for 188 total rushing yards on 30 carries (6.3 ypc. avg.) and a rushing touchdown during the Colts nail-biting regular season finale loss to the Houston Texans.
It helps that the Colts feature what looks like a consensus ranked Top 10 offensive line overall, featuring former Pro Bowlers like Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly, as well as one of the NFL’s better starting offensive tackle duos regarding Braden Smith and Bernhard Raimann.
The Colts re-signed their lead wideout, Michael Pittman Jr., to a lucrative multi-year deal. While Pittman Jr. isn’t an NFL superstar at wideout, he’s a bonafide #1 NFL wideout at 26 years old and that shouldn’t change anytime soon—as he remains a rock solid big-bodied possession wideout and situational downfield threat (as well as physical outside run blocker).
3rd-year tight end Jelani Woods is arguably the wild card of the Colts’ receiving group as the oversized 6’7,” 253 pound tight end (and 2022 third round pick) missed all of last season with lingering hamstring injuries. However, with deceptive speed for his sheer size (4.61 forty time), Woods has elite athletic traits for their tight end room and could at the very least, be a big-bodied red zone target closer to the goal line and occasional seam stretcher.
Beyond Richardson’s health and development, what I think will ultimately elevate this Indy offense from an above average unit to a potential Top 10 is the play of their starting WR2 spot. I expect solid production again from 2nd-year wideout Josh Downs in the slot, but I think what will actually make this offense ascend is whether either Alec Pierce or rookie AD Michell can be a consistent difference-maker in the receiving game opposite Pittman Jr.—where the Colts simply haven’t gotten enough routine production in more recent seasons.