The Indianapolis Colts were potentially a Tyler Goodson drop away from securing a playoff berth last season. It was a respectable feat for a team managed by a rookie head coach who had lost their starting Quarterback only 5 weeks in.
Their week 18 loss to the Houston Texans saw the Colts miss the postseason. At the time that loss was a bitter sting, but as a whole, the 2023 season was overwhelmingly positive.
Many teams that lose their starting Quarterback early in the season would usually quit on the season, but the Colts rallied and put together a strong season. Having a backup Quarterback of Gardner Minshew’s talent goes a long way, but most of the credit will go to the head coach Shane Steichen.
Steichen has cemented his status as one of the most promising young coaches in the NFL. His talent as an offensive mastermind is unquestioned. His early season offence with Anthony Richardson was looking dynamic, while the Eagle's offensive drop-off in his absence speaks volumes.
But it was his ability to keep the Colts roster together and to continue playing hard that is truly impressive. Following the injury to Richardson, the Colts went on a three-game losing streak and it looked like their season was over. But the Colts didn’t waver, finishing the season strong by winning six of their last seven games.
Coaching Consistency
The Colts will enter the 2024 season without any major stages to their coaching staff. Veteran coaches Gus Bradley and Jim Bob Cooter will remain as the team's coordinators.
The consistency in the coaching staff can help carry the momentum that the team generated at the tail end of last season toward the upcoming year.
Departures
The Colts benefit from not having any significant losses to their roster for the upcoming season.
They lost the quarterback that they turned to in their time of need last year in Gardner Minshew. The quintessential backup Quarterback in the current NFL. He is talented enough to be a starter, but with a low enough ceiling that he never should be.
His ambitions lie beyond being a backup, however, which is why he has taken his talents to the Las Vegas Raiders. Colts fans will remember him fondly and thank him for his service.
The other notable departure was running back Zack Moss. After an underwhelming start to his career, Moss finally showed some promise in the 2023 season, deputizing for the injured Jonathan Taylor, racking up nearly 800 yards in the process. He has, in turn, capitalized on that performance to sign for the Cincinnati Bengals where he hopes to replace Joe Mixon as the new starter.
Incomings
While they didn’t have many notable departures, they matched that by staying quiet during free agency.
To replace Minshew they brought in reigning Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco. Flacco, who the Browns brought in once Desean Watson went down injured, performed so well that he pipped a man who came back to life for the award.
He will be the backup Antony Richardson and will be ready to play should the starter go down, as he was last season.
Other than that, the Colts signed defensive tackle Raekwon Davis to a two-year $14m deal. Davis is a behemoth of a defensive tackle and will provide rotational depth amongst the interior d-line.
Extensions
A major reason for the lack of significant signing in free agency was due to the business the Colts were getting done in-house.
Their WR1 Michael Pittman signed a three-year $70m contract as a reward for being their most reliable pass catcher. This year will be the first season of Pittman’s career where he will have the same quarterback to start back-to-back seasons, though Richardson's debut was sadly cut short.
Deforest Buckner has consistently been one of the finest defensive tackles in the league and the Colts have awarded him with a two-year $46m extension.
Starters Kenny Moore II and Zaire Franklin were also extended.
A Productive Draft
The Colts came away from the draft with one of the stronger hauls, targeting areas of weakness and benefiting from this year being top-heavy towards the offence.
Following a record run of 14 straight offensive players the Colts had their pick of the defensive prospects. With that pick, they took pass rusher Laiatu Latu, the odds-on favourite to be the first defensive player taken.
They added to their receiving core by taking Adonai Mitchell in the second round. Mitchell is a physically gifted receiver that many had going in the first round. Concerns about his effort are mitigated by his loft ceiling.
They then proceeded to strengthen their offensive line, a position that has fallen on tough times after being one of the best in the league. They used their third and fourth-round picks on tackle Matt Goncalves and centre Tanor Bortolini. Goncalves is expected to slide into an interior role while Bortolini will back up long-time veteran Ryan Kelly.
Expectations for 2024
A Healthy Quarterback
Much is expected of the 2024 Indianapolis Colts following how well the team responded to adversity in 2023. Their additions in the draft along with the development and health of Anthony Richardson means that many now see 9-8 as their floor.
Having a dual-threat quarterback is a massive advantage to any offence due to the conflict it puts on the defence. Now consider that Anthony Richardson is perhaps the most athletic quarterback ever. Sure, he’s perhaps not as fast as someone like Lamar Jackson, but he outweighs the Ravens quarterback by nearly 50 lbs.
He’s essentially an outside linebacker with a rocket arm.
As long as he stays healthy, the sky’s the limit. Also, he only played a handful of snaps alongside Jonathan Taylor last season. Together and healthy, they're a scary duo for defences.
He’s also in one of the best situations for him to improve. Shane Steichen will be able to scheme targets open for him, and the additions to the receiving group and offensive line will only make things easier.
Defensive Improvement
You could argue that the Colt's defence last year hurt them more than their starting quarterback going down hurt. Despite having an experienced defensive coach in Gus Bradley the Colts ranked in the bottom ten of both yards allowed and points given up.
The Colts blitzed at the lowest rate in the league, resulting in them being ranked in the bottom five in pressure rate. QB’s had all day in the pocket. With the drafting of Latu, the Colts hope that this will change.
However, while they did add a 1st defensive, they lost one of last year's most productive pass rushers. Samson Ebukam who racked up 9.5 sacks last suffered a torn Achilles in practice, sidelining him for the upcoming year.
A Division Up for Grabs
The Colts are still without any established outside cornerbacks. Kenny Moore II may have gotten an extension for his good play, but he is primarily a slot. They will require some of their young talent to develop fast otherwise this defense will struggle to contain the likes of Calvin Ridley and Nico Collins in the coming year.
As things stand, the Indianapolis Colts are strong contenders in this division. The Houston Texans look ready to take the next step, but the Colts stood toe to toe with them last season and they should improve.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a far cry away from where they were a year prior. They looked set to be the dominant force in their division, but now they’re a team whose future is clouded. Trevor Lawrence hasn’t reached the levels they expect, and another late-season collapse will see Doug Pederson on the brink of losing his job.
The Tennessee Titans are the wildcard of the division. Despite losing Derek Henry, they still have talent all along the roster. They need Will Levis to fulfil the flashes of potential that he showed and to do that they’ll need their offensive line to not be so porous.
A lot of the Colts' success will depend on the development of the Colts and whether or not the defence can regress to the league average. If they’re able to do that, then the ceiling of a dual threat-led Shane Steichen offence should be enough to make the Colts contenders for the playoffs.
