Post-Draft analysis of the Colts’ depth chart, keeping in mind that there are changes coming to it
Quarterbacks
Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Jason Bean
Even though veteran Daniel Jones was signed in free-agency, this is still Anthony Richardson’s job to lose. Now entering his third season as a pro, it is basically do or die for him as the potential Colts’ franchise quarterback. He has to step up both on the playing field and off of it too, making sure his work ethic and leadership leave nothing to be questioned. He also faces the tall task of not missing any games due to injury. If Anthony Richardson manages to become a consistent starter, then the Colts’ offense will be near unstoppable, but it is somewhat confusing because Richardson’s skillset is much better suited for a gunslinger approach, while this offense seems made for a “game-manager” type of quarterback, but that is an issue for another article. Backup Daniel Jones is really hard to judge, a former 1st round pick that never really developed into a serviceable NFL quarterback, over his past 16 starts Jones has thrown for 2979 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He was released after ten starts last season, before spending some time in the Vikings’ practice squad.
Riley Leonard was drafted to replace Sam Ehlinger as the young third option. It will be very interesting watching Leonard play in preseason, because while he is technically the third quarterback on the depth chart, the guys above him have plenty of history either with injuries or being benched/demoted to scout team’s safety. However, that might not be for the best as Leonard could really use one or two seasons to continue his development.
Running backs
Jonathan Taylor, Khalil Herbert, DJ Giddens, Tyler Goodson
Comeback season for Jonathan Taylor, who had an amazing second half last year, save for that dropped touchdown against the Broncos that one could argue was perhaps the worst play in recent Colts’ history given the context of the game. Leaving that out, JT hit his stride the final three games of the year, with a combined 520 yards and 6 touchdowns. With him the Colts have their workhorse back and undisputed starter.
Herbert and Giddens are both an improvement over last season’s backup Trey “Yard-per-carry” Sermon, with Goodson serving as the pass-catching specialist (which is ironic because he dropped the ball on the second worst play in Colts’ recent history against the Texans on fourth down). Herbert was a very productive back his first three seasons in the NFL, and if JT misses a game it will be interesting watching Giddens step up. I would have liked another veteran at the position, as once again the Colts will be relying mostly on JT staying healthy.
Tight ends
Tyler Warren, Jelani Woods, Mo Alie-Cox, Andrew Ogletree, Will Mallory
Warren somehow fell all the way to the Colts at #14, as Ballard managed to not only fill the biggest hole on the offense, but also get one of the best overall players on the draft class. He should step right into the starting job at the tight end position, and hog most of the snaps and targets, where last year it was more of a “tight end by committee approach”. He is everything the Colts want from a tight end, and while 1st round picks at this position have been inconsistent the past decade, I believe Warren is right behind Bowers on the most pro-ready prospects.
Jelani Woods is a mistery at this point, as he showed flashes his rookie season, before a season ending injury on 2023, and then harmstring issues preventing him from seeing the field at all last year. If healthy, Woods gives the Colts a massive red-zone weapon and a capable blocker, but he has not shown that ability to be on the field yet. Ogletree and Mallory are depth options, and with Warren now on the team they will most likely not get more than the occasional target here and there next season. Ogletree will probably see the field more because of his blocking ability.
Wide receivers
Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, AD Mitchell, Ashton Dulin, Anthony Gould
MPJ will be the #1 receiver once again, coming off his worst year since his rookie season numbers wise, recording just 69 catches for 808 yards and three touchdowns. There are several reasons for such a marked dip in production, a back injury that nearly landed him on IR, poor quarterback play, and less targets going his way.
While Pittman struggled, Downs and Pierce had really productive seasons. Taking over the #2 spot facing competition from rookie AD Mitchell, Pierce established himself as the NFL’s best deep threat, catching 37 passes for 824 yards and seven touchdowns. His 22.3 yards per reception led the league by a massive margin. Downs caught 72 passes for 803 yards and five touchdowns, even though he played just 602 snaps compared to MPJ’s 904 and Pierce’s 817.
As for the depth at the position, Adonai Mitchell had a disappointing rookie year, as even though he got open a lot, he either dropped the ball, shied away from contact, or AR just did not see him or flat out missed him. With Pierce’s emergence, Mitchell will need to step up his game and show why the Colts drafted him in the 2nd round. Ashton Dulin and Anthony Gould will probably not see the field much saved for injuries at the position. Gould needs to show a lot more explosiveness returning kickoffs and punts, as last year he lost that job to Josh Downs.
Offensive line
Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Braden Smith, Blake Freeland, Jalen Travis, Dalton Tucker, Danny Pinter, Wesley French, Josh Sills, Atonio Mafi
The group with the most turnover, the offensive line will have two new starters, and enjoy the return of right tackle Braden Smith after having some time off to deal with personal issues. The left side is locked up with emerging elite tackle Bernhard Raimann, and All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson. After Ryan Kelly’s departure, second year Tanor Bortolini is expected to take over full time at the position after impressive play his rookie season when Kelly was out with injury. Matt Goncalves is currently projected as the new starter at right guard, after playing well as the backup swing tackle last year, Goncalves slides inside, where it was projected he would end up playing after being drafted, next to the aforementioned Braden Smith. That is a really solid line on paper, and with everyone healhty among the top 8-12 lines in the NFL.
As for the depth of this line, it gets a bit tricky. Blake Freeland is expected to compete with 4th round pick Jalen Travis for the backup swing tackle position, so we will have to wait at least until training camp to get some clarity there. Freeland was bad when playing his rookie year, but he did have to go up against some tough pass-rushers so he gets a pass for now. Even if Travis loses the battle, he could still become a depth option on the inside, where the Colts are realy thin. Dalton Tucker was so bad last season at right guard that the Colts ended up picking veteran Mark Glowinski off the street and playing him. Danny Pinter is a somewhat serviceable backup at center, just don’t ask him to play right guard, which leaves him to battle it out with Wesley French for that center backup spot. Josh Sills has almost no playing experience, and Atonio Mafi last played in 2023, being amost the worst guards in the NFL according to PFF.com.
