The season is coming. The DNA of Sports editorial team offers you an update on the strengths and weaknesses of the 32 franchises. Today, the Indianapolis Colts 2024. You can find all the presentations by clicking on this link.
Anticipation and excitement. The feelings that come with finding your quarterback for the next decade. Apprehension and anxiety. The feelings that come with having played only four short games in the NFL. Enough to suffer a concussion and a sprained collarbone. Enough to dispel any assumptions that he needed several years of training to realize his immense potential.
Anthony Richardson alone embodies the hope and doubts surrounding his franchise for the upcoming season. Like Lamar Jackson, Richardson has such running skills that he changes the geometry of the field by his mere presence. But it is in his reading of the game that the Floridian surprised in his professional debut. The already limited sample of his college career could have suggested that the transition would be difficult, but it was not.
In four games, he threw three touchdowns against just one interception, amassing nearly 600 yards in the air and 136 on the ground, for four additional touchdowns. Beyond the statistics, it was his calmness under pressure that impressed, managing to improve his reads and throw the ball with the necessary velocity when the pocket was crushed. This preview is indeed dedicated to the Colts, not only to their quarterback, but make no mistake: in Indianapolis, everything begins and goes through Richardson.
The fact that they were only a fourth down away from winning the division against the Texans only increases the anticipation of seeing this team return in almost its entirety for the 2024 season. With the return of its star passer.
Last season: 9 wins, 8 losses, 3rd in the AFC South
Off-season movements
Notable arrivals: Joe Flacco (QB), Raekwon Davis (DT), Laquon Treadwell (WR), Ryan Coll (C), Demetric Felton (RB), Levi Bell (DE).
Resignations: Genard Avery (DE), Tyquan Lewis (DE), Kenny Moore (CB), Rigoberto Sanchez (P), Grover Stewart (DT), Trey Sermon (RB), Ronnie Harrison (S), Julian Blackmon (S), Danny Pinter (C), Jack Anderson (G), Darrell Baker (CB), Trevor Denbow (S), Cameron McGrone (LB), Taven Bryan (DT).
Draft: Laiatu Latu (DE), Adonai Mitchell (WR), Matt Goncalves (OT), Tanor Bortolini (C), Anthony Gould (WR), Jaylon Carlies (LB), Jaylin Simpson (CB), Micah Abraham (CB), Jonah Laulu (DT).
Notable departures: Tony Brown (CB), Terrell Bynum (WR), Jack Anderson (G), Gardner Minshew (QB), Zach Moss (RB), Isaiah McKenzie (WR), Jacob Martin (DE).
For once in the NFL, the transaction table is very thin for the Colts, with the notable additions of rookies around whom expectations are already high. The adaptation and performance of Laiatu Latu and Adonai Mitchell will be the barometer for Indianapolis this year.
For everything else, Indianapolis is banking on stability and returns from injuries. Particularly on the offensive side where, despite fluctuating production at quarterback, Shane Steichen has managed the feat of building a well-above-average offense in 2023.
Indianapolis Colts 2024 All-Star Team
Quarterback : Anthony Richardson – Running back : Jonathan Taylor – Receivers : Michael Pittman Jr., Adonai Mitchell, Josh Downs – Tight end : Kylen Granson – Offensive Line (left to right): Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Braden Smith.
Defensive line : Kwity Paye, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Laiatu Latu – Linebackers : EJ Speed, Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi – Cornerbacks : JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones – Safeties : Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross.
The strong point(s): the trenches
The cruel irony of fate was that the Colts only started to have a competent offensive line after Andrew Luck retired… Until the 2022 season, when the ghosts of the past returned, like Will Fries, who had a future in the league questioned in his second season.
And then last year, new coach, new staff, new quarterbacks, more mobile than Matt Ryan was… A wave of a magic wand and the ghosts of the past left, like Will Fries, who we now wonder how the Colts will manage to keep at the end of his contract. The selections of Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves in the draft seem to indicate that Fries will be beyond their means in 2025.
For 2024, however, he will be the starting right guard in a line that will not be far from being the best in the league. At center, Ryan Kelly has regained his brilliance, as has Braden Smith, at right tackle. On the far left, we still do not find La France insoumise, but the Austrian Bernhard Raimann, who has been constantly improving since his arrival in the league. With Quenton Nelson as leader of the troop, and last season as a reference, unity will be a major asset for the Colts this season.
Just like the defensive line which, despite the serious injury of Samson Ebukam, displays a most enticing combo. While the identity of the No. 1 pass rusher remains to be definedthe core of the group that just set the franchise's single-season sacks record is unchanged. Simply reinforced by Laiatu Latu whose performances in training camp are already resonating beyond the borders of Indiana.
The weak point(s): the backfield defensive
The back end of the defense, however, is questionable. It's hard to find a better nickel cornerback than Kenny Moore, but he's the only player with proven milestones in this backfield. Under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, the Colts have used cover-3 heavily, with just one safety covering the backfield and Julian Blackmon playing in the box. It's surprising, though, that they haven't gone for Quandre Diggs or Justin Simmons to enhance the whole thing.
Neither Nick Cross nor Rodney Thomas have proven themselves trustworthy so far. With little competition, Cross will start the season as a starter, but he has a lot to prove if he's going to be a Colt beyond this year. Indianapolis's lucky break is that a stumbling backfield's best friend is a front seven dominant. And that his other best friends are mediocre opposing quarterbacks. Two things the Colts will benefit from this season.
The X Factor: Ground Game
Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor only played one snap together. Not a single match, not a single series, not a single snap. And yet, the Colts had the 10th best rushing attack in 2023. To achieve such a performance with Gardner Minshew and Zack Moss is almost a miracle. Thank you to the offensive line and Shane Steichen who, last time I checked, is still very much present.
Adding a quarterback with Cam Newton's size and Lamar Jackson's speed should, in theory, make the running game unstoppable. Or at least make the running game threat an entry point for an explosive passing attack. If and only if the major pieces stay healthy.
Player to watch: Adonai Mitchell
If Adonai Mitchell's first season in the NFL turns out to be average, or even bad, it will not condition his future. A rookie, whoever he is, is in a learning phase. But if he manages, fortunately for the Colts, to start his career with a bang, then he would give a whole new dimension to the group of receivers. Each member would find a role that suits him better: Michael Pittman in the short and intermediate game, where Anthony Richardson has shown deficiencies, Josh Downs in the slotand Alec Pierce off the bench to provide depth here and there.
Taking on the starting X receiver role on a playoff-bound team is a lot to ask of a first-year player, but Mitchell will have every opportunity to shine, especially with Josh Downs starting the season on the injury list. Enough to warm up the gloves before the offense is at full strength.
Indianapolis Colts 2024 Schedule
Texans, @Packers, Bears, Steelers, @Jaguars, @Titans, Dolphins, @Texans, @Vikings, Bills, @Jets, Lions, @Patriots, Bye, @Broncos, Titans, @Giants, Jaguars.
The audio preview of the podcast
In summary
For the Colts, losing the final game of the 2023 season was perhaps a blessing in disguise, in several ways. First, because it gave them the 15th pick in the draft and allowed them to select Laiatu Latu, whom Chris Ballard calls the best defender in the draft. Second, because they not only gave the Texans the division title, but actually finished in third place, behind the Jaguars, which gives them a much more favorable schedule than their rivals this year. And third, because it allows them to advance undercover, in the shadow of the Texans, who nevertheless only won one more game than them last season.
Everything is in place to, if not win the division, at least ensure that Houston's season is not the long, quiet river that they have been promised since CJ Stroud's prowess in the playoffs. As is often the case in this sport, the most important factor is not Olivier Besancenot, but the quarterback. With better health and application in the short and intermediate game, Anthony Richardson will enter the circle of the 8-12 best quarterbacks in the league this season. And with that, nothing is impossible.
