The Indianapolis Colts‘ issues on offense obviously start and stop with the quarterback position. The battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones will continue into training camp, with Jones currently holding the edge due to Richardson’s injury.
Outside of running back Jonathan Taylor, neither quarterback will be getting a ton of help from the team’s offensive weapons. It’s not that they are bad, they just don’t scare anyone, which is how they come in at No. 16 on ESPN’s list of best WR/TE/RB combinations.
“How much of Indianapolis’ limited offensive firepower are you willing to pin on the scattershot arm of Anthony Richardson?,” Bill Barnwell writes. “The Colts had three receivers top 800 yards a year ago, and while Josh Downs was a much better player with Joe Flacco on the field, Michael Pittman Jr. and deep threat Alec Pierce were both more efficient with the inconsistent, explosive Richardson at the helm.”
This season’s ranking is up from No. 22 in 2024 and No. 25 the year before that. Barnwell, for what it’s worth, curiously downplays the potential impact of rookie tight end Tyler Warren, who could be enormous in Shane Steichen’s offense for all we know.
“Receiver score is useful here, since it attempts to measure what receivers do on a route-by-route basis, even when they’re not thrown the ball,” Barnwell continues. “It liked what it saw from Indy’s receivers, with Downs finishing 15th in receiver score (and tied for fourth in open score), while Pierce came in at 37th and Pittman at 70th. There’s an underrated trio here, and they get a fourth prominent player added to the mix in first-round pick Tyler Warren, who should be a major upgrade on a group of tight ends that combined to rank last in receptions and 31st in receiving yards at the position a year ago.”
To no one’s surprise, the Colts offense needs “competent quarterback play”
While the Colts don’t have a dominant No. 1 wide receiver, it’s tough to achieve such lofty status when there isn’t anyone throwing the ball. Richardson and his 47.7% completion rate last year were an unmitigated disaster.
“No other group of receivers suffers more because of its situation,” Barnwell writes. “The Colts dropped back for just 567 passes last season, the fourth-lowest total of any team. Nearly 21% of those passes were off target, the second-highest rate in the league. The only teams whose receivers were afforded fewer on-target pass attempts were the Ravens and Eagles, who had more concentrated passing attacks. And even when throws were “on target,” the average quarterback group turned those throws into precise targets (hitting the receiver in stride in the torso area) just under 70% of the time.
“Flacco and Richardson did that 59.9% of the time, the worst rate by more than four percentage points and the worst mark by any team since the 2018 Bills (Josh Allen’s rookie season). This would be a much more celebrated group of wideouts with competent quarterback play.”
The quarterback job is really Jones’ to lose at this point.
The Colts need Taylor to stay healthy
Taylor was marvelous again last season with 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added another TD through the air as well. He cracked 300+ carries for the second time in his career in 2024 and his body will need to hold up to the wear and tear entering his sixth season.
“Jonathan Taylor’s talent is more difficult to dispute, but after failing to reach the heights of his 2021 campaign over the subsequent two seasons, he seemed to be on the same track in 2024, owing to a midseason high ankle sprain,” Barnwell concludes. “After recovering from the injury, though, he was devastating over the final month of the season.
“In Indy’s last four games, he racked up 117 carries for 627 yards and six scores. Injuries continue to be a concern for Taylor, who hasn’t completed a full season outside of that 2021 campaign, but he remains one of the NFL’s best backs when healthy.”
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