The Indianapolis Colts have a lot of question marks entering the 2025 NFL season. While there are plenty of fingers to point at a flimsy defense from last year, the big concerns are still on offense.
Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus don’t think very highly of the Colts overall roster, ranking them 20th in the entire league. That’s not the end of the world, but it doesn’t sound like fans can expect a huge improvement on last year’s 8-9 season.
However, they do start their roster analysis by praising one key component on the offensive side of the ball.
Biggest strength in 2024: Offensive line
“Indianapolis fostered one of the best offensive lines in the league this past season,” write Chadwick and Wasserman. “The Colts’ front-five earned the sixth-best PFF overall grade as a unit (78.1). They was also one of three teams that earned top-10 marks in both PFF pass-blocking and run-blocking grades. The Colts lost center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries from that unit, but it still projects as a strong collective.”
The bad news is that Kyle Long and Leger Douzable of CBS Sports’ “Pushing the Pile” podcast have them in their C-Tier of offensive lines in the NFL. That is their “average” category. The only reason that’s not good is because PFF listed this as one of the Colts’ strong points.
Many would have guessed that Jonathan Taylor would be the Colts’ big bright spot, but apparently PFF disagrees.
Weaknesses and question marks for the Colts
The Colts’ biggest roster hole, according to PFF, should come as no surprise to anyone. The quarterback situation is terrible, and injuries aren’t helping.
Biggest weakness in 2024: An unreliable passing game
“Even with good protection in front of him, Anthony Richardson failed to show that he’s the Colts’ franchise quarterback this past season,” PFF writes. “The 2023 No. 4 overall pick posted just a 59.8 PFF passing grade, placing him 38th among 44 qualifying quarterbacks.”
Obviously, Daniel Jones signed a one-year deal with the Colts to push Richardson, but he’s currently in the driver’s seat with Richardson out with an injury to his AC joint. He’s expected to be out until training camp.
Head coach Shane Steichen was non-committal when asked about Richardson’s health.
“Not going to put a timetable for training camp on it, but when he does come back, we’ll ease him into throwing and then we’ll go from there,” Steichen said.
There are a couple players to keep an eye on
Here’s Richardson again. While there is much doubt surrounding the former first-round draft pick, he also possesses the most upside. He was drafted fourth-overall in 2023 for a reason: he oozes physical athletic ability.
X-factor for 2025: QB Anthony Richardson
“It’s truly now or never for Richardson in Indianapolis,” PFF writes. “He has a strong offensive line in front of him, a good running back in Jonathan Taylor and one of the better receiving corps in football. If he can’t become more accurate in Year 3, he could quickly be replaced by highly paid free-agent signing Daniel Jones.”
Missing OTA reps with an injury certainly won’t help Richardson improve on his 47.7% completion percentage last year.
As for incoming rookies, it’s no surprise that PFF highlights their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tyler Warren from Penn St. The No. 14-overall pick was considered by many to be the best tight end in the draft and PFF has high praise for him.
Rookie to watch: TE Tyler Warren
“Colts tight ends combined for just 221 yards after the catch last season, the fewest in the NFL,” PFF concludes. “Enter Tyler Warren, whom Indianapolis drafted with the No. 14 overall pick. He tallied 690 yards after the catch at Penn State this past season, the most PFF has ever charted for a Power Four tight end.”
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