This Indianapolis Colts season was full of ups and downs, especially with the development of our 2023 first-round pick, Anthony Richardson. The team ended with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, the last time being the 2018 playoffs with former first-round pick Andrew Luck.
Recapping this season we got to see some crucial developments in all fields, starting with Alec Pierce who leads the league in yards per reception (86.5 yards). Dominant linebacker Zaire Franklin was first in tackles in the league ending with 173 being named to the Pro Bowl. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns, having the most productive season since 2021 and also being named to the Pro Bowl.
Deforest Buckner and Ryan Kelly have been named to the Pro Bowl as backups, both making their presence felt by QBs.
As the off-season starts for the Colts we will start preparing for the draft. The Colts were given the 14th pick. Mock Drafts by USA Today show that the Colts will be picking Malaki Starks, a safety from Georgia. This would be a much-needed draft pick considering Fox Sports has the Colt’s passing defense at the bottom 10.
With bad seasons come firings. On Monday, January 7, the Colts announced they would be firing defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. The Indy Star has reported that the Colts organization is looking at Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and long-time NFL head coach Steve Wilks. Both options would be an improvement, but Wilks seems superior.
Wilks was voted the second-best defensive coordinator by 1,700 NFL players. In contrast, Anarumo had a bottom-10 defense in the league, just like Bradley.
A complaint all Colt’s fans are sharing is Jim Irsay announcing the keeping of long-time GM Chris Ballard. His constant lack of not adding outside talent to the roster has held back this team. When he was the GM for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013 to 2017 he built a good team around former QB Alex Smith but it was never enough to get past the divisional round, you see that now with the Colts. After Ballard left, well you know the rest. three Super Bowl appearances, and the rest being conference championship losses.
To be a successful team under mostly the same people change has to come with it. Whether it’s play calling, who we draft, or who we get during the off-season. Colt’s fans are tired of missing the playoffs and being this mediocre team that gets a middle-of-the-line draft pick.
We can hope this frustration can turn into motivation to play at a top level next season.
