The Indianapolis Colts have added a ton of young talent in the last few draft classes.
Some players have developed into key contributors, some have outright busted while some are somewhere in the middle.
These in-between players entering Year 3 or are in the final year of a contract, while not outright busts by any stretch, must take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and finally turn those flashes into full-fledged production.
There are also younger second-year players who performed well in 2022 and feel due for even more production ahead or simply will get more opportunities afforded to them in Year 2.
Here are seven breakout candidates for the Colts in the 2023 season:
1
WR Alec Pierce
Pierce, the second-year player out of Cincinnati, had a lot of shining moments in 2023, most notably his game-winning touchdown against Jacksonville.
THE @COLTS TAKE THE LEAD WITH 17 SECONDS LEFT! #JAXvsIND pic.twitter.com/6BCQXWzQfN
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
However, consistency was a problem at times for him last year.
Last season as the Colts’ second outside option at receiver, Pierce posted 41 catches, 593 yards and two touchdowns despite the team having a passing offense that was ranked 23rd in passing yards, 30th in passing yards per attempt, and started three different quarterbacks through the 2022 campaign.
The fact that Pierce posted solid numbers despite all of the dysfunction on the Colts’ offense last season is truly impressive.
Pierce led the Colts last season in explosive plays (beyond 20 yards downfield) with 15.
Pair that with Shane Steichen, whose offense is predicated on the vertical passing game, and the potential breakout is obvious.
Over the last three seasons calling plays, Steichen’s offense has been top 10 in passing attempts over 20 yards.
Giving Steichen and Pierce a quarterback like Anthony Richardson who has off-the-charts arm talent should get fans excited for what 14 can do in his sophomore season.
2
TE Jelani Woods
Similar to Pierce, Woods had some electric moments last season.
However, more often than not, it was overshadowed by the team’s inability to do anything of competence in the passing game last season.
Woods finished the 2022 season with 25 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns.
Big play for the rookie Jelani Woods #ForTheShoe
📺: #PITvsIND on ESPN
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/PvpVdrwXpl pic.twitter.com/nksSCT38hy— NFL (@NFL) November 29, 2022
Woods’ biggest issue wasn’t lack of production, but, like Pierce, rather a lack of targets.
Despite the fact that he was the leading receiver in the tight end room, Woods finished with only 40 targets on the season.
He wasn’t targeted once in three of his games and was inactive in two others due to injury.
With the way that Steichen has been able to utilize tight ends such as Dallas Goedert the last few years calling plays, getting a 6-foot-7, 255-pound tight end who is still scratching the surface of what he can be, the potential mismatches are pure nightmare fuel for opposing defenses.
3
LT Bernhard Raimann
It was an interesting season, to say the least, for left tackle Bernhard Raimann last year.
After being taken in the third round out of Central Michigan, it was looking like Raimann would be eased into the starting role.
It didn’t last long.
After playing in a total of 31 snaps in the first four weeks, Raimann was suddenly thrust into the starting lineup on short notice for the Colts’ Thursday night matchup against the Denver Broncos.
After that game, Raimann went back to the bench until Week 9 against New England and would remain as the team’s starter at left tackle for the remaining games.
How did it go?
It was a mixed bag.
Raimann definitely had some struggles early on.
“Early was rough, as it is for most left tackles. I mean, we want them to be Jonathan Ogden the second they walk in the league or (Anthony) Castonzo. We forget Anthony had his struggles early,” Ballard said in January.
“Most left tackles do have their struggles early, but to his credit, I’ll never forget leaving New England and Bernhard is passionate, cares and wants to do the right thing. He’s got tears in his eyes walking to the bus. I remember telling him, I said, ‘Look, you’re going to have days like this in this league.’ And I said, ‘But your mental toughness and your ability to reset is important.’ And I said, ‘And for you to make it, you have to do that.’ To the kid’s credit, he battled his (expletive) off. He got better each week,” Ballard said.
Ballard is "very encouraged" by rookie Bernhard Raimann's development at LT. #Colts
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) January 10, 2023
Raimann also added 15 pounds of muscle which will help him tremendously against power rushers, an area where he struggled last season.
The Colts have struggled to find a quality starter at left tackle since Castonzo hung it up at the end of the 2020 season and if Raimann can continue to build off of his strong end to the 2023 season, it would be huge for the future of the offense.
4
DE Kwity Paye
Paye, the Colts’ first-round selection in the 2021 draft is an interesting case.
He has certainly shown flashes but also had shown inconsistency, namely staying healthy.
Paye started off the season strong by recording three sacks in his first four games, before getting injured in Week 5.
In total, Paye missed five games last season and posted 45 combined tackles, 10 quarterback hits and six sacks.
KWITY PAYE. 🚫
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/BXJvh1VM50
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 22, 2021
With another season under his belt and a second one in Gus Bradley’s system, it’s now or never for the Michigan product.
The addition of Samson Ebukam should be helpful for Paye as another threat on the edge.
If he can stay healthy, the third-year defender certainly has shown that he can be an effective player off the edge.
5
DE Dayo Odeyingbo
After missing half of his rookie season recovering from an Achilles injury suffered while training for the NFL combine, Odeyingbo just finished his first fully healthy season as a pro in 2022.
Now entering Year 3, the 23-year-old is primed for a breakout season.
Odeyingbo finished the 2022 season strong, with 3.5 sacks in the final four games.
Dayo Odeyingbo continued his late season emergence last night.
He’s become a menace as the backside edge against play-action, while also proving his versatility across the line as he’s lined up all over.
He has 3.5 sacks over the last 2 games. #UntilDayoOdeyingbo #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/y5pGS05Bb6
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) December 27, 2022
Odeyingbo recently met with the media to discuss Year 3.
“I think it was just getting more comfortable. Being in the NFL, coming off an injury, obviously game-to-game more playing time and just gaining confidence on the field and gaining trust from my teammates and coaches — so I think that kind of was the result of all those factors,” said Odeyingbo this week via George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin.
On top of gaining confidence and comfortability, the Vanderbilt product said he has added 11 pounds of muscle in the offseason.
“I’m probably about 285 (pounds), but I probably put on like 11 pounds of muscle.”
If he can build off of his strong end to 2022, the 6-foot-6 defender will be creating chaos in 2023.
6
CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr.
Rodgers, a sixth-round pick in 2020, has worked his way into the starting lineup through his first three seasons.
Last season, for whatever reason, Rodgers struggled to see playing time in favor of free agent acquisition Brandon Facyson.
As Facyson struggled and Rodgers continued to make the most of his opportunities, he eventually found himself back in the starting lineup.
PFF listed Rodgers as their most underrated Colt headed into the 2023 season:
When on the field, Rodgers has provided the Colts with consistently solid play since they drafted him out of Massachusetts in the sixth round back in 2020. Over 434 snaps last season, the third-year pro posted his third straight season with an overall grade north of 70.0 and set a new career best with an 81.5 coverage grade. Out of 106 cornerbacks who saw at least 250 coverage snaps in 2022, Rodgers ranked fifth in terms of coverage grade and third by allowing just 4.9 yards per time he was targeted in coverage.
The departure of Facyson and Stephon Gilmore this offseason opens a prime opportunity for Rodgers Sr. to step into that number one outside cornerback position.
The Colts did draft three cornerbacks in the 2023 draft, but only Julius Brents, who is recovering from wrist surgery, was a Day 2 pick.
Isaiah Rodgers Sr's closing speed is absolutely bonkers. Shuts down this comeback route from Davante Adams with ease pic.twitter.com/FDYWo5A4Ap
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) November 15, 2022
Add in the fact that Rodgers has the familiarity with Bradley’s system for a year, there is seemingly nothing in the way of Rodgers seeing a major uptick in snaps and production in 2023.
7
S Nick Cross
The last player on this list is by far the biggest unknown of the bunch.
Cross, a third-round pick out of Maryland in 2022, was a player that the Colts fell in love with during the draft process. So much so that they were willing to trade away their 2023 third-round pick in order to jump back up and draft him at pick No. 96 overall.
Cross flashed in the preseason and was named the starting strong safety on the Week 1 depth chart.
After being benched two games into his rookie season in favor of veteran Rodney McLeod, Cross rarely saw the field the rest of the 2022 season and essentially redshirted the rest of the year.
“He is extremely talented, he is fast, he’s got the ability. Now it’s just playing fast on the field. That part we didn’t see in the beginning of the year. We felt like he was thinking a lot,” Bradley said of Cross earlier this offseason.
Nick Cross SZN is well underway. pic.twitter.com/zh7Iw4vf4t
— Colts Coverage (@Colts_Coverage) August 20, 2022
With McLeod departing in free agency this offseason, the door is wide open for the second-year safety to reclaim that starting spot this season.
Cross has all the physical tools to play safety at a high level, ultimately the question is… where is he mentally?
How much benefit was it for Cross, 21, to learn behind McLeod and will he be able to stop thinking too much and just let his instincts take over?
If he can, it is a prime opportunity for Cross to be the future at strong safety for Indianapolis.
