The Indianapolis Colts spent a large portion of the offseason retooling the roster to better fit the scheme under rookie head coach Shane Steichen as they hope to usher in a new era of football.
However, in the eyes of Pro Football Focus, there is still a lot of work to be done in getting the roster up to par. In their ranking of every roster in the NFL, the Colts came in 29th, fourth-worst in the league.
While Pro Football Focus listed the offensive line as the team’s biggest strength and the pass-catching options as the team’s biggest weakness, they mentioned the incoming rookie quarterback as the X-factor for it all.
Richardson is about as “boom or bust” of a prospect as we’ve seen since Patrick Mahomes. And considering the only other quarterbacks on the Colts’ roster are Gardner Minshew and Sam Ehlinger, Richardson will likely be starting sooner rather than later. If he defies rookie expectations and plays well, the Colts could be a dark-horse playoff candidate in a weak AFC South.
It will be said time and time again over the next few months that the results of the 2023 campaign will rest largely on the development of Richardson during his rookie season.
But another rookie Pro Football Focus said to keep an eye on is one who could be catching passes from Richardson as soon as Week 1.
Rookie to watch: WR Josh Downs
The Colts used a third-round pick on the rookie out of North Carolina, and he will have an opportunity to contribute right away given the lack of depth at receiver. Downs earned a 90.6 receiving grade out of the slot in college and could wind up being a great complementary piece to Pittman.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Downs is the starting slot receiver for the Colts to begin the season. The only true competition he has is Isaiah McKenzie, who is a solid veteran to have in the room. But he shouldn’t keep an exciting third-round rookie from seeing decent volume.
We’ll see how the roster feels going into the season following the conclusion of training camp at the end of August but as of now, it seems Pro Football Focus isn’t too bullish on the roster as it stands.
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