The Indianapolis Colts came out of the 2023 NFL draft with their biggest haul of the Chris Ballard era, which included several high-potential players at positions of need.
While there is still much promise surrounding the class, the 12-player draft haul didn’t have as big of an impact due to the amount of injuries that hit the group of rookies.
That is largely why CBS Sports had the Colts at No. 25 in their ranking of the 2023 draft classes across the league.
Year 1 hits: WR Josh Downs
Downs was a spark underneath for Gardner Minshew with 68 snags for 771 yards with two scores. JuJu Brents was average at his very best at corner, and fifth-round tight end Will Mallory turned in 18 receptions for 202 yards. Other than that, the Colts did not get much impact from the rest of their huge, 12-pick class. Of course Anthony Richardson waits to return from an early-season shoulder injury.
When it was all said and done, the Colts wound up selecting 12 players in the 2023 draft. Before they entered the regular season, three of those selections suffered season-ending injuries.
Safety Daniel Scott tore his ACL in OTAs, offensive tackle Jake Witt suffered a hip injury that placed him on season-ending injured reserve in August and edge rusher Titus Leo suffered an undisclosed knee injury that forced him to spend the entire season on the injured reserve list at the time of roster cuts.
Then, running back Evan Hull suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. Cornerback Julius Brents missed the entire spring workouts due to wrist surgery and didn’t make his season debut until Week 3 due to a hamstring injury.
Quarterback Anthony Richardson missed 1.5 games due to a concussion and then suffered the season-ending shoulder injury while Josh Downs picked up a knee injury halfway through the season that clearly limited his play during the second half.
It was a tough break to see so many rookies deal with injuries, especially given how vital it is for Day 3 picks to get their careers off to hot starts.
Regardless, it will be an important season for the majority of the class in Year 2 as they all look to prove these injuries won’t hinder their development.
