Will Brinson of CBS Sports is “bullish,” as he put it, about the Indianapolis Colts, calling them a “sneaky sleeper” for the upcoming 2024 season.
There are several reasons that Brinson mentions that have him believing in the Colts. One of which is that if Anthony Richardson can stay healthy, Shane Steichen has shown everywhere he goes that he can get the most out of quarterbacks. Maximizing Richardson’s talents will result in a Colts’ offense that is a “problem” for opposing defenses.
Along with the combination of Steichen and Richardson, the Colts have a lot of help around those two. Brinson lists a fully healthy Jonathan Taylor, while at receiver, the Colts have Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Adonai Mitchell.
I’ll also point out that up front, the Colts are returning all five starters from an offensive line unit that ranked top-10 in both yards per rush and quarterback pressure rate in 2023.
Brinson also notes the addition of Laiatu Latu to what should already be a disruptive defensive front that GM Chris Ballard has built.
Beyond what takes place on the field, Brinson really likes the Colts’ schedule. He points out that with how things fell, the Colts could get off to a hot start and have the opportunity to finish strong with a Week 14 bye, followed by “a really nice closing four-game stretch.”
On the flip side of all this, like every other team, the Colts have their question marks. A big one lies in the secondary. This was a unit that surrendered too many big plays last season and didn’t make enough plays on the football.
The only certainties right now are that Kenny Moore will be in the slot and Julian Blackmon will be the strong safety. Otherwise, everything else is ‘wide open,’ as defensive coordinator Gus Bradley put it.
Richardson is also still an inexperienced player. He has just 98 career dropbacks, so chances are there will still be some growing pains this season, to what degree remains to be seen.
But like I said, all teams have their unknowns–no roster is perfect. However, the recipe for a successful season for the Colts is certainly there on paper, and Brinson seems to agree.
