Colts: Future of Pass-Catchers and the Biggest Concerns on Offense

The Indianapolis Colts are a young team on the rise, but what's the biggest concern to address at each position on offense?

The Indianapolis Colts surprised plenty of people when they put themselves in position for a win-and-in scenario to make the playoffs in the final week of the season.

From the outside, expectations were quite low for the Colts following the disaster that was the 4-12-1 season in 2022. The 2023 offseason brought a new head coach in Shane Steichen and a rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson, so most onlookers thought it would take some time for the Colts to compete for the postseason; not Year 1 of the new era.

The offense turned out to be a bit different than originally planned, as injuries limited Richardson to just four games, and the run game and offensive line were affected by their own ailments.

Still, the Colts were a top-10 scoring offense under Steichen, also being the last team in the NFL to score 20 points to start the season, doing so through the first nine weeks.

It's fair to say the offense is going to look different in 2024 with Richardson back under the helm, but what are the chief concerns for each position group moving forward?  

QUARTERBACK

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How much detail is put into backup search?

Gardner Minshew posted a 7-6 record as the Colts' starting quarterback this season in Richardson's absence and was 2-1 in other games that Richardson didn't finish. However, despite Minshew (an upcoming free agent) being capable of treading water and managing the offense, will the Colts decide to pursue a backup quarterback that they don't have to change the offense so drastically for if Richardson goes down again?

The Colts won't find another QB with Richardson's blend of size and athleticism, but they could find one who is capable of operating a more diverse passing game that isn't as reliant on quick, short RPO throws as Minshew is.

Will the Colts elect to run it back with Minshew — whose price tag has almost certainly climbed — as the backup since they know they have a quality team with him, or do they go for a potential difference-maker?

RUNNING BACK

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Free-agent-to-be Zack Moss proved to be a force in Jonathan Taylor's absence, but how much are the Colts willing to invest in the position?

To put in perspective how effective Moss was in the first half of the season, through the first nine weeks, he only trailed likely NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey in rushing yards despite missing the first game of the season and starting running back Jonathan Taylor having returned five weeks earlier.

However, the Colts signed Taylor to a new three-year, $42 million extension during the season. Moss was given the chance to show he's a capable starting running back for the first time in his career, and he passed with flying colors, so he's earned a big raise. The only question is whether the Colts will be the team to reward it.

With Taylor having missed seven games in 2023 nursing an ankle and thumb, would re-signing Moss to a more expensive contract be worth it, or would the Colts prefer to lean on the likes of Evan Hull, Trey Sermon, and Tyler Goodson?

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WIDE RECEIVER

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What is this group without Michael Pittman Jr.?

To be direct, Pittman dominated the target share in the Colts' passing game in 2023. Twenty-seven percent (156) of the Colts' 574 pass attempts went to Pittman, with the next closest (Josh Downs, 98) accounting for 17%.

Pittman missed one game on the season — Week 16 at the Atlanta Falcons — and it was the Colts offense's second-worst output of the season, amassing just 262 yards from scrimmage (170 passing) and tying a season-low 10 points.

Outside of Pittman, the Colts have Alec Pierce, who is a playmaker but nowhere near the well-rounded product that Pittman is yet, as well as the rookie Downs, who is a productive, reliable slot receiver but also not necessarily WR1-caliber yet. Otherwise, the Colts have Ashton Dulin, who tore his ACL in the preseason, as well as D.J. Montgomery, Terrell Bynum, Tyrie Cleveland, and Ethan Fernea.

This season showed us exactly how reliant the offense is on Pittman, who is an impending free agent. Unless his price tag becomes astronomical, the Colts have to find a way to bring him back, with the franchise tag being an option.

TIGHT END

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It's time to re-evaluate what we thought we knew about what was arguably the deepest group on the roster.

Last offseason, it looked like tight end might've been the deepest position group on the Colts' roster. Jelani Woods was a stud as a rookie in 2022 and looked to flourish as a high-ceiling player under Steichen. Kylen Granson continued to get better as a pass-catching weapon in his first two seasons and looked to make a third-year jump. Drew Ogletree was a star as a rookie in the summer of 2022 before tearing an ACL. Mo Alie-Cox, the grizzled veteran of the group, was coming off of a disappointing season but looked much more appealing as a cog in the group rather than the guy. On top of that, the Colts drafted one of the more physically gifted tight ends in the class, Will Mallory.

As the season approached, Woods had barely been seen on the field all offseason and through camp as he dealt with a hamstring issue. Granson appeared to be taking his leap and Alie-Cox looked fine, but Ogletree and Mallory also dealt with their share of injuries during camp.

Throughout the season, inconsistencies would continue. Granson led the tight ends with 368 yards and a touchdown on 30 receptions, but he missed two games. Ogletree dealt with some injuries and his season ultimately ended after 12 games due to an off-field issue. Mallory played in just 12 games also, and Woods was never able to recover from his hamstring injuries to get on the field.

When you look at this group in 2024, you have to exercise cautious optimism. Granson is a solid, reliable pass-catcher, and Mallory showed potential to be a difference-maker. Woods could be a star if he can get on and stay on the field, and no one knows the future of Ogletree as the legal process plays out.

Alie-Cox and Granson will also be in the final year of their contracts in 2024, so this leaves the door wide open to add another player capable of carrying the group this offseason.

OFFENSIVE LINE

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Please, Lord; let the starting five play most of a season together.

The Colts' offensive line returned to form in 2023 under new position coach Tony Sparano Jr., returning to being an asset rather than a hindrance. The surprising part of that is the normal starting offensive line of left tackle Bernhard Raimann, left guard Quenton Nelson, center Ryan Kelly, right guard Will Fries, and right tackle Braden Smith only played in six games together.

Leading an offense that often struggled to find consistency, having these five together for the majority of a season should do wonders for the unit. The good news is that only two linemen — Danny Pinter and Jack Anderson — are impending free agents this offseason, so everyone should be returning.

In 2023, Raimann and Fries took huge steps forward in their development, and Nelson and Kelly returned to looking like the studs they're known to be. Smith had a great season while on the field but various injuries limited him to just 10 games.

The 2024 season could be an explosive one for the Colts offense if the line stays healthy with Richardson and Taylor behind it.

SPECIAL TEAMS

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Given his lucrative contract, how long is the leash for Matt Gay?

After four seasons of inconsistency in the kicking game, the Colts decided to settle things once and for all by signing one of the league's most prolific kickers, giving Gay a four-year, $22.5 million deal with $13M guaranteed. It was the most lucrative free-agent contract for a kicker in NFL history.

Overall, Gay was a terrific signing for the Colts. He was 33-of-41 (80.5%) on field goals and 35-of-36 (97.2%) on extra points. His 134 points were the most for the Colts since 2020, and his season-long 57-yard field goal was the second-longest in franchise history and the longest of the Indianapolis era.

In Week 3 against the AFC conference finalist Baltimore Ravens, Gay was one of the biggest catalysts in the Colts' victory, hitting four field goals of 50-plus yards, becoming the first kicker in NFL history to do so. Per NFL Research, Gay also became just the fifth kicker ever with a game-tying 50-plus-yard field goal in the final two minutes of regulation and a game-winning 50-plus-yard field goal in overtime.

The issue arose in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals when Gay missed his lone field goal attempt (38 yards) as well as his only botched extra point of the season, going 0-of-2 on kicks overall. The next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he missed two more field goals (43 and 56 yards). The ensuing week, he landed on the injury report for the first time on the season with a right hip injury, but he carried no injury designation into the following game (or the rest of the season) and missed no playing time.

Looking at the before and after, Gay was 23-of-27 (85.2%) on field goals throughout the first 13 weeks of the season and 10-of-14 (71.4%) over the final five.

"I’m glad we have Matt," Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters after the season when asked to evaluate Gay. "He had a little hip (injury) there at one point and had some stuff going on. But we’re happy to have him. He was unbelievable early. He got into a little bit of a, I wouldn’t say a 'rut,' but his expectations are to never miss. We’re fortunate to have him."

Moving forward, this feels like a non-issue, but more so something to monitor because the longevity of successful kickers is rare and overall the length of a kicker's prime is volatile.

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