Colts' Rookies Receive Their Grades, Feedback

Pro Football Focus has revealed their final grades for NFL rookies, including the Indianapolis Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts had a rookie class that had numerous games started, many big performances, and reason to believe there will be stars down the road.

These positives are displayed through the Pro Football Focus' grades for each Colts rookie. Here is a brief rundown from the highest to the lowest, per William Moy of PFF:

Per PFF:

PFF.com

Three Colts rookies were on the field for more than 700 offensive or defensive snaps this season, with wide receiver Alec Pierce and offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann on offense and safety Rodney Thomas II on defense. Outside of a Week 5 start, Raimann played sporadically until Week 9, starting every game from Weeks 9-18. Among the 24 NFL linemen who played at least 500 snaps at left tackle over that stretch, Raimann ranked ninth with a 77.2 overall grade. He looked good both in pass protection and as a run blocker over the last half of the season, too, as he was one of just seven left tackles to finish that span with grades north of 70.0 in both facets.

With this in mind, let’s go from top to bottom and discuss the grade of each of the impact players and provide some feedback, in the process.

LT Bernhard Raimann (73.3)

Mandatory Credit: Robert Scheer-USA TODAY Sports

Raimann was a bit shaky at first, being thrown into the left tackle position in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos in place of a struggling Matt Pryor. However, after that, he became one of the best blockers on the team, finishing as the second-best run blocker (74.7) and third-best pass blocker (71.4) behind left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith. Raimann will likely continue to develop after a pretty good rookie season.

TE Jelani Woods (64.9)

© Robert Scheer-USA TODAY Sports

Woods had a confusing rookie season with the Colts, many times being absent on the field despite outplaying fellow tight end and starter Mo Alie-Cox considerably. However, despite questionable coaching choices, Woods was always able to make an impact in his limited snap count. He was targeted a total of only 40 times but caught 25 of those passes for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. Woods made it known that he’s going to be a factor in the Colts' offense for the future; it will just take him getting more snaps to show it consistently.

WR Alec Pierce (61.3)

Mandatory Credit: Robert Scheer-USA TODAY Sports

Pierce came out of the University of Cincinnati as a downfield threat, and he was just that in his rookie season for Indianapolis. As for all starting Colts receivers, nobody had more yards per catch than Pierce (14.5). He’d primarily be targeted on deep throws, which all Indianapolis quarterbacks couldn’t do well in 2022. When you consider that Pierce had the second-most contested catches (12) to only Michael Pittman Jr. (15; but was targeted 141 times to Pierce’s 78) it’s clear that he’s only scratching the surface of his talent.

S Nick Cross (56.5)

Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Cross began the season as a starter for the first two games but quickly was benched after it was clear he wasn’t quite ready to start. Regardless, the Colts liked Cross out of the University of Maryland for a reason; his athletic traits. Cross wouldn’t see much action, but with the Colts pulling back a bit so that he can gain more experience around fellow safety Julian Blackmon was the right choice. We’ll see if that pays off in 2023.

S Rodney Thomas II (54.3)

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Drafted in the seventh round out of Yale, nobody expected Thomas to do what he did for the Colts. Those expectations were more for the aforementioned Cross. However, Thomas led the Colts in interceptions (4) and had a high tackling grade (71.5), but was near the bottom of the team (19th-of-25) in coverage grade at 54.8, so that will be an area to improve and likely why his overall grade is on the lower end. Thomas was a surprise, will he continue to rise the ranks in his sophomore campaign?

CB/RS Dallis Flowers (49.5)

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Mostly known for his explosive speed and retuning ability, leading the NFL in yards per kick return (23 for 31.1 yards per return), Flowers showed promise with his athleticism. For the last game of the season, he was thrust into the starting role for Indianapolis as they faced off against the Houston Texans. In his limited 175 snaps on the season, Flowers had a coverage grade of 51.3 and a tackling grade of 29.6 (lowest on the team). If he expects to play defense he must improve his efficiency with tackling in 2023.

The Colts might have had a joke of a football season, but they showed serious promise with their 2022 draft picks and why they went out of the way to choose them.

With a balanced offense, a new mind at the helm, and a fresh start at quarterback, the Colts will look to expand the development and potential of these impact rookies as they go down a new road for the future of the franchise. 

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