Colts in Basement of NFL Rankings After Draft

The Indianapolis Colts have had quite the offseason already. After making big moves in free agency by signing cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Camryn Bynum, as well as securing eight new draft picks that include Penn State's John Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren, it seems that Indy is on the right track to success in 2025.

However, NFL.com's Eric Edholm is undeterred in his belief that the Colts still have plenty of work to do in his power rankings after the draft. Edholm breaks down his reasoning for putting the Colts at 23rd, which has him discussing the Anthony Richardson versus Daniel Jones battle for starting quarterback.

"Forgive me if the Anthony Richardson-Daniel Jones competition (with a dash of sixth-rounder Riley Leonard thrown in) does not have me all hot and bothered, even if they do have a better environment in which to work now," says Edholm. "The AFC South remains a division up for grabs, even with the Texans occupying the captain's chair. I believe Indy is better equipped to make a run at Houston, but until one of the quarterbacks establishes himself as the leader, it's difficult to see much daylight."

Edholm's description of the quarterback situation with Richardson and Jones isn't wrong. Regardless of getting Warren at tight end and having a solid receiver corps featuring Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and Adonai Mitchell, nothing matters much if Richardson or Jones can't figure it out, whichever one does start.

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Last year, Richardson's stats were simply bad as a quarterback. While he was very effective as a runner, he couldn't shake the cobwebs of utter inefficiency passing the pigskin. Below are his metrics from 2024 through 11 games.

-126/264 completions (47.7 percent)

-1,814 passing yards

-8 touchdowns; 12 interceptions

-9 fumbles

To maximize the talent of Indy's receivers, Richardson has to be more accurate and thorough with his quarterbacking to lead the offense. As for Jones, he fell apart in his final two seasons with the New York Giants, compiling a 3-13 record and putting up 10 touchdown passes to 13 picks to finish with more turnovers than scores.

If the Colts want to jump in the rankings from the 23rd spot, it all starts and ends with the quarterback. In today's NFL everything operates better when the signal-caller makes the right decisions and eclipses at least 60 percent with completed passes.

The quarterback battle between Richardson and Jones is more open than it might seem, with plenty of pressure on both field generals to step it up in 2025. Regardless of what the Colts have done in free agency and the NFL draft, none of it matters if the quarterback is a mess for a second-straight season under Shane Steichen.

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