ESPN: Colts Had NFL's 14th-Ranked Offseason

In terms of the number of moves made, the Indianapolis Colts had a moderate offseason.

However, the weight of those moves should prove to be far from ho-hum. Regardless, given their lofty cap space of roughly $45 million entering free agency and the substance of the transactions that they made, some onlookers are still skeptical.

Recently, ESPN staff writer Bill Barnwell set out to rank each of the 32 NFL teams' offseason and the Colts landed right near the middle at No. 14.

Before we dive into Barnwell's analysis, let's revisit some of the more noteworthy moves that the Colts made:

Re-Signed: CB Xavier Rhodes, WR T.Y. Hilton, WR Zach Pascal, TE Mo Alie-Cox, RB Marlon Mack, CB T.J. Carrie, S/ST George Odum, DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
Added: QB Carson Wentz, DE Kwity Paye, OT Eric Fisher, DE Dayo Odeyingbo, TE Kylen Granson, OT Sam Tevi, DE Isaac Rochell, DT Antwaun Woods
Departed: QB Philip Rivers, OT Anthony Castonzo, DE Justin Houston, DE Denico Autry, LB Anthony Walker, S Malik Hooker, OT Le'Raven Clark

Here are Barnwell's thoughts:

What went right:

Indy was able to buy low on a guy who was perceived to be a top-10 quarterback in many circles two years ago by sending a third-round pick and a potential first-rounder in 2022 to the Eagles for Carson Wentz. Frank Reich will need to essentially rebuild Wentz from the ground up after the former MVP candidate collapsed in 2020, but the Colts should be able to support Wentz with much better offensive line play than what we saw last season in Philly.

What went wrong:

Both quarterback Philip Rivers and left tackle Anthony Castonzo retired, leaving the Colts in need of replacements at two of the most important positions in football. Wentz cost the franchise two draft picks, while Castonzo will be replaced on a one-year deal by Eric Fisher, who tore his Achilles in January and might not be ready to start the season. Indy also appears set to move on from Justin Houston, who was its primary pass-rusher on the edge; while it used a first-round pick on end Kwity Paye, there's nobody with a long track record of success rushing the passer on this roster besides DeForest Buckner.

The Colts also re-signed two players who might have outlived their usefulness on the roster. Marlon Mack's future with the team seemed in question last season when it drafted Jonathan Taylor, and that was before Mack tore his Achilles. His one-year, $2 million deal seems unnecessary for a player who doesn't catch passes or play special teams. T.Y. Hilton is a Colts legend, but at one year and nearly $9 million, he'll make more than guys like JuJu Smith-Schuster for 2021. General manager Chris Ballard has earned the benefit of the doubt over the past few years, but this is nearly $11 million the team could have used elsewhere.

What they could have done differently:

Was Fisher the right choice at left tackle? Given the injury and the short-term nature of the deal, I wonder whether the Colts might have instead looked at Alejandro Villanueva as their veteran solution on Wentz's blindside. They are pretty picky about who they target from outside the organization and place a heavy emphasis on character, but it's difficult to imagine Indy finding many faults with the former Army captain.

What's left to do:

It's contract extension time for Ballard's dazzling top two picks from 2018. Quenton Nelson is about to become the highest-paid guard in football, and Darius Leonard won't be far off among off-ball linebackers. If they each sign four-year extensions, Leonard could take home $64 million on his new deal, while Nelson could be up with approximately $70 million.

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So, how was the Colts' offseason?

If you look at it from the perspective of how they utilized their resources and whether or not they improved, declined, or stayed the same, here's how the offseason shook out.

It began with the Colts having the peculiar issue of needing to address three cornerstone positions at quarterback, left tackle, and edge rusher with the retirements of Philip Rivers and Anthony Castonzo, and the free agency of starting defensive ends Justin Houston and Denico Autry.

They had the fifth-most cap space yet passed on some pretty reasonable deals with players that could've helped them. Edge defenders Carl Lawson, Yannick Ngakoue, and Romeo Okwara, wide receiver Corey Davis, and tight end Jonnu Smith come to mind.

Now, it's the Colts' choice whether or not those players fit them or the price tag they were willing to put on them, so you can't really say they were wrong for passing on them, but they had the space to afford the moves.

When the 2021 NFL Draft came around, the Colts turned just six draft picks going into the event (including only two inside the top 125) into seven picks, which included a possible defensive end duo of the future with their first two picks in Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo as well as a playmaking tight end in Kylen Granson in the fourth round.

The Colts replaced their quarterback with a reclamation project in Carson Wentz who could feasibly stick around another decade if he pans out.

In replacing Castonzo, the Colts appear to have washed as Eric Fisher is a comparable player but is coming off of a torn Achilles at the beginning of the year.

As for pass-rushing, Paye should be able to replicate either Houston or Autry's numbers as a rookie while he and Odeyingbo make for an intriguing pair of edge players for the foreseeable future. Odeyingbo, however, is also recovering from an Achilles injury.

Otherwise, two of the most important moves that the Colts made were re-signing cornerback Xavier Rhodes and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton to one-year deals.

Rhodes performed at a very high level for them last year and could provide valuable coverage once again, as Hilton gives Wentz a proven playmaker in the passing game if he is able to stay healthy.

In all, the Colts did enough this offseason to maintain the momentum they've built over the last couple of years and not lose traction in the AFC South.

While the potential of the moves they made is pretty high, slotting them at No. 14 is fair.

What did you think of the Colts' offseason? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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