This is The Gridiron Review’s Indianapolis Colts 2023 Offseason Team Breakdown. We provide you with all things you need to know about the Colts heading into FA and the draft. We also provide our thoughts on the needs of the team and how we think they can be addressed!
Indianapolis Colts 2022 Record: 4-12-1
Indianapolis Colts Salary Cap(According to Spotrac): $10,951,512
Notable Free Agents(According to Spotrac):
- Parris Campbell, WR
- Yannick Ngakoue, DE
- Bobby Okereke, LB
- EJ Speed, LB/ST
- Rodney McLeod, S
Team Needs: QB, WR, DE/EDGE, CB(Depth)
3 Free Agent Targets(In No Order):
- Gardner Minshew II, QB
- Nate Herbig, OG
- Dre’Mont Jones, DL
Indianapolis Colts First Round Pick(s): Pick 4
3 Draft Prospect Fits/Targets:
- CJ Stroud, QB
- Anthony Richardson, QB
- Christian Gonzalez, CB
Our Colts Ideal Offseason Plans/Thoughts:
- First off, just cut your losses. Everyone and their mom knows the Matt Ryan trade was a disaster and was worse than the Wentz trade. Take the cap hit, and move on.
- Do not pick Will Levis if drafting is the direction you want to go. We like Ehlinger so we hope he gets to stay, but they need an answer after all of these failed experiments. Levis is a disaster waiting to happen if he is taken in the first round, but it is something Irsay would do. We actually found that the Colts roster is not as bad as we originally thought. We could see them taking CJ Stroud if they think they can win now. However, new HC Shane Steichen talked about how important it is to have a mobile QB. We have seen videos of Richardson working on his release and it does look better than in-season. Through discussion we believe that the Colts could be the team that takes a chance on the super high upside of Richardson early. With that being said, Richardson needs time to develop still. We think that Steichen will bring a friend along with him to Indy… QB Gardner Minshew. Minshew has the ability to be a starter or to at least compete with and push someone in this league for a starting spot. We think Minshew probably gets a 2-year deal in Indy to bridge for Richardson. He gets all of year one with a QB competition in year two. If he loses to Richardson in year two then at least he will have film for teams to watch.
- Plain and simple the Colts need a WR1. Pittman and Alec Pierce will thrive and put up better numbers when a true WR1 is brought in. Steichen was a part of the Eagles staff who traded for AJ Brown last season. Don’t be surprised if the Colts dish out some draft capital for DK or Hopkins.
- With Ngakoue a FA, it’s assumed they are probably going to be looking for EDGE help across from Kwity Paye. Could they resign Ngakoue? It’s possible, but he was also brought in by the previous regime. It could depend on whether Gus Bradley is retained or not. We like the thought of the Colts going Stroud or Richardson at 4, but that’s also in part because in our Mock 1.0 we have Carter, Murphy, and Anderson all off the board by pick 4. If somehow one of them slips through we could see them being an option here at 4.
- The CB room currently strong with Gilmore and Moore, but we believe they are missing an outside CB. Rodgers has been playing it, and we believe he actually did a fairly good job, but we think someone bigger and more physical could be used. We see Rodgers more so as Moore’s replacement when the time comes. Gonzalez is our top CB prospect, so we think he could be on their board here, but ultimately think it may be a bit early.