Colts’ Priority Should be to Develop Young Players

The Colts need a lot of help to be competitive this year. Most of their goals should be centered around developing the young talent that they have acquired.

The Colts are a young team. They decided to shed a lot of age in the past few seasons in an effort to get younger. They want to be a faster team, and that comes with having younger players. That is a good thing and a bad team.

The good thing about having a young team is that they are generally more athletic. They are able to make more plays in the open field. Younger teams also cost less because of their experience level.

But it does take time for younger teams to grow together. They have growing pains. They have to learn how to fit together as a cohesive unit. Most times, franchises are in full tank mode when they employ a much younger team. That is not the case with the Colts.

Indianapolis is in an odd position. With a healthy Andrew Luck, they can be competitive in most games. But even with him they may not be good enough to make the playoffs. That puts them in a purgatory of sorts. Not bad enough to get a good draft pick, but not good enough to make the playoffs.

There are plenty of young players who should see the field and gain experience next season. It’s better for the Colts to have those players gain experience now so they can contribute in three or four years while Luck is still in his prime.

Next: ESPN Projects Colts Win Total for 2018

That might be a sacrifice in win totals. The Colts probably wouldn’t win a lot of games playing some of these younger faces, but it might be the best move in the long run to build a contender.