Colts: Indy makes top 10 in ESPN’s future power rankings

The Indianapolis Colts have a bright future, per ESPN.

We could tell you that the Colts have planned well for the future ’til we’re blue and white in the face, so perhaps you’d rather hear it from the Worldwide Leader in Sports? They seem to have a handle on this whole “sports” thing.

ESPN has ranked the Colts in the top 10 of their latest edition of the Future NFL Power Rankings, giving Indy the No. 10 spot after a draft filled with offensive weapons.

Baltimore got the top spot (it helps to have an MVP at quarterback), but we’ll take our current standing without the most important player on the field set yet, thank you very much.

Indy attained an overall score of 80.6, with the vast majority of that juice coming from what ESPN deemed to be an exceptional draft. The team ranked second in the league in that department, buoyed by the selections of RB Jonathan Taylor and WR Michael Pittman, scoring an 83.5.

Chris Ballard and the front office also obtained high marks, ranking third in the NFL with an 87.8 grade.

Naturally, the QB spot weighed them down — even if Philip Rivers has an unexpected bounce-back, it’s hard to grade the Colts’ work here anything better than “incomplete,” especially with the future in mind.

Louis Riddick said it best, while explaining the organization’s 26th-best ranking:

"“I saw signs of serious decline in Rivers’ play a year ago. The Colts think that was an anomaly. This roster is getting stronger and it added some very nice pieces through the draft, but if Rivers can’t get it going and play at a higher level again, the Colts will be looking for another QB sooner rather than later.”"

Luckily, Indianapolis has made a massive leap elsewhere. Just two years ago, they weren’t sniffing the upper echelon of these same rankings.

There’s a lot of work still to be done, especially to find an offensive leader — perhaps the team will be looking in Dallas’ direction.

Here’s tangible proof, though, that Ballard and Frank Reich remain pointed in the right direction.