After making several quality moves this offseason, some experts believe the Indianapolis Colts are the most improved team.
When 2022 free agency started, the Indianapolis Colts were slow out the gate and mostly just watched as the rest of the league did the big spending. This led to several analysts criticizing Chris Ballard and the Colts and simply wondering what was Indy doing.
People outside of the organization couldn’t understand it. This was a team that looked incredibly dominant for a stretch of last season but came up just short of making the playoffs, so it was evident that Indy was just a few pieces away. However, to outsiders, it didn’t look like the Colts were eager to acquire those pieces.
But, Ballard and the organization had a plan, and it all started with patience. Eventually, Indianapolis would trade away Carson Wentz and trade for Matt Ryan and Yannick Ngakoue, and also sign Stephon Gilmore and a few other critical depth pieces. The Colts also knocked another draft out of the park by selecting several promising players on days two and three of the Draft.
Now, many of the analysts that were questioning Ballard and Indy are now praising them. Ballard’s patience led to calculated moves that are being respected throughout the league. A recent example of that praise is John Breech from CBS Sports naming Indy the most improved team in the NFL this offseason.
https://twitter.com/cbssportshq/status/1545145385081081857?s=21&t=goNr8mFXD2oyZuWMpgtNGQ
Colts named most improved team mainly because of Matt Ryan
Breech’s main motivation for putting Indianapolis at No. 1 was the move from Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan, saying, “If you improve at the quarterback position that means you improved more than most other NFL teams and the Indianapolis Colts had a dramatic upgrade at quarterback.”
However, Breech does acknowledge the additions of Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore and argues that they should make a big impact as well. That’s certainly what Indianapolis and the fans are hoping for.
Before these offseason moves, the Colts were already one of the most talented teams in the league and they’ve now built on that talent. It’s time for the talent to jump off the paper and for Indianapolis to dominate the NFL next season.
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The Indianapolis Colts missed the playoffs in 2021, but with a number of big acquisitions in the offseason, they are set up to make the postseason in 2022.