Colts offensive weapons are getting more respect in rankings
The Indianapolis Colts have been working to improve their offensive weapons and it’s starting to show in league rankings.
In the last few seasons, the Indianapolis Colts have had a very obvious weakness: their offensive weapons. While many teams across the league were stacking multiple elite playmakers on one offense, the Colts were struggling to find a consistent group of contributors. Fortunately, Indy has recently had some players break out.
Last season, both Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. had breakout seasons that established themselves as top options in Indy’s offense. Both selected in the second round of the 2020 Draft, Taylor put forth a case to be the best running back in football, and Pittman Jr. performed like a No. 1 receiver.
With those two established, the Colts used this offseason to continue adding more weapons around them. That was highlighted by Indianapolis drafting wide receiver Alec Pierce. Now, Indy will enter the season with what many believe is their best group in years.
Recently, Bill Barnwell of ESPN ranked all of the league’s offenses by weapons only; that’s receivers, running backs, and tight ends. The Colts came in at No. 20 in the rankings. While that shows there’s still a lot of work to be done, Indy is up eight spots from its 2021 rank of No. 28 and six spots improved from its 2020 rank of No. 26.
Colts weapons ranked 20th-best in the NFL
Barnwell makes clear that Taylor and Pittman are carrying most of the weight for Indy in this ranking. He argues that after these two, and the versatile Nyheim Hines, Indy will probably have to lean on rookies Alec Pierce and Jelani Woods. All fair points by Barnwell, the Colts have a lot of players that need to step up this season.
There’s a belief that a lot of the guys that haven’t been as productive in recent years are ready to take the next step and also that Matt Ryan can help everyone elevate. Whatever the plan is, the Colts need to execute it. They may not have a perfect roster, especially offensively, but they have more than enough talent to compete right now.
The Colts’ weapons are improving, which is good, but they have a long way to go. It would be great if some players already in the organization could step up this season and prove that Indy has all the weapons it needs.
