3 most overrated players on the 2022 Colts

Despite all the excitement around the newest players on the Indianapolis Colts roster here are some players who may fall short of fans’ expectations in 2022. 

The Indianapolis Colts revamped their roster this season bringing in key talent in Matt Ryan and Yannick Ngakoue. They also brought in several key pieces in the draft like Alec Pierce, Jelani Woods, and Nick Cross. However, there are still players on this roster that fans may be overhyping.

Let’s take a look at three Colts players that are becoming overrated entering the 2022 season.

3. T Braden Smith

Braden Smith was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the 2018 draft. He started at right tackle from the get-go, more out of necessity than anything else. While Anthony Castonzo was anchoring the left side of the line, Smith was competing against Joe Haeg, Denzelle Good, Le’Raven Clark, and J’Marcus Webb. Indy was brave in 2018 going with a relatively young line as both Smith and Quenton Nelson were rookies and Ryan Kelly was in year two.

Smith played well in 2018 but benefitted largely from the play around him, especially Nelson. Nelson was named to the Pro Bowl in his first year as well as a first-team All-Pro. Meanwhile, Smith was only named to the All-Rookie first-team.

However, in his sophomore season, he allowed two more penalties (5) and four more sacks (7). He rebounded with his best season thus far in 2020 only giving up three penalties and allowing no sacks. This rewarded him a big payday ahead of the 2021 season for doing relatively little work. The Colts signed him to a four-year $72.4 million contract extension with $42 million guaranteed. This will keep him in the Hoosier state through the 2025 season. His contract makes him the 17th-highest paid tackle and the fifth-highest right tackle. On Indy’s roster, he is the fourth highest paid in 2022.

But has his work really lived up to the price tag? After signing this massive deal he committed six penalties and allowed four sacks in a year where he only played 11 games and the rest of the offensive line suffered from injuries and rotating pieces. Indianapolis wants to keep their young line intact but Smith might have been a signing for necessity rather than play. Couple that with Indy investing in a more youthful line drafting Bernhard Raimann this year and signing Ryan Van Demark as a UDFA. I expect Smith to underperform in 2022 but this may be overshadowed by the elevated play at the quarterback position.