After Saturday’s Bowl games, this loss is exactly what fans wanted to see from the Colts
The Indianapolis Colts lost their 11th game of the season on Sunday but that may be the best move for the future of the franchise.
The Indianapolis Colts are now 4-11-1 and they are coming off another blowout loss. This time, Indy lost to the New York Giants 38-10. As sad as that may seem, it’s not all that devastating for Indianapolis fans. Part of that is because the Colts have already drained all of the joy out of their fans this season and it’s not really possible for morale to get any lower. The other part is that losses at this point of the season are actually beneficial for Indianapolis.
The Colts are eliminated from playoff contention. At this point, any wins would have just been for pride. However, losing does actually have a benefit and that benefit is draft positioning. Indianapolis entered Week 17 with the fifth-overall pick in the 2023 Draft. After dropping to 4-11-1, Indy has a chance to move up to the No. 3 pick depending on how the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals perform to finish the season.
If anyone watched college football on Saturday, it became really clear that a quarterback-needy team like the Colts needs to get as high as it can in this year’s draft. Indianapolis has been trying to solve its quarterback issue since Andrew Luck retired but the team has been unsuccessful in its attempts with veteran QBs. Indy may finally find the solution in the 2023 Draft with players like Bryce Young or CJ Stroud.
Colts are playing for CJ Stroud today haha. 21-3, Giants dominating.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 1, 2023
Colts should have a chance at Bryce Young or CJ Stroud
On Saturday, both Young and Stroud played in Bowl games. Young, the quarterback for Alabama, completed 15-of-21 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns as the Crimson Tide rolled over Kansas State. Despite some size concerns, Young showed that he is a baller and arguably the top quarterback in this draft class. However, CJ Stroud also had a performance on Saturday where he made his case for that title as well.
Stroud completed 23-of-34 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns and also used his legs as he did everything possible to help the Ohio State Buckeyes before they ultimately lost to the Georgia Bulldogs. There is also Will Levis, who opted out of Kentucky’s Bowl game but holds the designation of QB1 according to some draft analysts.
Regardless of how these prospects are ranked, they all may be going in the top five and could be the first three names off the board. If the Colts are serious about drafting a quarterback, the higher up they are, the better chance they have to get that done. So is it bad that Indy got blown out by 28 points by the New York Giants? Absolutely. However, no one will remember or care about this blowout if Indy is ultimately able to land its next franchise quarterback.
