These 4 Colts players should make the Pro Bowl next season
The Indianapolis Colts aren’t well represented in this season’s Pro Bowl but that should change next year, with several Colts likely to make it.
Last season, the Indianapolis Colts sent a league-high seven players to the Pro Bowl for the 2021 season. This year, only one player was selected for the Pro Bowl for Indy. That was Quenton Nelson, who did make franchise history by becoming the first player to make every Pro Bowl in his first five seasons. Overall though, it was a down season for Indy, and they weren’t expected to have many Pro Bowlers after going 4-12. Things should change next season.
Despite Indy’s record, the team still has a ton of talented players. While all of that talent wasn’t necessarily on display this season, it’s probably a safe bet that multiple Colts players will make the Pro Bowl next season. In fact, there are four players on Indy’s roster that fans should expect to be Pro Bowlers next season, and even more with the potential to be.
What Colts players are likely to make the Pro Bowl next season?
Grover Stewart should’ve been a Pro Bowler this season, and he certainly has the ability to do so next year. Michael Pittman Jr. could also be in the conversation if he continues his emergence as a No. 1 receiver and Indy has a competent offensive line and good quarterback play. However, the four players that are almost a safe bet to make next season’s Pro Bowl are Quenton Nelson, Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner, and Shaquille Leonard.
If it was any year Nelson wasn’t going to make the Pro Bowl, this would have been the season. He played the worst football of his career and he was well aware of it. However, it’s likely that Quenton Nelson will bounce back and play better football. If that actually happens, he’ll be making his sixth straight trip to the Pro Bowl.
Jonathan Taylor will also be looking to bounce back. Between an ankle injury that he recently had surgery for, and a struggling offensive line, Taylor wasn’t able to showcase how special everyone knows he is. That shouldn’t be the case in 2023. DeForest Buckner did showcase his abilities with another productive season but with the league being so stacked at defensive tackle, and the Colts having a down year, he didn’t get selected this season. If Indy improves its record next season, Buckner will be acknowledged.
Finally, Shaquille Leonard will return healthy next season and remind everyone who he is: the best linebacker in all of football. Unfortunately for Leonard, multiple back surgeries derailed him from following up his DPOY-worthy season of 2021. While he certainly wanted to be healthy and on the field, he simply couldn’t, and he received a lot of disrespect towards his name over the last year. Anyone who has observed Leonard throughout his career knows he responds best when the critics are the loudest.
Expect a motivated Shaquille Leonard to return healthy next season with a vengeance. He’ll lead the Colts to a better season than this year and he and several other Indianapolis players will likely make their returns to the Pro Bowl.
