Doing year-end awards after a season like the Indianapolis Colts just endured is … well, kind of a nightmare. It was fun doing them back at midseason, when each new day had that speed blue tint, and there was a horseshoe hovering over everything you saw. Alas, we all know what happened.
I considered just skipping this entire exercise, but seeing how I’ve been preaching throughout the entire second-half collapse that things are not as bad as they seem, doing so would have felt hypocritical. After all, despite the results on the field, the Colts did have some fine performances in 2025. They should be recognized.
You remember that year when you had the best team in your fantasy football league, but every single week, it seemed like the team you were playing had the game of their life? You know – Christian Watson in the first Bears game, or Brock Bowers returning from a month away to ruin your weekend back in early November.
Do I sound bitter? Best to move on, I think.
Indianapolis Colts' 2025 year-end awards
Look, I know we’d all rather be the 8-9 Carolina Panthers who won their division and made the playoffs instead of the 8-9 Colts who suffered one of the worst second-half collapses in NFL history. But if it’s any consolation, Indianapolis ended the year with a very solid plus-54 point differential, while the Panthers were minus-69.
There may be plenty of problems to solve – and disappointingly little faith in the GM tasked with solving them – but still, the Colts have some positives. For instance…
Defensive Rookie of the Year
- Midseason: incomplete
- Year-end: Johnathan Edwards, cornerback
This was supposed to be third-round draft pick Justin Walley. Or seventh-rounder Hunter Wohlen. Both missed the entire season. Both should be back next year to bolster a secondary that could be very good.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Edwards was the second-lowest graded cornerback in the entire NFL. That’s not what I saw. Sure, he struggled. He is a UDFA who doesn’t make the team without multiple injuries in front of him.
But Edwards has the size and athleticism to play. He needs experience. He played more than 300 snaps as a rookie, almost all of them on the perimeter. That should help him come back as a more dependable depth piece down the road.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Midseason: Tyler Warren
- Year-end: Tyler Warren
No dispute here. Warren’s play fell off in the second half of the season, as did the play of almost everyone on the offense. But on the whole, he did all that was asked of him and remains one of the crucial pieces for 2026 and beyond.
Though he didn’t play nearly enough to be considered for this, I’d like to point out that Jalen Travis looked very good during his brief appearances, mostly in relief of right tackle Braden Smith. Like Warren, he figures to be a foundational piece of Indy’s future offense.
Defensive Free Agent of the Year
- Midseason: Camryn Bynum
- Year-end: Germaine Pratt
Bynum played well early. Like Tyler Warren, he fell off a bit in the second half, but he remained a solid presence at the back end of the defense. Germaine Pratt, on the other hand, was transformative,
His arrival in Week 6 helped settle the defense. He knew Lou Anarumo’s scheme and looked comfortable from day 1. His biggest impact could be seen in fellow linebacker Zaire Franklin, who began playing better almost as soon as Pratt arrived.
Pratt is a good tackler who struggles in coverage, and if he remains (he is a free agent this offseason), the Colts will need to find ways to scheme around the deficiencies both he and Franklin have against the pass. But Pratt has a place with this defense.
Offensive Free Agent of the Year
- Midseason: Daniel Jones
- Year-end: Daniel Jones
The fact that Jones maintained a lock on this award despite missing the end of the season is both a testament to how well he played through the first three-quarters of 2025 and proof of the fact that the Colts simply didn’t have any other free agent who stepped up at all.
We’ll deal with the entire Philip Rivers saga at another time. It was the best story of the year, but it did the organization no favors.
One small caveat … I am not giving out any special teams awards, so I did consider giving this year-end offensive free agent honor to kicker Blake Grupe, who distinguished himself very well in the second half of the season. The fact that he is the only player on the roster who is smaller than me is a plus, too.
Coach of the Year
- Midseason: Cam Turner (QBs)
- Year-end: Chris Hewitt (Pass game coordinator, secondary)
The Colts gave up the second-most yards via the pass in the NFL in 2025. How could I possibly honor the man in charge of defending the pass? A little context. One of the main reasons total yards were so high was that in the first half of the season, Indy’s offense was on fire.
Opponents fell behind big and had to throw. Other metrics – touchdowns allowed, interceptions, yards-per-attempt – were all better than that raw yardage ranking.
Then consider that the secondary was decimated by injury. Hewitt never knew from week to week who would be on the field, but he did know that he would rarely have his big guns out there. Still, the ragtag group, playing without any kind of serious pass rush, stayed competitive.
Defensive Player of the Year
- Midseason: Laiatu Latu
- Year-end: Laiatu Latu
This is a no-brainer, and that is very troubling. Latu was very good in his second year, and he should get better. But he was not so good that there shouldn’t have been at least a little bit of competition for this honor.
The Colts had some good players on defense. Veteran DeForest Buckner was typically strong. Both safeties played well. We’ve already mentioned Germaine Pratt. But none were true standouts. Latu was the only one even approaching that status. Perhaps next year, with a healthy Sauce Garner on board, this will be more competitive.
Offensive Player of the Year
- Midseason: Quenton Nelson
- Year-End: Alec Pierce
Demoting Nelson shouldn’t be seen as a direct knock on him. He was the Colts’ only All-Pro player this season, and there’s no question he is one of the best guards in the league. It is more of an acknowledgement that the entire offensive line’s play fell off noticeably in the second half of the season. Not Nelson’s fault, but he was unable to solve the problem.
Pierce, on the other hand, emerged as Indy’s most dangerous offensive weapon. It was a trajectory he had been on since the beginning of last season, and he maintained it beautifully in 2025. He not only remained the best deep threat in the entire NFL, but he also became the Colts’ best all-around receiver. Re-signing him will be of paramount importance this offseason.
MVP
- Midseason: Jonathan Taylor
- Year-end: Jonathan Taylor
There was no way Jonathan Taylor was going to be able to maintain the torrid pace he established in the first half of the season. His falloff was representative of what happened to the team as a whole.
Still, despite the disappointment, Taylor was far and away the best player on the Colts in 2025. He led the league in carries and rushing touchdowns. He was second in missed tackles and third in both total rushing yards and runs of more than ten yards.
Without him, the Colts’ offense does not operate. The failure of management to find any kind of reasonable backup to shoulder some of the load is one of the biggest failings of Chris Ballard.
Former Falcons’ GM Terry Fontenot found Tyler Allgeier to complement Bijan Robinson. 49ers’ GM John Lynch went out and got Brian Robinson to at least give Christian McCaffrey a chance to catch his breath. Ballard has not done anything like that. But that does not diminish how truly special Taylor is.