Cutdown day in the NFL is rapidly approaching. Teams will have to make their final roster decisions before August is over, and we are all getting a better sense of what the Indianapolis Colts roster will look like when the season kicks off in September.
As the recent signing of Keenan Allen made clear, general manager Chris Ballard may not be done tinkering. However, there are not likely to be any bombshells at this point. Most of the starters are set, as are many of the backups. Injuries may have their say, and there are still a handful of genuinely competitive battles for depth positions, but I think we all know who will be playing this year in Lucas Oil Stadium.
With that in mind, let’s grade each of the position groups on the 2026 Colts. These grades will not simply reflect the projected starters. Backups will figure into the calculation, though those front-liners will have a larger impact on the grade.
Grading the 2026 Indianapolis Colts by position group
Were we simply grading the starters, the roster assembled by Ballard would look a little better. The Colts do have quality starters at many positions. But Ballard has struggled for years to back up those starters with solid depth. That will be reflected in the overall position group grade.
We’ll begin with the offense.
QUARTERBACK
Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson, Riley Leonard
Right off the bat, we are hit with the depth question. In short, the Colts do not have a reliable player at the most important position on the field should they lose Daniel Jones. Jones looks well ahead of schedule in recovering from his Achilles tendon tear, but we will not know anything for sure until the games begin.
Behind him, Riley Leonard does not appear ready to play meaningful snaps. And Anthony Richardson? Let me tell you how inconceivable it is that AR5 is even on the roster at this point.
Between 2018, when five QBs went in round one, and 2023, when Richardson was the third and last round-one QB selected, there were 21 quarterbacks chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. How many of them remained with their original team in a backup role in their fourth year?
Assuming he is neither cut nor traded in the next couple of weeks, the answer is one. Anthony Richardson. Twelve of the QBs were starters in year four. The ones that weren’t? They had left the team that drafted them. The Colts' handling of Anthony Richardson continues to defy all belief.
GRADE: C+
RUNNING BACK
Jonathan Taylor, Seth McGowan, DJ Giddens
This is a virtual carbon copy of the situation at quarterback, minus the odd Anthony Richardson component. Outstanding starter. Nothing proven behind him.
I believe in Jonathan Taylor more than I believe in Daniel Jones. That applies to both his production and his health. Therefore, the grade is higher, but that pesky lack of quality depth suppresses the grade. With Taylor, that grade should be better.
GRADE: B
WIDE RECEIVER
Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, Ashton Dulin, Anthony Gould, Nick Westbrook-Ikhene
Signing Keenan Allen was imperative. With Alec Pierce still recovering from ankle surgery, the cupboards were threadbare. Allen clearly helps.
However, Pierce’s lingering recovery is growing more worrisome by the day. The Colts don’t simply need him back. They need him going 100 percent. He has to be explosive because they have almost nothing else that will really scare a defense. Downs and Allen are complements. The depth is weak. If Pierce is not as explosive as he was in ’24 and ’25, this becomes a major problem.
GRADE: C
TIGHT END
Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Will Mallory, Drew Ogletree
This is one of the more solid groups on the team. A strong blend of veteran experience and youthful athleticism. Warren should have a big year. Alie-Cox and Ogletree are quality blockers who are not liabilities in the pass game. Malloy is showing signs of being a good flex option.
With a thin receiving corps and no pass-catching specialist in the backfield, this group may be called on to do even more this year. They should be up to the task.
GRADE: B+
OFFENSIVE LINE
Bernhard Reimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Jalen Travis, Jalen Farmer, Blake Freeland, Dalton Tucker, Jimmy Morrissey
I am on record saying that Josh Sills should take the final roster spot, but that isn’t going to change the final grade. This is the best unit on the Colts offense. Indeed, it is the one unit that allows fans to dream big this season.
Nelson remains the alpha – one of the two or three best players on the team. Raimann and Bortolini are ascending stars. Goncalves is solid. Among the starters, Travis is the question mark, but I think he will settle in and be just fine.
Depth is a problem, especially at tackle. Farmer may emerge, but he seems a ways off as of now. This is another case where a lack of decent depth will pull a grade down. Fortunately, in this case, the grade will remain very good.
GRADE: A-
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