I am not the type to hold a grudge. For instance, I am not the kind of sports fan who holds onto negative preseason articles about one of my teams just so that I can gloat when the article proves to be totally wrong.
If I were that type of fan, I would have saved a CBS.com article predicting the 2025 division winners, which had the Indianapolis Colts as the third choice in the AFC South, behind Houston and Jacksonville.
I’d cackle about how eight of the nine experts had Houston winning again, while the only doubter chose the Jags. No one had the Colts.
Who were the Indianapolis Colts’ best performers in the first half of 2025?
Even though Houston had a bunch of potential problems – a regressing C.J. Stroud, a missing Joe Mixon, a completely unknown offensive line – and even though Jacksonville had the poster child for maddening quarterbacks in Trevor Lawrence, no one had the Colts.
In all fairness, I had Washington making a deep playoff run this year and didn’t see the Bears coming at all. I mean, if you make enough predictions in public, you are going to look stupid at times. So I don’t dwell on that kind of thing.
But I do enjoy celebrating success… which brings us to the Indianapolis Colts' individual awards for the first half of a magical 2025 season. We’ll pick eight deserving members of the Colts’ organization and limit each to one award to spread the love.
Offensive Rookie of the Year – Tyler Warren, Tight End
We’re starting with a pretty easy one. Warren has been everything Colts’ fans hoped for and more when Chris Ballard chose him in the first round of the 2025 draft. There is no reason to compare him to other rookies at his position. He is performing on the same level as the best veteran tight ends.
Warren is second only to Arizona’s Trey McBride in tight end receptions. He is outgaining McBride by almost 2.5 yards per catch, which makes him the top tight end in terms of receiving yards. He will not challenge Brock Bowers’ exceptional 2024 season, but that is in part due to the fact that the Colts have a much more diversified offensive attack than Bowers’ Raiders’ squad had last year.
Warren epitomizes that diversity. He can run any route. He is very good after the catch. He can line up under center in short-yardage situations. He has even proven to be a solid blocker. Look for him to continue to thrive in the second half of the season.
Defensive Rookie of the Year – Incomplete
We move from a no-brainer to a no-answer. Hopefully, before the year is done, JT Tuimoloau will be worthy of this recognition. But he is not as of now. Indianapolis only has three rookie defenders who have played this season.
Cornerback Johnathan Edwards has played the most with just 181 snaps. Combined, Tuimoloau and safety Trey Washington have not even equaled that number. So we will withhold this honor in hopes of better things to come.
Offensive Free Agent of the Year – Daniel Jones, Quarterback
Another easy one. Jones is in the top ten in yards, completion percentage, yards-per-attempt, quarterback rating, and QBR. Best of all, he is second only to Matthew Stafford in success rate – a stat that measures how effective a quarterback is based on down and distance.
Jones has had some problems with ball security in recent weeks and that has led a lot of fans to worry. They recall his early days as a turnover machine with the Giants. Obviously, he needs to correct those problems. But even with that, there is no denying that he is throwing the ball beautifully to his deep pool of receivers and presiding over the highest-scoring offense in the league.
Since I promised you eight names and neglected to choose a defensive rookie of the year, I am using that loophole to mention Ameer Abdullah as a runner-up here. The veteran running back is a relatively recent addition but has already shown that he can help as a runner, receiver, and return man, and I have a feeling he will make a couple of big plays for the Colts in the second half of the season.
Defensive Free Agent of the Year – Camryn Bynum, Safety
Bynum arrived this past offseason from Minnesota as a replacement for free safety Julian Blockmon. He immediately made his presence known with interceptions in each of the first two games. Despite not having more picks, Bynum has continued his steady play since that torrid opening.
To measure Bynum’s impact, look at how he has affected both the Colts’ and the Vikings’ pass defenses in the past two seasons. Don’t look at yardage totals. That is often dependent on game script. The offenses of Minnesota in 2024 and Indianapolis in 2025 put up such enormous numbers that it forced other teams to throw, and that results in more passing yards.
Instead, consider yards per attempt and interceptions. The Vikings' yards per attempt is worse without Bynum this year and their interceptions are way down. Meanwhile, the Colts are the exact inverse, performing better in both categories.
That isn’t all due to Bynum. But in a season in which the cornerbacks have been making constant trips to the injured list, Bynum’s steady play at safety has been essential.
Coach of the Year – Cam Turner, Quarterbacks
I’m not going to give this award to Shane Steichen, even though he obviously deserves enormous credit for how well Indianapolis has performed. I’m going with Turner for one major reason.
If you are going to kill him for failing to develop Anthony Richardson over the past two seasons, then you have to give him credit for making Daniel Jones comfortable enough in a new system and with entirely new teammates to have the kind of season he is having.
Of all the recent QB reclamation projects – Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold – Jones is the only one who never had any real success prior to this season. Cam Turner must have something to do with his meteoric rise.
Offensive Player of the Year – Quenton Nelson, Guard
Jonathan Taylor, Daniel Jones, Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren – they all have numbers. Quenton Nelson is simply one of the two best football players on the current Indianapolis Colts. And what is really scary for the rest of the NFL is the fact that he seems wholly rejuvenated this year.
Can a player who has made the Pro Bowl every year he has been in the league actually get better as he approaches 30? Apparently, if you are Quenton Nelson, you can.
He is performing this year as well or better than he did in his first three seasons, when was chosen as a first team All Pro in three straight years. There’s a chicken and egg argument to be had around his play. Is Nelson so dominant this season – first among all guards in the Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rankings – because he is playing with an outstanding group of fellow linemen?
Or are youngsters like Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves reaching new heights because they are playing alongside a future Hall of Famer in his prime? The answer doesn’t matter. The offense is humming, with Quenton Nelson leading the charge.
Defensive Player of the Year – Laiatu Latu, Defensive End
It can be difficult to evaluate a defense when an offense is playing at an extremely high level. The pressure that the Colts’ offense exerts on opponents does make the defense’s job somewhat easier. Indy has some good players on defense – like the aforementioned Cam Bynum, the now-injured DeForest Buckner, and the steady Zaire Franklin.
But Latu has been the most dynamic playmaker. He is the only Colts’ defender who has shown the ability to take over games this season. His versatility means he can do it with a sack, with a deflected pass, and even with an interception.
It is rare that the same player leads a team in sacks and is tied for the team lead in interceptions, but that’s what Latu has achieved this season. He is also second in tackles-for-loss. You could make the case for the veteran Buckner as well – there isn’t much to separate them. We’ll be writing more about Buckner soon.
MVP – Jonathan Taylor, Running Back
We started with an easy one, and we ended the same way. Jonathan Taylor is the only non-quarterback with a legitimate chance at league-wide MVP this season. (OK – maybe Jaxon Smith-Njigba too, but I like Taylor’s chances of sustaining his first half performance slightly more than those of JSN).
Taylor is dominating running statistics this year. He doesn’t just lead the league in rushing attempts, yards, rushing touchdowns, rushing first downs, and yards-per-attempt. He is crushing the competition in most of those categories. He is on a pace to surpass his sensational 2021 season, when he was a first team All Pro.
Even his receiving numbers are comparable this year, though you wouldn’t think so because the Colts have so much firepower in the passing game. But it all runs through Taylor.