Where do you think the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback room ranks amongst all 32 NFL teams? Without giving the matter more than a couple of seconds of thought – without even looking at what the other 31 teams have on their roster right now – I would just say 16.
That’s the middle of the league. The Colts are in the middle. That’s where they have been since Shane Steichen arrived. Without a couple of savvy moves, that’s where they are headed toward being in 2025.
Fansided.com’s Christopher Kline just did his own ranking, and boy, was I wrong. The Colts were not 16th. They were 15th.
How solid is the Indianapolis Colts’ QB situation heading into the NFL draft?
If I’m being honest, I think that is just a tad too high. All signs point toward Daniel Jones making a full recovery from the Achilles tear that ended his season prematurely in 2025. But it is not unreasonable to expect his performance to lag a bit from where it was during the very good first half of ’25. I’d probably have the Colts 16 or 17, so I suppose, as a fan, I should be happy with 15.
There actually are several fascinating takeaways from Kline’s rankings. I’ll say up front that I take issue with more than just the Colts’ ranking, but I don’t think he got anything egregiously wrong. It’s a solid ladder.
The most fascinating part only tangentially concerns the Colts.
We all agree that the QB position has an outsized impact on a team's success. Getting your “franchise” QB is goal number one for every GM, and they are often willing to sacrifice a great deal to just be in a position to acquire an elite prospect. That is not the case with any other position. Nobody waxes on about a “franchise” interior linebacker.
Therefore, you’d expect that playoff teams would fill up the top half of Kline’s list. They do not. It’s actually kind of shocking how unimportant it seems. Of Kline’s top ten-ranked QB situations, only five of those teams made the playoffs in 2025. In fact, in his top five, only two of the teams were in the playoffs last year.
And let me remind you, almost half of the NFL – 14 out of 32 teams or 44% -- make the playoffs. On Kline’s list, the average ranking of the 14 playoff teams from 2025 was 14. That’s just above the mid-point. Apparently, you do not need an A-level quarterback to qualify for the postseason. You just need a B+.
And really, you don’t even need that. Three playoff teams had QB rooms ranked in the bottom third. The worst (I won’t tell you who it is, but their nickname rhymes with “squealers”) was 31st.
The QB room for the Super Bowl champs was ranked 12th.
That should bode pretty well for the Colts at 15. And there’s even better news for fans looking for a reason to believe this season. Indy’s ranking is the highest in the AFC South.
That surprised me almost as much as the apparent unimportance of having an elite QB..
Since Kline is considering the entire corps of QBs, this doesn’t necessarily mean that he has Jones ranked ahead of Trevor Lawrence, CJ Stroud, and Cam Ward. But when you look deeper, that does appear to be what it means.
The Colts do not have a reliable backup at present. Anthony Richardson will most likely be traded or released before the season. Riley Leonard was not deemed ready to play meaningful games when Jones was hurt last year. And Seth Hanigan is … Seth Hanigan.
That suggests that Kline considers Jones significantly better than Houston’s CJ Stroud because the Texans do, in fact, have a solid backup in Davis Mills. Jones and the Colts were ranked eight spots ahead of Stroud’s Texans – a team he has led to the playoffs in each of his three seasons. For comparison, Jones has been to the postseason once in seven years.
The Colts are ranked four spots ahead of Jacksonville. I think it is fair to have Jones ahead of Lawrence, but I think the margin is far closer. Both QBs have played in bad situations without the benefit of quality offensive infrastructure.
In 2025, both finally teamed up with a coach who could unlock their potential, and both took major strides forward. I do think Jones’ strides were a bit bigger. Neither has a reliable backup.
For the record, I would tighten that gap by moving Jones back behind Jalen Hurts and Baker Mayfield, the quarterbacks who are ranked just behind him. And I would shift Larence up a spot in front of Jaxson Dart, who I think is a bit overrated at 18. (Although that ranking may be bolstered by Jameis Winston’s presence as a backup.)
The bottom line here is that Indianapolis has a quarterback who should be able to lead them into the playoffs and, with a break or two, can win some postseason games. Jones must return to his early 2025 form for that to happen. That’s a pretty good bet.
There is far less certainty about the other parts of the team. Well, a couple of parts anyway. By the time the 2026 season dawns, will general manager Chris Ballard have done enough on defense to field a playoff-caliber squad? As of today, the answer to that question seems to be “no.”
Will he find a suitable backup for star running back Jonathan Taylor so that JT doesn’t wear out as he did toward the end of last season? Again, as of today, the answer is “no.”
But there is still a lot of time. And a draft. As Kline’s rankings suggest, the Colts are not flailing about for a quarterback. There are a lot of teams that wish they could say that.