Preseason is a time to experiment, so it isn’t all that surprising that Indianapolis Colts’ coach Shane Steichen is going to play around with his starting quarterbacks. Sure, we’d all like him to choose either Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones and move forward under clear leadership, but it looks like that is going to have to wait at least a few more weeks.
There isn’t as much confusion surrounding the QB3. Though Jason Bean is on the roster, 2025 draftee Riley Leonard figures to slot in behind AR5 and Jones. He may make the final roster. He may be relegated to the practice squad, ready to be called up in the event of injury. But that particular backup role seems to be the Notre Dame alum’s job to lose.
Even though Steichen appears to need more time to evaluate his potential starters, Leonard should get some snaps during the preseason. He is likely to get a series or two in the fourth quarter, and perhaps a longer look in the final tune-up before the regular season.
NFL analyst predicts a bigger role for Indianapolis Colts’ rookie during the preseason
Barring injury, I would not expect Leonard to see the field any more than that. But according to Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr, that may not be the case.
Pointing out how effective Leonard was in college at making plays with his legs, Orr speculates that the Colts may want to see if he can use those legs to improve Indy’s inefficient red zone offense. Leonard was very good in college, twice rushing for more than 10 touchdowns in a season.
And we all know Steichen needs to find something that works in the red zone. During his tenure, Indy has barely converted 50 percent of their red zone trips into touchdowns, a figure that places them in the bottom third of the league.
However, given the two QBs ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems unlikely that Steichen would seriously consider giving the rookie the ball at key moments. While it is true that neither Richardson nor Jones has proven to be great red zone runners in their careers, there are a couple of reality checks that need to come into play.
Richardson’s overall game remains exceedingly raw. He was drafted purely on potential and thus far, the Colts have not done much of a job developing him. In a perfect world, he continues to improve in every area, including red zone running.
Jones is an excellent runner who had the misfortune of playing behind one of the worst lines in the NFL throughout the majority of his career in New York. He tended to be better on broken play scrambles than on red zone options when the defense was looking for him to keep the ball. His effectiveness should go up playing behind a better line.
Then there is the simple law of physics. Indy’s top three QBs are all tall. But they have very different body types. Richardson carries a sculpted 244 pounds. Jones moves well at 230. Leonard is a much leaner 216 pounds. He is a smart runner, with the vision to find lanes, but really, who do you want carrying the ball near the goal line, when every defender is flying forward at maximum speed?
Finally, Leonard’s arm is perfectly OK, but Richardson and Jones have better ones. Part of the effectiveness of a running quarterback near the goal line is the threat of a pass. If Leonard is going in on special red zone packages, he’s not throwing the ball. That threat is largely nullified.
So perhaps in preseason, you let Leonard experience a red zone situation, but when the games count, he won’t be out there, no matter how effective he looks. Over the next year or two, Riley Leonard’s ceiling is as a third-team backup. In that role, I think he is rather good.
He’ll be prepared. He’ll stay in control. He’ll make plays with his legs and with his arm. They just won’t be the big splash plays fans hope to get from either Richardson or Jones. That will come from your blue-chip performers. In or out of the red zone.