5. Gardner Minshew
The quarterback is always going to be the main player which is the difference between winning and losing a football game. The Colts had originally planned on their top draft pick Anthony Richardson being the signal caller, but injuries prevented that reality. Gardner Minshew was thrust into the starting role, and he has done what was expected out of him and then some.
He has over 2000 yards now with a 10:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio in what has become a solid campaign for the former Washington State product. He has made plays with his legs as well and is having one of the best seasons of his career as a whole.
When it comes to propelling this team into the playoffs, he needs to continue to do what he’s been doing this season. In the Titans game, this offense was efficient and Minshew spreaded the ball to all of those great receivers. Now that this team has developed some real chemistry from Minshew, it is up to him to continue to lead this team to a winning record, and a postseason berth.
Minshew has become more than just a backup, he now gives the Colts a quarterback advantage over most of their upcoming opponents. Now this team does not play a ton of great quarterbacks coming up, but Minshew being one of the best backups in the league puts this team in a position to win despite Richardson going down.