How many players do Colts have that could be the best in the NFL at their positions?

As the Indianapolis Colts prepare to enter the 2023 NFL season, do they have any players that could be the best at their respective positions in the league?

There’s an infatuation with rankings in sports. Even though things usually sort themselves out through actual games, there are a ton of power rankings, player rankings, and every other type of ranking you could think of. One of the more common rankings is position rankings, figuring out who’s the best player at a given position.

Often times, teams who have a player that is the best at a certain position is usually successful. For a talented team like the Indianapolis Colts, that’s trying to find consistent team success, it’s fair to ask if they have any players that are the best player in the league at their position, or players that could one day become that. The answer is yes.

Colts have multiple players that can be the best at their position

While Indy’s rough 2022 season may have made people forget, the Colts already have three players with very strong cases for being the best in the league at their respective positions. Those three players are Jonathan Taylor, Quenton Nelson, and Shaquille Leonard.

Let’s start with Quenton Nelson. He was the best guard in football pretty much from his rookie season until last year. Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin has always been a close second, and took the throne last season while Nelson was having a down year, but a dominant 2023 season will certainly put Nelson back on top.

Then there’s Jonathan Taylor. Was there a running back better than Taylor in 2021? In the grand scheme of things, Christian McCaffrey probably currently holds the title but Taylor is in the conversation. If he’s ever used out of the backfield as a receiver in high volume, he very well could take the title from McCaffrey.

Like Nelson, Shaquille Leonard entered the NFL and immediately established himself as one of the best in the league. Whenever he’s been on the field, he’s been one of the top off-ball linebackers in football. Following Leonard’s DPOY-worthy 2021 season, the conversation for best off-ball linebackers was between him and San Francisco’s Fred Warner. However, Leonard’s ability to take the ball away, while also being good at everything else, should be the difference maker.

If those three players can get back to their elite forms, the Colts will have multiple players with a case for being the best. Additionally, Indianapolis also has guys that could one day be the best at their positions.

Young Colts players that could one day be elite

The most obvious one is Anthony Richardson. Yes, the quarterback position is loaded throughout the league, however, Richardson’s athleticism at the quarterback position gives him a chance to be the best quarterback in the NFL if he can put it all together under Shane Steichen.

Beyond Richardson, Indianapolis has promising young talents like wide receiver Josh Downs, and several young defensive backs like Rodney Thomas II, Julius Brents, and Darius Rush. It’s too early to say if they have a legit chance to one day be the best in the league at their positions, but anything could happen if all the chips align.

READ MORE