Eric Edholm put together his list of the top 10 ‘most complete teams’ entering the 2024 season. Not making an appearance was the Indianapolis Colts, although the rival Houston Texans did.
The top three teams included San Fransico at No. 1, followed by Baltimore and Kansas City. Nos. 8-10 on the rankings were Green Bay, Cleveland, and the New York Jets.
The Texans clocked in at No. 7. Here is a snippet of what Edholm had to say about Houston:
“Stroud has a strong group of pass catchers now with Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods and Noah Brown, along with the return of TE Dalton Schultz. They were hamstrung as an offense with an inconsistent run game, which the arrival of Mixon figures to boost. And a long-maligned offensive line, one which was beset significantly by injury a year ago, appears to be in far better shape now.”
I’m guessing that it’s not terribly surprising that the Colts didn’t make this list, but on paper, this is a well-constructed roster at a number of position groups.
The defensive front should be one of the more disruptive units in football. The offensive line returns all five members from a 2023 team that ranked top 10 in pressure rate and yards per rush.
Anthony Richardson is healthy and back under center, while he is surrounded by Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Adonai Mitchell.
On the flip side, the Colts face their fair share of question marks as well, particularly in the secondary. This was an inexperienced group last season that gave up too many big plays and struggled to make plays on the football.
The only certainties at cornerback and safety heading into 2024 are that Kenny Moore will be in the slot, and Julian Blackmon will be the strong safety. Otherwise, the other three starting spots on the back end are up for grabs.
The Colts could also benefit from more consistent impact at the tight end position, and while last season we saw the playmaking ability Richardson has, he is still a relatively inexperienced player with just 98 career dropbacks.
No roster is perfect. Every team has its strengths and weaknesses – some more than others – but at the end of the day, the Colts’ ceiling in 2024 is going to be determined by the play of Richardson.
However, as already highlighted, it’s not as if he has to do it all on his own, either. Along with the players that GM Chris Ballard has put around Richardson, head coach Shane Steichen and his ability to get the most out of his quarterbacks will be a key part of the equation as well.
“I really believe Anthony Richardson can take a big leap this year for a number of reasons,” said Mina Kimes on ESPN’s NFL Live. “One, Shane Steichen confirmed last season what we all believed when he was hired from Philadelphia: he is a brilliant play-caller. Remarkably quarterback-friendly offense for Gardner Minshew despite some up-and-down play from the quarterback.”