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Taking a look at the the best rookies for the Colts thus far in 2023.
The Indianapolis Colts are 10 games into the 2023 season. At their bye in Week 11, the team stands right in the thick of the playoff hunt with a 5-5 record.
There have been many ups and downs so far and the rookie class has played a big contribution to the position the team finds itself in.
Here, we’re ranking the rookies that have had the biggest impact through the first 10 games of the season:
Grab your next #Colts jersey right now:
With the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Anthony Richardson.
Richardson, a quarterback out of Florida, will look to help the Colts improve on last season’s 4-12-1 record.
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With great expectations comes great responsibility, and now it’s time for you to support your team’s newest star. Check out Richardson’s new NFL jersey:
The NFL is expected to release the 2023-24 schedule in May, but we know that Colts fans can look forward to the first matchup of the season, whoever the foe is. It will be the first outing for the next era of Colt football.
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Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard provided his state of the franchise ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. Here are four takeaways from the presser.
The Indianapolis Colts are embarking upon an exciting opportunity.
The AFC South club picks No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL draft, and the team is actually sold on taking a rookie quarterback rather than saddling up another veteran with one foot in retirement.
The 2023 class features Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, and Kentucky’s Will Levis as the quartet of talented passers who could become franchise quarterbacks. The Colts may not have a shot at Young as the Carolina Panthers covet him, and are picking first. However, Indianapolis has a realistic chance to sort through the others.
Here are four takeaways from general manager Chris Ballard’s Friday press conference.
Former Georgia football QB Jacob Eason, most recently on Washington and now Indianapolis Colts, delivered the best quote of the NFL Draft.
Former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason, most recently a Washington Husky, was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
ESPN cited character issues as the reason for Eason’s slide, and it appears Eason is looking to put those reports to rest.
After starting his freshman season at Georgia, Eason transferred from UGA to Washington after being beaten out by Jake Fromm for the starting position in Athens.
Shortly after being picked by the Colts, Eason, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2016, delivered the best quote from NFL Draft week, showing that he is ready to prove the haters wrong.
“As soon as this virus calms down, I’m gonna go in there and compete my nuts off,” Eason said.
He’ll be sitting behind veteran NFL passer Phillip Rivers for at least one year, but he can certainly compete for that No. 2 spot.
This is quite a quote from new Colts QB Jacob Eason:
"As soon as this virus calms down, I'm gonna go in there and compete my nuts off."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) April 25, 2020
Former Georgia football QB Jacob Eason was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Congratulations to former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason, who was taken #122 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
Eason, the former number one overall player in the class of 2016, started his true freshman year at Georgia and did a fine job.
He lost the starting job his sophomore year to Jake Fromm. Eason stuck around during the 2017 season and provided nothing but support to Fromm and his teammates amid a national championship run.
After the 2017 season, Eason transferred to Washington. He sat out the 2018 season but started in 2019, throwing for 3,132 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In Indianapolis, Eason will have an opportunity to sit behind NFL veteran Phillip Rivers, who joined the Colts this offseason after a long career with the Chargers.
At 6-foot-6 231 pounds, and with an absolute cannon of an arm, Eason has all the tools to be a successful NFL quarterback.
Congratulations to former Georgia QB Jacob Eason.
Taken #122 overall by the Colts! pic.twitter.com/BFJQFvcJ21
— UGA Football Live (@UGAfootballLive) April 25, 2020
Chris Ballard faces a big offseason that comes with the decision of drafting a QB.
With offseason speculation looming at the quarterback position, different opinions and predictions have been formed as to what Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard and the rest of the front office should do.
It seems that the options are endless and fans or even members of the media may not know until later in the offseason.
Does Jacoby Brissett need more time? Will a young draft pick at 13 (or higher) be the future? Does a veteran quarterback like Philip Rivers or Teddy Bridgewater seem like a safer option? Could Tom Brady wear the horseshoe?
These questions are just some of the many that Ballard will have to answer in the next few months. When it comes to picking the quarterback position, however, he is somewhat inexperienced. Ballard has an impeccable eye for talent and that has been shown from his time in Indy and in Kansas City.
He was responsible for drafting Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Marcus Peters. All three of those big-time talents were Pro Bowlers within their first three seasons. Hill and Kelce were also a monumental part in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory and have helped elevate Patrick Mahomes immensely.
Ballard has never drafted a quarterback in his three drafts as general manager for the Colts. As director of player personnel and director of football operations with the Chiefs, he had only drafted two quarterbacks in a four-year span.
Granted, Kevin Hogan and Aaron Murray were both fifth-round picks and did not pan out to have successful careers, but this is the first time where Ballard has the reigns and the team desperately needs a quarterback.
Working with former Chiefs and Browns GM John Dorsey, Ballard did not have the final say on which players to draft. Now it is different.
Ballard’s knowledge of players is very deep and his ability to see value in draft picks makes him one of the best GMs in football. Hopefully, he can nail drafting a quarterback in April like he nailed picking Quenton Nelson and Darius Leonard in 2018— that’s if the Colts decide to get a quarterback with the No. the 13 pick.
Still, a lot of time is left to decide what is best for this team ahead of the NFL Draft on April 23. Key positions may experience some turnover and there may be new faces, young and old, out there when training camp starts.
One thing is certain though, in Ballard we trust.
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