Where ESPN ranked production from Colts’ rookie class

The Colts’ 2022 rookie class did not impress ESPN all that much.

The Indianapolis Colts got some decent production from a handful of players within the 2022 rookie class, but ESPN felt it wasn’t sufficient enough to be ranked in the top half of the league.

In fact, ESPN ranked the production of each NFL team’s rookie class, and the Colts came in at No. 21 overall. We also gave end-of-season grades for the rookie class following their first campaign.

Here’s what they said about the 2022 class for the Colts:

“21. Indianapolis Colts

Before the season, nobody would have expected seventh-round pick Rodney Thomas II to be the Colts’ most valuable rookie of 2022. However, the former linebacker grabbed the free safety position early in the season, eventually starting 10 games and garnering four interceptions. Bernhard Raimann started 11 games at left tackle, finishing 40th in RBWR but a poor 60th in PBWR. Wide receiver Alec Pierce started 12 games and finished with 41 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Jelani Woods came on late in the season with 18 catches for 233 yards just in the Colts’ final six games.”

Pierce had a solid rookie season. It was a bit inconsistent, but he showed the necessary flashes of being an impact player on the boundary. Raimann showed a lot of progress down the stretch while Woods was electric every time he touched the football—he just didn’t play enough.

The big surprise, of course, was Thomas. The safety out of Yale took over a starting role early in the season and didn’t look back. His four interceptions as a rookie are the most for a seventh-round pick since 1986 (Bret Clark) and the most for a player drafted No. 200 overall or later since 1992 (Darren Perry)—the draft still had 12 rounds back then.

Two rookies we shouldn’t overlook weren’t drafted, but they still held impactful roles. Cornerback Dallis Flowers out of Pittsburg State led the NFL in yards per kick return (31.1) and was the only qualified player to average over 30 yards per return. He also saw some work on defense late in the season.

Also, linebacker JoJo Domann immediately became a special teams contributor. His 58.2% snap share on special teams was tied for the third-highest on the team with Grant Stuard while his eight special teams stops were also tied for the third-most with E.J. Speed.

The class wasn’t all roses, though. Safety Nick Cross was a highly-valued third-round pick. He began the season as the starter but played six total defensive snaps after Week 2. He was a healthy scratch for the meaningless Week 18 game.

Sixth-round defensive tackle Curtis Brooks out of Cincinnati didn’t play in a regular-season game and was released from the practice squad midseason. He was the first draft pick from the class to part ways with the team.

Fellow sixth-round tight end Andrew Ogletree was catching fire in training camp before tearing his ACL during joint practices with the Detroit Lions. That’s necessarily his fault, of course, but he did miss his entire rookie campaign.

It was a pretty average class overall, but there certainly are some building blocks at some key positions. That should help whoever the next head coach is when it comes to roster building.

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