Colts' 'Best-Case Scenario' Means Taking Major Leap of Faith

For most of the last half-dozen years, the Indianapolis Colts' roster has been just good enough to be competitive. The team treads water, often digging itself into holes before finding hot stretches and finishing around .500 each year.

In fact, in those six years, the Colts are 48-51-1 (0.480), with just one playoff appearance.

What could put a team like the Colts over the hump? The quarterback position. The last two QBs to get the Colts into the postseason were Philip Rivers in 2020 and Andrew Luck in 2018. They were clear difference-makers and were able to pull their teams to victory.

The Colts don't have that right now, or at least the guys they have, Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, haven't proven it.

According to Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports, it's going to take a major leap of faith from the Colts in Richardson in order to end the mediocrity and subsequent four-year playoff drought.

"Anthony Richardson finally pairs his supersized athleticism with smarter, sharper passing," Benjamin wrote about what the Colts' best-case scenario in 2025 would be. "Also remaining on the field long enough to confirm Indianapolis still has a dynamic quarterback of the future on the roster."

The "supersized athleticism" Benjamin speaks of is why the Colts drafted Richardson with the No. 4 pick in 2023 in the first place, and they have seen plenty of it. In 15 career games, Richardson has already become one of the Colts' most prolific rushing quarterbacks in franchise history, carrying the ball 111 times for 635 yards (5.7 avg.) and 10 touchdowns.

As for the sharper passing, Richardson has a long way to go there, although improvement can be made to get him to suitable numbers. Last year, he passed a franchise record-low 47.7% on 264 attempts. The year before, as a rookie, it was much better, at 59.5% on 84 attempts. If Richardson can get his completion percentage at 55% minimum, it would be considered progress.

This also comes with a major caveat that he becomes satisfied with shorter passes. He led the league in average depth of pass target (12.3) by an astonishing 2.4 yards more than the next highest passer, which will always come with a lower completion percentage. Over-reliance on low-percentage attempts will make you a lower-percentage passer.

The biggest thing, which unfortunately is largely out of Richardson's control, is his health. As a rookie, a shoulder injury ended his season after just four starts. He then missed another four games last year due to hip and back injuries. In all, Richardson has only been able to play in 15 out of possible 34 games (44.1%), and there were even a couple of others he was unable to finish.

While Richardson is not the Colts' only option at quarterback -- Daniel Jones is currently in the driver's seat until Richardson returns from an aggravation of his old shoulder injury -- he offers the most upside. It's why they drafted him as high as they did.

Can some magic hit the Colts this year and new realities by formed at the quarterback position?

It will take a leap of faith by the Colts to see.

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