Good or bad? Where do Colts rank in first-round draft pick success since 2020?
Good or bad? Where do Colts rank in first-round draft pick success since 2020? Is it good or bad? Where do the Indianapolis Colts rank in first-round draft pick success since 2020?
The Indianapolis Colts rank among the worst teams in the NFL at drafting in the first-round since 2020, according to Pro Football Focus.
Using PFF grading and Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metrics, Pro Football Focus took a closer look recently at which teams have gotten the most contributions from first-round picks over the last five years and which teams have not.
Among the bottom five teams in first-round WAR during that span were the Colts, who rank 28th in this category. At No. 29 in these rankings were the Saints, followed by the Rams, Titans, and Raiders.
Now, not helping the Colts in this metric is that over the last five drafts, they've had only three first-round picks. That is obviously going to impact their WAR total as there are many teams with five-plus selections during that span.
The first-round picks that the Colts did make since 2020 were Kwity Paye, Anthony Richardson, and Laiatu Latu.
Paye has been a solid contributor but isn't going to move the WAR needle a ton. Richardson has missed time with injuries and has been inconsistent when on the field, and there is a lot to like about Latu, but having only one season under his belt, his ability to impact the WAR metric is minimal.
The Colts hold the 14th pick in this year's first round. In terms of position, they have a few different directions they can go, which includes tight end, offensive line, defensive line, and even linebacker.
Free agency certainly helped elevate this roster, but there are still needs to tend to, so hitting on not only the first round pick but some others as well will be important when it comes to finally getting over that playoff hump.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Has Dak Prescott dropped to the bottom of the 2025 NFC East QB rankings?
Has Dak Prescott dropped to the bottom of the 2025 NFC East QB rankings? Since entering the league in 2016, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has consistently dominated the NFC East. He was the top quarterback when he was named Rookie of the Year, and led the team to the NFC's top seed. Draft classmate Carson Wentz bubbled up in 2017, but Prescott has reigned as the division's top signal caller almost every step of the way. He has a record of 33-8 against NFC East opponents, so the domination has been evident across all areas, not just statistically, as long as he's been healthy. Heading into 2025, things could be taking a different direction. Prescott had possibly his worst season before suffering another significant injury. The New York Giants drafted someone they hope will be the future franchise quarterback, while Jalen Hurts and Washington Commanders' rookie Jayden Daniels led their teams to the NFC Championship game. Will a healthy Prescott bounce back to continue his dominance, or will the younger options develop into the new stars who take the division into the future? 4. New York Giants Russell Wilson is at a point in his career where he is a year-to-year rental, not a franchise guy. His 2024 Pro Football Focus grades are all over 70, with a passing grade of 74.5 from 11 games where he threw for 2,482 yards at nearly 64% completion percentage with a 16:5 TD:INT ratio. Those aren't electric numbers, but he can keep a team competitive if everyone around him plays well. Wilson takes too many sacks and has success rate under 44%.Jameis Winston is the opposite. He can still put an offense on his back and throw a team to victory with four touchdown passes, but he could also lose said game with four interceptions. He makes for a perfect backup QB, plus is excellent in a locker room and great with the media. Winston had a better success rate than Wilson last year while taking fewer sacks and having a better QBR. The difference is that he had 13 touchdowns to 12 interceptions because that is the type of quarterback he is. The Giants traded back into the first round of the draft to select Jaxson Dart to be the future of the franchise. Dart played better each season in college, taking a significant leap after leaving USC and transferring to Ole Miss for his final two years. He had PFF grades over 90 in every category except against pressure, which was still a quality grade of 69. Head coach Brian Daboll helped develop Josh Allen into the MVP he is today, and while Dart doesn't possess his physical gifts, he is mobile enough and capable of making full field reads in college. 3. Dallas Cowboys Prescott was an All-Pro and placed second in the MVP vote a year ago, so how could the Cowboys be the third team in quarterback rankings going into 2025? In reality he was having a poor season when he suffered yet another season-ending leg injury. His PFF grades were under 68 in overall and passing, and the team had a record of 3-5 in starts by Prescott. His surroundings were an issue all year, with poor offensive line play, a lack of a running game, and his one true receiving weapon missing training camp. He was also burdened with a lame-duck coaching staff. Joe Milton is what the Cowboys have been searching for in recent years at this position. A young developmental talent with a big arm and solid mobility. Milton has an arm as good as any in the NFL, and while he isn't a scrambling quarterback, he can maneuver in the pocket and escape to make a play if necessary. He didn't play in a scheme that translates to the NFL while at Tennessee, so it may take him a while to understand the nuances of play-calling and the details of the position. If Milton ever develops, he could be an exceptional talent. Will Grier could be the backup for situations where Prescott misses a half or a game. He understands how to run an offense, but he isn't as talented as Milton, 2. Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels appears to be a franchise-changing quarterback who has a strong case to be the best in the division. As a rookie in 2024, he took a 4-13 team to a 12-5 record and a conference championship game for the first time since 1991. He didn't appear to have many weaknesses as PFF graded him 89.6 overall with a passing grade of 83 and a rushing grade of 88.2. Daniels threw for nearly a 70% completion percentage with 25 touchdown passes and an interception percentage under 2. He had over 3,500 passing yards and just under 900 rushing yards. The only knock on Daniels is that he is new, and with an offseason to watch his tape, defenses could have a better plan to impact his play. Will he be the next quarterback with a sophomore slump like Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud or take a second-season leap into the championship stratosphere? Marcus Mariota found his sweet spot in Kliff Kingsbury's offense last season. He only played in three games, but his metrics were easily the best of his career. He had a completion percentage of 77% with a touchdown rate over 9% and no turnovers. He had a PFF passing grade of over 90 and an overall grade of 88.9. He fits perfectly behind Daniels because he has the same type of mobility; Kingsbury doesn't have to change his offense. Josh Johnson only threw three passes in 2024, but he is a veteran who also fits the Daniels and Mariota mold and will serve as the emergency quarterback. 1. Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Hurts ranking first is a controversial move as he didn't throw for 3,000 yards nor 20 touchdowns, and his PFF passing grade is only 66.8. In terms of throwing the football, Hurts is third in the division, at best. His importance comes in different ways. Hurts is a game-changer in short yardage, making the Eagles nearly unstoppable. He makes clutch scrambles to extend drives and wear down defenses. His PFF rushing grade was 88.7, and he ran for 630 yards. Hurts is limited as a passer, but he knows how to operate in a Nick Sirianni offense. If he has one-on-one outside, then he will hit A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith on a vertical route. If a defense stays back, he will take a drop off to the tight end running underneath, across the field. Hurts might need a loaded offense to succeed, but he is going to have it next season, at a minimum. He could be a back-to-back Super Bowl MVP and deserves his credit as the top guy in the NFC East going into 2025. Backup Tanner McKee has started once and has thrown the ball 45 times in two games. He threw for four scores, had zero interceptions, and had a QB rating of 117. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has five starts but has only thrown for one touchdown and 10 interceptions. Rookie Kyle McCord was drafted in the sixth round and is unlikely to be a significant contributor even if Hurts misses any games. You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Rashawn Slater returns to Chargers minicamp amid contract talks
He wasn't under the watchful eye of Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert this offseason. He didn't train in the team's El Segundo practice facility. But it doesn't mean Rashawn Slater wasn't working this offseason. Making his first offseason appearance at the Chargers facility this week as the team started mandatory mini camp, Slater immediately passed the team's conditioning test. In fact, Jim Harbaugh said, Slater reported the test was too easy. 'Too easy,' the coach said, 'because he trains.' Slater's return highlighted the Chargers' perfect attendance on the first day of three-day minicamp Tuesday. The star left tackle had missed all of voluntary organized team activities while in discussions for a contract extension. Since the Chargers took him 13th overall in 2021, Slater has earned two Pro Bowl appearances and was named second-team All-Pro in 2021. After the team picked up his fifth-year option last season, Slater re-established himself as one of the top tackles in the league with the second-best overall grade and third-best pass blocking grade among his position, according to Pro Football Focus. In the final year of his contract, he is due to make about $19 million in 2025, which ranks sixth-most among left tackles, according to 'Speaking on behalf of everyone in the organization, fully support Rashawn and what he's trying to accomplish for himself and his family,' said Harbaugh, who added he chooses not to worry about discussions as they continue between general manager Joe Hortiz and Slater's representatives. 'We're all in support.' Slater has maintained his standing in the organization because of his respected work ethic that earned him distinction of being a team captain last season. Harbaugh counts Slater is part of an exclusive club made of the team's nine hardest workers. The coach's so-called 'Elite Nine' also includes Derwin James Jr., Khalil Mack, Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Daiyan Henley, Tuli Tuipulotu, Zion Johnson and Justin Herbert. Now in his second year at the helm, Harbaugh expects confidence and polish during training camp from experienced players. The coach has already found a standard bearer in Herbert, who is still searching for his first NFL playoff win after having four passes intercepted in last year's wild-card loss to Houston, 'I wouldn't change a thing about Justin Herbert,' Harbaugh said. 'I think the important thing is everyone else, especially the guys he's counting on, on the offensive side of the ball, just look at his example, how he goes about his business, how he trains and they attempt to get to that level.' The quarterback's training was so relentless that he missed his planned media availability Tuesday. He was lifting instead. J.K. Dobbins signs with Denver Broncos Former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins signed a reported one-year, $5.25-million deal with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday after the Chargers placed a rarely used unrestricted free agent tender on the 25-year-old. The Chargers would have had Dobbins' exclusive negotiating rights if he hadn't signed with another team by July 23. Dobbins is coming off a career-high 905 yards rushing last season when he finished as the runner-up for the NFL's comeback player of the year in his first full season since 2020. But his return to the Chargers has been in question since the team picked running back Omarion Hampton 22nd overall in April's draft. Hampton, who rushed for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior at North Carolina, has joined with free-agent addition Najee Harris to form an impressive one-two backfield punch. 'I like Omarion, how he's hitting the hole,' James Jr., said when asked which rookies are standing out to him. 'Can't really tell right now, but I like Omarion a lot.' Hampton leads a rookie class that Harbaugh lauded as being 'as good of a rookie class as I've ever been around in terms of being about their business.' 'Being where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there,' Harbaugh said. 'We have to kick them out of the building.' But even the staff's best attempts sometimes aren't enough. Harbaugh said he often notices the rookies looking for safe harbor in other rooms. Etc. The Chargers brought in receiver Willie Snead IV for a veteran tryout. The 32-year-old last played in an NFL game in 2023, appearing in four games for the San Francisco 49ers, catching two passes for 14 yards.
New York Times
8 hours ago
- New York Times
New Colts owners send clear message: There will be no gap year; they expect to win
INDIANAPOLIS — A new chapter of Indianapolis Colts football has begun. The daughters of former team owner Jim Irsay — Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson — met with reporters Tuesday at the team facility at West 56th Street for the first time since their father died, May 21. And in one way, they're already doing things differently from their dad. Advertisement Scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. ET, the Colts' trio of female owners walked into the media room and were on the mic by 3:28 p.m. Some traditions, they vowed, wouldn't leave in the absence of their father. But being tardy? That's not a trait they plan to emulate. 'In honor of my dad, we considered whether we should be 30 minutes late,' Irsay-Gordon said as the room erupted in laughter. 'But we thought, 'You know what? This is a new era.'' For the first time since 1997, when Jim Irsay took control of the Colts after the death of his father, Robert, the Colts are once again going through a change in ownership that's been decades in the making. Irsay always knew he'd pass the team down to his daughters, and now that they're at the helm, the shift comes with mixed emotions. 'Probably his biggest dream, other than having a big family and having grandkids and being with us, was to see us do what we're doing right now,' Jackson said. 'And I think the hardest thing about that is that his biggest dream and goal, he always knew he wouldn't be able to be here to see it. And that makes today extremely bittersweet.' The sisters spoke for 34 minutes Tuesday as they reflected on the lessons they've learned from their father while also addressing the present state of the franchise. Here's what stood out. The Colts used to be a powerhouse, winning 125 regular-season games from 2000 to 2010, more than all but one other franchise during that span. But the days of Indianapolis' dominance have expired. The team hasn't made the playoffs in four years, hasn't won a playoff game in six years and hasn't won the AFC South in 10 years. That is unacceptable, Irsay-Gordon acknowledged, and while she said she and her sisters will 'stay out of the way' and let people do their jobs, she also didn't mince words when assessing the two people with the most important jobs in ushering in a Colts' rebirth: GM Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen. Advertisement 'As my dad said before he passed, Chris and Shane know that they have things they need to fix,' Irsay-Gordon said. 'We talked about not micromanaging people, but also, we have a standard here, and it hasn't been good enough.' Steichen is 17-17 through his first two years while managing significant injuries, most notably at quarterback. Three different passers have started at least six games during his tenure. Meanwhile, Ballard is entering his ninth campaign with a middling resume that in most cases likely would've led an owner other than Jim Irsay to fire him. Indianapolis is 62-69-1 with just two playoff berths, one postseason win and zero division titles through Ballard's first eight years. Asked if she views Ballard and Steichen as a package deal, Irsay-Gordon said, 'I can't answer that question right now.' She added that she doesn't have 'a crystal ball' to see what their futures hold. She did, however, stress the importance of their relationship as they try to steer the Colts back to prominence. 'Winning is great, but I would even take it a step further in saying we're really committed to being the best, and if we're the best, we will win games,' Irsay-Gordon said. 'And I think Chris and Shane are totally capable of doing that and we're confident that they can.' Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson's NFL career is off to a rocky start, to say the least. The 2023 No. 4 pick has missed 17 games due to injury over his first two years, got benched for two games last year due to a lack of preparation and finished the 2024 season with a league-low 47.7 completion percentage. Now, Richardson is sidelined again after aggravating the surgically repaired AC joint in his throwing shoulder during an OTA practice with no timeline for his return. His latest injury raises even more questions about his potential, or lack thereof, to become the face of the franchise. Asked if this year is a make-or-break season for Richardson, Irsay-Gordon was noncommittal while offering grace. 'Sometimes when you draft players, they have rough starts. They have injuries. They've got the things that they need to go through,' said Irsay-Gordon, who has spent years in the Colts' war room during the draft. 'But I think it's just way too early to tell (regarding Richardson's future). I know Chris and Shane will let us know as we go along, but I think he has all the potential in the world. Advertisement 'If he wants to prove it, he can and he will — if he wants to.' Richardson was shut down May 29 after reporting pain in his throwing shoulder during OTAs. He recently flew to Los Angeles to have his AC joint rechecked by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the same doctor who performed Richardson's AC joint surgery in October 2023. Steichen said Richardson is not expected to 'need a procedure right now.' Ex-Giants and Vikings QB Daniel Jones, whom the Colts signed in free agency to challenge Richardson for the starting job, will take all of the first-team reps while Richardson is out. Irsay-Gordon did not mention Jones specifically in Tuesday's news conference, but she echoed Ballard's overarching offseason sentiment that the more competition they have on the roster, the better. 'Nothing makes a team raise the waterline more than having other people who are really good to keep them accountable,' Irsay-Gordon said. 'I can't wait for training camp.' The NFL requires every team to have a principal owner, which is the title Irsay-Gordon now holds. But she said all three sisters will have a chance to weigh in on any big-picture decisions, and they'll all have equal say. Irsay-Gordon didn't rule out the possibility of hiring an official team president to guide some of the front office's decisions. However, she noted that Pete Ward, the Colts' chief operating officer, has already served as a de facto team president for many years. Ward has been with the franchise since the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984 and doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. Ultimately, Irsay's daughters said they won't run from their responsibilities. They were prepared to take over and plan to do so with pride, discernment and excitement. 'As some people will say, sometimes it can be lonely at the top,' Jackson said, reflecting on the conversations she had with her dad about being an NFL owner. 'He didn't have siblings to bounce ideas off of, and I think that's something that he was always so happy (about) for us — that we have each other.' (Photo of Kalen Jackson, Carlie Irsay-Gordon and Casey Foyt: Grace Hollars / USA Today Network)
