Where do we stand at midseason?

[Kray007]

Listening to Kevin Bowen, this morning, he, once again, pronounced that the Colts are in the midst of a rebuilding effort. I'm not sure how he defines rebuilding, but I thought that looking at the state of the roster at the midpoint of the season might be worthwhile.

QB) Even though he only played parts of 4 games, I'm pretty much convinced that, in Anthony Richardson, the Colts have found their franchise Quarterback of the future. Every time he takes the snap from Center, you expect magic to happen.

RB). Simply put, there isn't a better RB in the National Football League than Jonathan Taylor. Given the prospect that Zack Moss will depart for greener pastures, the Colts will probably find themselves in a position of shopping for a running mate for him come next year’s draft.

WR). In Pittman and Downs, the Colts have two quality pieces at Wide Receiver, The third WR, Pierce remains something of a mystery largely because he has a Quarterback who A...isn't able to buy time enough for vertical passing routes to develop and B)...doesn't have the arm talent to task a Defense. The bottom line is that the team has no one who can stretch a Defense, get open deep, and make opposing Defensive Coordinators lose sleep, searching for ways to stop him. It's a major need, and one you'd hope to see Ballard address before the end of the draft.

TE). Granson, Ogletree, Mallory, and Woods are all intriguing players, but somewhere down the line, one of them needs to step up and prove that he can be more than a complementary piece of the puzzle. Finding the next Travis Kelce or Rob Gronkowski might not be at the top of Ballard's to do list; but, if no one on the current roster shows signs of breaking out, it has to be a priority.

OL). In Raimann and Braden Smith, the Colts have a pair of solid bookend Tackles. If you're into analytics, Ryan Kelly is the best Center in the game. Q is an elite Guard...when healthy, and Will Fries is settling very nicely intp the RG slot.

DL). While I'm not sure that Buckner and Stewart are the absolute best DT combo in the league, I am pretty sure that there are few better. At DE, Paye, Odeyingbo, and Ebukam would each be a nice piece if they were lined up at the other end of a line anchored by Nick Bosa or Micah Parsons. All three of those guys are work hard, plug away types who are never going to remind you of a Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis. As far as I'm concerned, when Draft Day 2024 opens, there is no higher priority than a quick twitch, high intensity DE like Jared Verse of FSU.

LB). The trio of Leonard, Franklin, and Speed aren't going to embarrass you, and none of them can be described as a weak link. Zaire Franklin is a prolific defender when healthy. Ej Speed can be dynamic, but you wonder if his pass rushing skills aren't wasted in Gus Bradley's scheme. And, for whatever reason...recovery from injury or a change of scheme...Shaq Leonard isn't the same player who came into the league. I can't be sure of the reason, buy maybe he should think about going back to being Darius.

DB). Going into this season, Ballard was determined to throw a group of young Corners into the fire and see how they held up. On some level, it was a solid plan. Unfortunately, suspensions and injury have left Kenny Moore adrift on a sea of mediocrity. The good news is that Ballard got good results from Dalis Flowers, Kenny Moore, and Juju Brents. Taken together, they should provide a good foundation to build on. At Safety, Blackmon is solid.