Could the Colts realistically find themselves in the AFC playoffs again? We can only hope…
According to CBS Sports Garrett Podell, the Indianapolis Colts are one of the NFL’s better favorites to snap their playoff drought, which for the Horseshoe, is currently four seasons:
3. Indianapolis Colts
Playoff odds: +200 ($10 to win $20)
Even though the Houston Texans have won the AFC South the last two years, the Colts have been right behind them in second place. General manager Chris Ballard went to great lengths to fortify their secondary with the free agency additions of safety Camryn Bynum (one of four players with 300 or more tackles and seven or more interceptions across the last three season) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (ninth-lowest completion percentage allowed (53%) across the last three seasons). Hiring longtime Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who oversaw solid Bengals defenses for most of his tenure, should also add a steady hand on that side of the ball.
Indianapolis’ offense is loaded with playmakers from former NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor to wide receiver Alec Pierce (the 2024 NFL yards per reception leader) to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to first-round tight end Tyler Warren and more. It just needs consistency at the quarterback position. Anthony Richardson has been the NFL’s most boom-or-bust passer, leading the NFL in yards per completion (14.4) while ranking dead last in completion percentage (47.4%) last season. He’s also only played in 15 of 34 possible games in his career. That’s not great. Should his health continue to falter, New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones would step in. If not for the uncertainty at quarterback, the Colts would be higher on this list.
The NFL teams looking to make the playoffs for the first time in years are as follows:
Longest active playoff droughts in NFL
New York Jets (14 seasons, longest active playoff drought across NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL)
Atlanta Falcons (seven seasons)
Carolina Panthers (seven seasons)
Chicago Bears (four seasons)
Indianapolis Colts (four seasons)
New Orleans Saints (four seasons)
The Colts have some clear talent on both sides of the ball.
They’ve also made some big offseason additions with the signings of both safety Camryn Bynum and cornerback Charvarius Ward, as well as top rookie tight end Tyler Warren.
The real issue with their current roster construction is that they lack elite players at the NFL’s premium positions.
None bigger than at starting quarterback, where Indianapolis may be faced with an uninspiring open quarterback competition between 3rd-year pro Anthony Richardson, the former 4th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, and veteran free agent addition Daniel Jones, who was an ex-franchise quarterback hopeful, now turned castoff of the New York Giants.
If the Colts get enough consistently solid starting quarterback play, it’s realistic enough that Indianapolis could make the AFC playoffs again—especially as a possible wild card team.
No one has really run away with the AFC South over the past two seasons, and Indianapolis is aided by the fact that both the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off lowly 3-14 and 4-13 seasons respectively. They play each of those rivals twice in 2025.
That being said, the Colts still have to take advantage of those opportunities divisionally, and we all know Indy historically struggles at Jacksonville. Indianapolis also can’t afford to get swept by the Houston Texans again to realistically reclaim the AFC South.
To me, the Colts appear to be close to a .500 team next year. They could be a little better or a little worse, of course, but being a little better, and they could find themselves earning an AFC playoff berth again for the first time since 2020.