NFL.com columnist Jim Trotter selected one person from all 32 teams around the league to root for in 2022.
Trotter selected more than just players. In the Colts’ case, he chose quarterback Matt Ryan, and writes:
“The former league MVP is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and it would be awesome to see him win a Super Bowl and make 28-3 (no explanation necessary) a footnote on his résumé.”
The soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback, now given a new and unique opportunity, looks to get a Colts team that was on the cusp of back-to-back playoff appearances in 2021 over that hump, or ‘mountain’; as head coach Frank Reich would call it, in 2022.
The expectation is for Ryan to be with the Colts for a minimum of two years; and the organization has made sure to do their fair share in surrounding the veteran quarterback with the necessary pieces to be able to succeed.
Ryan will be walking into perhaps the best situation he’s been part of in quite some time. General manager Chris Ballard drafted two dynamic playmakers in wideout Alec Pierce and tight end Jelani Woods, both of whom possess the ability to make an immediate impact from Day 1.
With the additions of Pierce and Woods, along with an ascending star in wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and one of the league’s most dynamic playmakers in All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, Ryan will have a plethora of weapons to work with this season.
But the Colts weren’t the only team to add playmakers and difference-makers on both sides of the ball this offseason. The AFC is as loaded as the NFL has seen in years.
Indianapolis’ schedule presents plenty of intriguing challenges in 2022, with matchups against what many are now calling the best division in football, the AFC West, as well as division-rival Tennessee, Houston and Jacksonville.
Even with the new offensive additions around Ryan and several significant defensive pickups, including Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore, the Colts will still have to prove they can hang with some of the league’s best teams this season.