Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 is going in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. We’re working backward from our preseason power rankings. Next up are the Indianapolis Colts at No. 23.
Shane Steichen might be on a bullet train from NFL Coach of the Year consideration to the unemployment line at a rate rarely seen.
That’s, of course, a projection of our dim expectations for the Indianapolis Colts in 2027, but as the headline says, that’s what’s we’re here for — predictions and perspective.
So hear us out …
Steichen is 25-26 in three seasons in Indianapolis, failing to make the playoffs in his tenure so far.
But for the first half of last season, it sure looked like the Colts had found something and were in the midst of a breakout.
They were 7-1 and later 8-2. Running back Jonathan Taylor was at the peak of his powers, having piled up 1,139 rushing yards, 260 passing yards and 17 total touchdowns in those first 10 games, meriting dark horse MVP consideration. Steichen, a former offensive coordinator for the Chargers and Eagles, and his staff had seemingly revived the career of quarterback Daniel Jones in his first season after his release from the Giants.
The Colts looked for real, and then …
In a blink, the season became a house of cards, collapsing upon itself at the first structural setback.
After a bye week and then overtime loss to the Chiefs, it was suddenly revealed that Jones had a hairline fracture of his left fibula but was going to continue playing. Two games later, with the Colts on the way to a third straight loss on the road at Jacksonville, Jones tore his right Achilles tendon.
Indianapolis would end up losing its final seven games to miss the playoffs, even bringing 44-year-old Philip Rivers out of nearly five years of retirement to try and save the season. He could not.
Now, is it Steichen’s fault that his starting QB got hurt and a high school football coach was the best option to take over? No. Nor is it Steichen’s fault that the Colts traded two first-round picks mid-season to the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner only to get four games out of him due to a calf strain. Or the other mounting injuries that hurt the team down the stretch.
But the reality is what it is entering 2026.
Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, taking over control of the team from her late father, issued a statement to fans after the season making clear she was “pissed” that the team fell short of the playoffs again and that she was clear with Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard that while they would return in 2026 “giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher.”
Can’t be much more clear than that.
But the reason we suggest Steichen could be running out of time in Indianapolis is because, quite frankly, the Colts roster got worse over the offseason and simply having Jones back at QB after an Achilles tear can’t be the great equalizer that negates all other concerns.
Indianapolis Colts Reset
2025 Finish: 8-9, missed playoffs
Head Coach: Shane Steichen, fourth season (25-26)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 6.0
Offensive Coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter, fourth season
Defensive Coordinator: Lou Anarumo, second season
Best Offensive Move: Drafting LB C.J. Allen late in the second round
We have tried avoiding draft picks as answers for this category where possible, but frankly, there isn’t any signing or trade the Colts made this offseason that merits mention here — to underscore our overarching point.
We might have been able to say the late addition of free agent veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen to provide some much-needed experience and depth to the WR unit, but then he got arrested last Sunday and charged with a DUI. So we’ll hold off on the praise there.
So C.J. Allen it is — and getting the Georgia linebacker with the No. 53 overall pick was truly a great value, especially for a team badly needing to land a linebacker.
Allen will step right into a central role on Indianapolis’ defense with both top inside linebackers from last season (Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt) gone.
Worst Offensive Move: Paying a ransom to retain free agent WR Alec Pierce
The Alec Pierce signing was one of the most absurd overpays across the league in free agency this year.
It’s totally understandable the Colts didn’t want to lose a player they had developed who was just starting to take off and flash his potential after making 47 catches for 1,003 yards and 6 TDs in 15 games last year. He led the NFL for the second straight season in yards per reception (21.3). Of course, other teams coveted that skill set and would have offered generous contracts as well.
But it sure doesn’t seem like the Colts were ideally suited to be the ones giving a 4-year, $114-million deal with $84 million guaranteed to a player who seems best cast as a field-stretching WR2.
Because to accommodate keeping Pierce at that cost, Indianapolis in turn had to basically give away former WR1 Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers for nothing more than a late-round draft pick swap. And whether directly related or not, the team was obviously in a general salary cap crunch to trade Franklin — its top linebacker and leading tackler the last four seasons — to the Packers, let safety Nick Cross (its second-leading tackler leave in free agency for the Commanders), lose starting right tackle Braden Smith in free agency to the Texans and their second-best edge rusher Kwity Paye to the Raiders.
If the Colts were that strapped for salary cap space, maybe breaking the bank for a wide receiver who has never even had 50 catches in a season wasn’t the priority move.
Especially one who then had offseason ankle surgery and missed most of the preseason.
The Colts are paying Pierce to be a miscast WR1 because the rest of the depth chart now is Josh Downs (a fine complementary slot option), Allen and … not much else.
Indianapolis Colts Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: Running back Jonathan Taylor and the offensive line
Having one of the top five running backs in the NFL and a stout offensive line will always give Indianapolis a chance, and Taylor certainly is that.
Among running backs with at least 750 career rushing attempts, Taylor ranks tied for 11th all-time with a career 4.9 YPC. His 1,585 rushing yards last year in his sixth NFL season were his second-best total, his 55 receptions for 378 yards were a career-high and his 20 total TDs matched his highest mark.
Meanwhile, the Colts landed fourth on PFF’s preseason offensive line rankings list, led by left tackle Bernhard Raimann (entering his fifth season as a starter for the team) and left guard Quenton Nelson (a Pro Bowl selection in all eight of his NFL seasons with three first-team and three second-team All-Pro honors). Jalen Travis, a fourth-round pick last year, takes over for the departed Smith at right tackle after making four starts as a rookie.
Biggest Weakness: Linebacker and wide receiver
C.J. Allen, the consensus All-American from Georgia, is an intriguing young talent, for sure. But when a rookie is the leader by default of such an important unit, that says everything.
After trading away Franklin and not re-signing Pratt, the Colts signed Akeem Davis-Gaither to a cheap one-year contract. Davis-Gaither was a full-time starter last season in Arizona for the first time in his six-year career, and while he posted 117 tackles it was for one of the very worst defenses in football. PFF graded him 71st out of 88 eligible linebackers.
Indianapolis also drafted LB Bryce Boettcher (Oregon) in the fourth round, so they’re leaning heavily on not one but two rookies and a veteran journeyman who started one season for an abysmal defense and wasn’t re-signed by Arizona.
And then, as noted, relying on Pierce to become a true WR1 and 34-year-old Keenan Allen as the other primary outside receiver (while facing a potential three-game NFL suspension at some point depending on what becomes of his DUI charge), with Downs (58 catches for 566 yards and 4 TDs in 2025) in the slot with zero notable depth behind them seems … not well thought-out.
Most Intriguing Rookie: LB C.J. Allen
Breakout Player: Tight end Tyler Warren
This is cheating a bit because Tyler Warren definitely broke out as a first-round rookie last year with 76 catches for 814 yards and 4 TDs, but we haven’t mentioned him yet and need to — also, he could well surpass those totals in his second year.
Warren’s seven best games last season (yardage-wise) and all but one of his touchdowns came in the Colts’ first 10 games. The injury to Jones seemed to affect his usage significantly. He averaged 5 catches for 61.7 yards through those 10 games.
Sustaining even that pace over 17 games would extrapolate out to 85 catches for 1,049 yards, but Warren’s ceiling is even higher given the construction of the wide receiver corps. He already led the Colts with 112 targets last season, while Pittman had 111 and is now in Pittsburgh.
Warren could challenge that top tight end tier of the Raiders’ Brock Bowers and the Cardinals’ Trey McBride in terms of total volume.
MVP Pick: RB Jonathan Taylor
Indianapolis Colts 2026 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 13 | vs. Baltimore Ravens | 1 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | at Kansas City Chiefs | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | vs. Houston Texans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 (in London) | vs. Washington Commanders | 9:30 a.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 11 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 6, Oct. 18 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | at Minnesota Vikings | 1 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | 1 p.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 15 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 19 (Thursday) | at Houston Texans | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 29 | vs. New York Giants | 1 p.m. |
| Week 13 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 1 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 20 | at Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 16, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | TBD |
| Week 17, Jan. 3 | at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | TBD |
Indianapolis Colts Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 7-10
Just too many questions and unknown variables here.
How will Jones look less than a year after tearing his Achilles? How will Pierce adjust to the pressure of being a WR1 when he’s never caught more than 47 passes in a season? Will Taylor stay healthy? He’s only played a full 17 games twice in six years and missed 16 games across the 2022-24 seasons.
How will the linebackers hold up?
Etc.
