NFL offseason wish list: Indianapolis Colts

Welcome to our fantasy football wish lists, where we’re going through each NFL team and listing three things we’d love to see them do this offseason for fantasy reasons (but also real football reasons).

2018 was a bounce back year for the Colts that not many saw coming. After the Josh McDaniels shenanigans left the Colts scrabbling around to hire Frank Reich, the Colts were far from a favorite in the AFC South. However, led by a finally healthy Andrew Luck who was back to his pre-injury best, the Colts made the playoffs after winning 9 of their last 10 games. Added bonus, Luck walked away with the Comeback Player of the Year award. Luck re-established his connection with T.Y. Hilton, who seemed to be injured all year but still managed over 1200 yards, and found a new favorite tight end target in Eric Ebron, who led all tight ends with 14 touchdowns and finished as the TE4 in fantasy. Far from a finished article, the Colts need to build around their stars by making the following moves this off-season.

Sign Le’Veon Bell

We could just leave the Colts with this as their only off season move to make. With the news dropping that the Steelers are going to let Bell walk, the Colts need to be at the front of the queue to throw a big chunk of their $100m+ cap space at Bell. Yes they have a nice rotation of backs already, but Bell is a premiere ‘do-it-all’ running back who should enter 2019 motivated to prove himself as one of the best players in the league again. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see Andrew Luck line up with Bell in the backfield? Do they have the stones to fight it out with Bell’s other suitors to land him though?

Sign Tyrell Williams

Did you know Chester Rogers was Indy’s second most productive receiver in 2018, catching 53 balls but for only 485 yards at 9.1 yards per reception? Luck needs another reliable target on the outside and with Mike Williams coming on strong in the back end of the 2018 season, the Chargers are unlikely to re-sign their other Williams at wideout. Tyrell Williams is a big-bodied, explosive receiver who turned his 41 receptions in 2018 into 653 yards (15.9 yards per reception) and 5 touchdowns. This is turning into a really fun offense.

Find a pass rush

Not specifically fantasy related but a strong pass rush is what gets a defense off the field on third down and would allow the Colts’ offensive strength to shine. Though their young defense overperformed their talent level in 2018, they finished 20^th in adjusted sack rate, and struggled more and more to pressure opposing quarterbacks as the season progressed. They had as many sacks in their first 4 games (17) as they did in their final 9 and weren’t able to put any pressure on Patrick Mahomes in the divisional playoff game defeat to the Chiefs until the game was already out of hand. With the majority of the upcoming edge rushers likely to be hit with the franchise tag, the Colts will either need to pick up a second tier free agent (or two) or look to the best pass rusher available at the 26th pick.