Colts mysterious master plan will be unveiled in Detroit

“I see we lost the offseason Super Bowl again… better luck next year,” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin sarcastically wrote Thursday on ‘X’.

Perhaps the most significant addition to the Indianapolis Colts this offseason will be selected on April 25 once executives assemble in the war room at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen received adulation from both the front office and the fan base following his first season at the helm. The innovative 38-year-old commanded the Colts to a 9-8 record and the brink of a playoff berth.

Indianapolis owns the 15th pick in the NFL Draft and aims to build a winning culture through its scouting department with most of the same personnel from last season. Each pillar of success rests on the development of second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, who has been given the reins to engineer an electric offense alongside star running back Jonathan Taylor.

Most of the Stampede Blue community would expect the addition of Richardson to become the impact player that leads the Colts to a winning record in 2024. He scored seven total touchdowns, including three with his arm and four with his feet in four starts before his rookie year was cut short after suffering an AC Joint Strain which required season-ending shoulder surgery.

The AFC South title has become tougher to achieve as the reigning division winners in Houston traded for two-time All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs to build around quarterback C.J. Stroud after a sensational rookie campaign. The divisional rival Jacksonville Jaguars added another weapon for franchise QB Trevor Lawrence in receiver Gabe Davis. Despite Tennessee entering a rebuilding year under first year head coach Brian Callahan, the Titans made Calvin Ridley the fifth-highest paid receiver in the league and traded draft picks to Kansas City for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.

“I see we lost the offseason Super Bowl again… better luck next year,” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin sarcastically wrote Thursday on ‘X’.

Indianapolis retained its best receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to lead the charge in the current receiver room that includes Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin and D.J. Montgomery. For the first hour of the draft, as all the best offensive prospects are announced during the top half of the first round, Colts fans will hope that an elite option for Anthony Richardson falls to within range.

If one of the best cornerbacks, including the Alabama tandem Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, or Clemson’s Nate Wiggins or Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell are available, will the Colts decide to address the secondary? A unit that includes Kenny Moore II, JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones, Dallis Flowers, Darrell Baker Jr., Chris Lammons and Ameer Speed.

Will Indianapolis land one of the first three cornerbacks to battle for an open Week 1 starting spot or one of the first five receivers to give quarterback Anthony Richardson another weapon to sling the leather to? Will the war room choose to trade down from any of their seven current picks at any point during the draft? In three weeks, both questions will be answered as the Colts usher in the 2024 draft class.