Despite their success in 2018, the Indianapolis Colts will have a lot to prove to the league during the upcoming season, mostly coming in the form that their trip to the AFC divisional round wasn’t a fluke.
The expectations for the Colts are high at this point in the offseason. They are likely to be pegged the favorites to win the division, barring any changes, and will be competing for one of the top four seeds in the conference.
While some rankings might have Indy a bit higher, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports listed the Colts as the 10th-best team in the NFL in his latest edition of power rankings.
Their season will be all about the growth of young players on defense and Andrew Luck staying healthy. If those two things happen, look out.
In this version of power rankings, the Colts are the fourth-best team in the AFC behind the New England Patriots (No. 1), Los Angeles Chargers (No. 4) and Kansas City Chiefs (No. 5).
While the Colts are listed as a top 10 team in the power rankings, the division itself didn’t fare as well. The Jacksonville Jaguars were ranked 17th followed by the Houston Texans (No. 19) and the Tennessee Titans (No. 21).
The Colts do have a lot to prove to the league. The offense is seeing the return of most of the starting unit while adding a few pieces in wide receivers Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell.
The defense will be the group out to prove something to the world. They made heavy additions to the unit through free agency and the draft, but the Colts are mostly banking on the development of the younger players at all three levels to elevate the production in 2019.
The Colts are set up for success for the upcoming campaign as long as the plan goes accordingly. How far they can go, however, remains to be seen and will be contingent on the development of the defense.
