How the Colts have set up QB Anthony Richardson for a big bounce-back year

Ben Arthur

AFC South Reporter

There will have to be patience in Anthony Richardson‘s return in 2024.

Even with rave reviews of his shoulder rehab and workouts in the lead-up to the start of the Colts‘ offseason program last month, last year’s No. 4 pick will be monitored in OTAs in the upcoming weeks. Maybe that continues into training camp this summer, too. And there may be rookie mistakes on the field. After all, Richardson played just 173 snaps — including just one full game — before suffering a season-ending AC joint sprain in Week 5 last season. There are many learning experiences that he didn’t have that he will have to go through in 2024.

All those factors hang over Richardson, whose health and play will define the Colts’ success this season. Their lack of significant moves in free agency represent a belief in his ability to elevate the team into contention.

What if that ability truly exceeds expectations?

On paper, Indianapolis has set the foundation for a potentially big bounce back for Richardson in Year 2.

General manager Chris Ballard has emphasized the need to protect Richardson and get him more weapons in the offseason. The Colts backed that up in the draft, using four of their top five picks on an offense that was a top-10 scoring unit last season: offensive linemen Matt Goncalves (third round) and Tanor Bortolini (fourth round) and wide receivers Adonai Mitchell (second round) and Anthony Gould (fifth round).

Indianapolis already has an established starting offensive line in Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Braden Smith. As mid-round picks, Goncalves and Bortolini add valuable depth.

The Colts see positional flexibility in both players. They believe Gonclaves — who they traded up for in the third round — can play tackle, guard and maybe even center. They believe Bortolini is an inside swing player.

“You can never have enough good linemen,” Ballard said.

Mitchell, a first-round talent the Colts got at No. 52 overall, proved to be a dynamic outside receiver at the college level who showed up in the biggest moments. He had five touchdowns in as many College Football Playoff games in his time at Georgia and Texas.

“I think he’s got a rare ability to separate at the top of routes,” coach Shane Steichen said. “He’s got an arsenal of releases versus press man. You can see it show up on tape. … The guy is a competitor. To get him where we got him, I couldn’t be more fired up about it.”

Quinn Ewers connects with Adonai Mitchell on a 14-yard TD strike

The rookie will join an already promising wide receiver room led by standout Michael Pittman Jr. (signed a three-year, $68 million extension in March), third-year deep threat Alec Pierce and slot receiver Josh Downs, who’s expected to have a big Year 2 after catching 68 passes for 771 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.

Tight end Jelani Woods is also expected to make his return in 2024. An athletic, 6-foot-7 target, the 2022 third-round pick missed all of last season with a hamstring issue. His 312-yard rookie season in 15 games with three different quarterbacks (Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Sam Ehlinger) is a snapshot of what could be possible with Richardson.

Then there’s the fact that Richardson and star running back Jonathan Taylor played just two snaps together in 2023. There’s a whole part of Steichen’s playbook that the NFL world hasn’t seen yet, filled with run-pass option looks designed to thrust opposing defenses into conflict.

After seeing the start of his 2023 campaign slowed by a stint on the Physically Unable to Perform list (ankle) and a thumb issue late in the year, Taylor found his groove at season’s end. He had a 30-carry, 188-yard effort in the Week 18 thriller against the Texans.

That’s the version the Pro-Bowl back the Colts are pairing with Richardson, who flashed dynamic dual-threat ability in his abbreviated rookie season.

“It’s actually a good problem to have because we’ve got a lot of dudes,” Steichen said. “Obviously, there’s one football that goes around, but we’ve got a lot of talent. We’ve got to utilize that talent. That’s our job: to put those guys in position to go do it. But we’re fired up about what we have on offense. We’ve got to put the work in, you know what I mean? We get these guys in the building this offseason and going into training camp, put them in a position to succeed.”

On paper, the Colts have done that for Richardson.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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