Tag Archives: Indianapolis Colts

NFL Trades

Moves I’d like to see ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline:

With the 2025 NFL trade deadline coming up next Tuesday (Nov. 4) at 4pm ET, here are the ten moves I’d like to see happen!

(This is simply a copy of my social media post, rather than my typical full-fledged article)

 

 

Colts QB Anthony Richardson ➡️ Vikings

This is more of a long-term investment for Kevin O’Connell, potentially having two more years of contractual control. They can still give JJ McCarthy his opportunity, but could get Richardson onto the field late and give themselves options.

 

 

Titans RB Tony Pollard ➡️ Chiefs

There’s no need for Tennessee to limit touches for Tyjae Spears, off the high-ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco just got banged up and the Chiefs haven’t found much consistency on the ground. Pollard is scheme-versatile and adds some juice.

 

 

 

Saints WR Chris Olave ➡️ Steelers

New Orleans has been openly shopping their WRs. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball 3.1 yards short of the sticks on average, relying heavily on yards after the catch. Olave could provide some air underneath as a vertical threat.

 

 

 

TE David Njoku ➡️ Buccaneers

Tampa Bay has lost Mike Evans for the season, along with having other WRs in and out of the lineup. Adding Njoku’s explosiveness from the TE spot could diversify their passing attack. Cleveland can continue to lean more into rookie Harold Fannin Jr.

 

 

 

Raiders IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson ➡️ Texans

The Raiders OL has been a mess. With JPJ having started to settle in at guard, this would offer Houston options to either plug him in there or replace center Jake Andrews. We just saw what C.J. Stroud is capable of with a solid pocket.

 

 

 

Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson ➡️ 49ers

Cincy handed Hendrickson a one-year extension in the offseason, but now not competing for a title, it’s best for both sides to move on, and the Niners badly need pass-rush help. They could also be in the market for Jets LB Quincy Williams.

 

 

 

Eagles LB Nakobe Dean ➡️ Colts

Dean took a massive step forward last season and has looked solid in his return from injury. Yet, Philly can’t afford to take rookie Jihaad Campbell off the field. Meanwhile, LB is a major weakness for Indy (no one with a PFF grade higher than 58.0).

 

 

 

Giants EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux ➡️ Ravens

Although NY’s defense has been best on defined dropbacks, putting KT on the field with Burns & Carter, they should try to get returns on the former top 10 pick, in the final year of his rookie deal. Baltimore is tied for 31st in sacks (9).

 

 

 

Jets CB Michael Carter II ➡️ Bears

NY traded for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in Carter’s absence, who’s become a key contributor for them, limiting the veteran to 6 defensive snaps in his return. Chicago recently placed starting nickel Kyler Gordon on IR and Carter would be a great fit.

 

 

 

Cardinals SAF Jalen Thompson ➡️ Bills

Buffalo could use help at DT with Ed Oliver’s injury, but their biggest issue has been angles + missed tackles by their safeties – Thompson is right at his career average of just a 7%. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is ready to step in for Arizona.

 

 

Other fun player-team matches:

Saints QB Spencer Rattler ➡️ Browns

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard ➡️ Vikings

Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. ➡️ Patriots

Titans IDL Jeffery Simmons ➡️ Cowboys

Jets LB Quincy Williams ➡️ 49ers

Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers ➡️ Eagles

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NFL Weekly Recap

Coolest things from NFL week seven (2025)

After brainstorming a few different ideas about videos I could work on, I decided to sort of combine them into a collection of the coolest things I saw across the NFL this past week – whether that’s the performance of an individual player, a unit or some schematic detail.

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Storylines around the NFL

Ten statistics that have defined the initial third of the 2025 NFL season:

Six weeks into the NFL season, you’ll hear a bunch of numbers thrown out there by different mainstream media shows but also niche podcasts, from basic yardage totals to hyper-specific metrics about efficiency by a certain unit, depending game situation, personnel grouping, and so much more.

So what I did once all games from this past slate were concluded, was to dive into a variety of outlets, play around with filters and compare statistics I found with the tape, to come up with what I believe are the ten most meaningful numbers, as I try to describe what this year has been about.

Just a quick disclaimer – these all concern teams that have earned equity to be deemed significant so far this year or at least came into the season as a franchise of note in regards to competing for the Super Bowl. So you’re not going to read about the Raiders’ atrocious run-blocking or the horrible splits for the winless Jets through the first three quarters compared to garbage time.

Let’s get into these:

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NFL Offseason

What does success look like for your favorite NFL team in 2025?

The following conversation goes against what the NFL’s shield is trying to sell the public at the start of every single season – the idea of all 32 teams having a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of it. As much as I love how they strive for parity, conceiving anything but achieving the ultimate goal as a failure would always leave all but one fan base dissatisfied. Generally, I sway away from asking questions like the one in the title, but due to several factors, I thought laying out which factors we should pay attention to and what constitutes a “successful campaign” was particularly interesting this year.

I’m fully aware that this by no means is an innovative concept, but looking back at this past season, I thought the gap between “the rich and the poor” was as large as ever once we got to around Thanksgiving. So I do believe it’s important to offer a frame of context for how we should probably view what these franchises are about to put onto the field once we kick things off. For some teams, simply measuring it by where the journey ends for them in 2025 is fair, yet for others, showing growth in certain areas may be even more crucial for their future outlook.

We’ll go through them all by division here!

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NFL Draft, NFL Offseason

AFC South Draft & Roster Review 2025

Once again, switching conferences as part of this extensive video series, we’re taking a deep look at what the Texans, Colts, Jaguars and Titans did in the draft and the offseason as a hole to improve their rosters!

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NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Rookies, Player Rankings

Checking in with the rookie and sophomore NFL quarterbacks:

Over the last two drafts, ten quarterbacks were selected within the first 33 picks respectively and now that all but one of them have logged double-digit starts, I thought it was time to review what they’ve shown. I will provide my general thoughts, aided by some advanced metrics, and express my level of confidence in their long-time viability at the pro level.

Just to be clear, I won’t be discussing this year’s eighth and eighth overall selections Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons) and J.J. McCarthy (Vikings), who only saw very limited action in mop-up duty and unfortunately got hurt after a promising preseason showing respectively. Therefore, we’ll be looking at four guys from each of those draft classes.

Let’s dive in, going by chronological order of when they got selected:


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NFL games, NFL Weekly Recap

Three takeaways from each week one NFL game (2024):

Week one of the 2024 NFL season is in the books and before we even kicked off on Sunday, there was a lot going on, with last-minute contracts being finalized, star players getting handcuffed and more. For now, we‘ll focus on what we saw across the actual matchups however.

You‘re going to hear a bunch of overreactions based on what we saw in these opening games and especially with so many star players not taking part in preseason at all, there‘s a good chance many of them look very different the next time they step on the field. Nevertheless, there‘s a lot to take away for now, as we get our first look at new schemes, rookies, regrouped units, etc.

I‘m going to outline three takeaways for all 16 games based on watching the broadcasts and/or tape afterwards. So obviously these are rather subjective in terms of on what stood out to me, but I’ll try to encapsulate what matters most for individual players and teams here.

Let’s dive in:


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Storylines around the NFL

Most pivotal figures heading into the 2024 NFL season:

With the NFL season just around the corner, instead of bringing up storylines and figures about dominating conversations on TV already, I wanted to discuss a few names that maybe we don’t fully understand who they are or how big a factor they may be in a new role/place, but have the potential to define the landscape of the league.

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

Second- and third-year breakout candidates for the 2024 NFL season – Defense edition:

In the second half of this annual series, we’re switching over to the defensive side of the ball and outlining young players around the NFL, who I expect to make a leap in 2024.

For the purposes of this exercise, considering it’s tough to set the guidelines for what counts as an actual “breakout”. Therefore, I relied mostly on statistical metrics that exclude players from this category – no front-seven defenders who recorded double-digit sacks or tackles for loss, players who intercepted 4+ passes, earned a Pro Bowl/All-Pro nominations or are just generally considered one of the better performers at their respective positions. Also, I generally stayed away from players who have barely seen action in the pros yet.

Also, in order to not repeat myself, I won’t mention names like 49ers edge rusher Drake Jackson (who had a hot start before suffering a quadriceps injury that ended last season early for him), Broncos edge rusher Baron Browning (who missed the first half of the season but did put up strong pressure numbers from that point onwards) and Bengals safety Dax Hill (whose grading looks worse than his raw production, but I expect to align more now and Cincinnati’s defense generally bouncing back with him in year two as a starter), since they made the list last year.

Let’s begin:

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

One burning question for each AFC team ahead of the 2024 season

In the second half of this little two-piece mini series, I’m switching over the AFC and ask myself “what is the one burning question I have for each team as I think about the 2024 NFL season?”

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