1. Consistency won Daniel Jones the Colts' QB1 job. What does that look like in the regular season?
Something head coach Shane Steichen said back at the NFL Owners Meetings this spring stuck out after he named Daniel Jones the Colts' starting quarterback for the 2025 season in August.
"You can't go broke taking a profit," Steichen said.
The Colts in 2024 had the 10th-most plays that went for negative or zero yards on first down (170); they had the seventh-most incompletions on first down (93) despite being 21st in the NFL in first down passing attempts (214).
This had a cascading effect on the Colts' offense. On second and 10+, the Colts averaged a league-low 3.4 yards per play, had a league-high turnover rate of 8.8 percent and were 31st with a first down conversion rate of 16.1 percent.
"Taking those completions are huge," Steichen continued in March. "Just moving the chains instead of being at second and 10 and even taking the check downs, getting yourself to second and 2."
A primary goal for the Colts' offense with Jones behind center, then, is staying on schedule. That means working into downs and distances that aren't obvious passing situations – the difference in the menu from which Steichen is calling plays is significant on second and 4 versus second and 10.
"His ability to run the offense, to get them out of good and bad plays, to know the checks – just the things that most veteran quarterbacks can do, and to make sure that we're continually moving the chains," general manager Chris Ballard said Wednesday. "That consistency is a good thing. Look, he has some explosive ability in him too, and I think we saw that in the preseason."
It's not surprising but it is notable that 10 of the top 13 teams in first down passing success rate made the playoffs in 2024.
2. Jones hasn't thrown it deep much in his career, but the Colts believe he can and will push the ball downfield in 2025.
I had a chance to sit down with Jones for a wide-ranging interview that'll run on next week's episode of The Colts Show podcast (subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and/or YouTube to get it delivered to your feed on Sept. 4). As part of our conversation, I brought up Jones' lack of deep throws during his time with the New York Giants.
"Obviously, I've heard that," Jones said with a chuckle. "And a lot of people want to bring it up, it seems like, over and over again."
That Jones bristled at the notion he can't or won't throw it deep was notable. He doesn't just believe he can and will push the ball downfield; he knows he will within the structure of Steichen's offense. And the Colts have already seen Jones attempt those deep shots when the time has been right in practice.
"He's got a really good feel for that — making good decisions, but balancing where we are getting explosives and pushing it down the field," quarterbacks coach Cam Turner said. "He's done a good job of not forcing it, too. … He's proven to us throughout camp, throughout OTAs that he's willing to push it downfield, and he's accurate and makes good decisions when he does."
The reason behind this topic is Jones, from 2019-2024, ranked 61st out of 65 quarterbacks (minimum 500 dropbacks) in average depth of target). On average, Jones' throws traveled 7.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage; despite being 17th in total pass attempts since 2019, he's 25th in pass attempts traveling 20+ yards beyond the line of scrimmage, per Pro Football Focus.
Some context here, though: With the Giants, Jones was pressured in 1.5 seconds or less on 43 dropbacks – the fifth-highest total in the NFL since 2019. He was pressured in two seconds or less on 263 dropbacks in the same span, the 11th-highest total. Those can have a compounding effect on a playcaller and quarterback.
With the Colts, Jones has a strong offensive line anchored by guys like Quenton Nelson, Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith. He has one of the best vertical contested-catch receivers in the NFL in Alec Pierce, who led the league with 22.3 yards per reception in 2024 and has the third-most receptions (10), most contested catches (five) and fourth-most yards (336) on targets 20+ yards downfield against man coverage over the last two seasons.
"You have to have him understand the big picture, what he's seeing big picture-wise, and then just letting him know we're going to take shots," Turner said. "If you take care of them and find completions on these shots, we'll keep calling them, and you'll have ample opportunities."
The point being: Steichen has the weapons and offensive line to call shot plays; Jones, too, has the requisite weapons and offensive line to alert deep balls if he sees the right coverage before the snap. And he's willing to make those throws, too.
"Every situation is different, every offense is different," Jones said. "The plan, the strategy, the players – all of it's different. I feel like at times in my career, earlier or throughout, I have thrown the ball well down the field and pushed it down the field well. I think that's part of playing quarterback, because when opportunities are there, take advantage of them. ... I feel like we've done that well throughout training camp. We got the players here to do it. I'm excited for that."
3. Don't discount Jones' running ability.
Another playcalling wrinkle Steichen has at his disposal is Jones' ability to gain yards on designed runs – read options, QB powers, non-scramble things like that. Jones has also proven adept at picking up first downs in third/fourth-and-short situations in his career – he's converted 35 of 46 third or fourth downs with less than two yards to go into first downs, per Pro Football Focus.
But where Jones' legs can be a weapon is on early downs, where a full menu of plays is available to Steichen. Since 2019, Jones is one of six quarterbacks to have at least 100 designed rushing attempts on first or second down (minimum seven yards to go), along with the guys you'd expect here – Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen and Justin Fields.
On those early down designed runs, Jones has gained 650 yards on 127 attempts, good for 5.1 yards per attempt. Only three quarterbacks with at least 50 such runs have a higher yards per attempt average: Anthony Richardson Sr., Jackson and Murray.
While the Colts aren't going to build their offense around Jones' running ability, it's another way Steichen can be versatile in scheming for opponents on a week-to-week basis.
"I think he's done a really nice job of those things over his career out in space," Steichen said. "Some of the runs that he does have, he can pop out there and I think he does a good job of finding some creases when he has those opportunities. ... His average yards per carry has been pretty good over his career. So, I think he's done a really nice job with that. And obviously, we'll look into that stuff, game plan wise, as we go through the season."
Jones, though, made it a point to emphasize something when I asked him about his running ability in an interview that'll run on Sept. 4's episode of The Colts Show podcast.
"First, let the professional runner be the runner first," Jones said, "And when you can complement it and when there's an opportunity, take it. But understand who gets paid to run the ball, and that's J.T."
4. Where does this leave Anthony Richardson Sr.?
Last week, in the wake of Steichen's decision to start Jones over Richardson, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. went to the 2023 No. 4 overall pick with a message.
"Don't stop doing the things that you were doing," Pittman told Richardson.
What Pittman – and the Colts – saw over the last few weeks and months was growth from Richardson. He didn't lose the team's quarterback competition because he didn't get better.
"He was improving, he still is," Pittman told me on last week’s episode of The Colts Show. "And he's still so young that for him to give up now I think would be a huge waste — he's not doing that. But I just wanted to encourage him to keep on pushing forward. He's so dang young. Quarterbacks can play until they're 40 years old — he's 23. There's still so much football ahead of him and then I want to see him get there and achieve everything he set out to do."
Steichen, ultimately, made his decision because Jones showed more consistency this year than Richardson.
Pittman noticed something with Richardson last week, though – it was notable that the now-backup quarterback's attitude didn't change.
"I think Ant has been great," Pittman said. "The way that he handles all this pressure, he handles it like a real pro. There's lots of guys that would be like, you know what, forget this, they're doing me wrong, I give up, I'm gonna skip out and demand a trade. And he hasn't done any of that. He's stuck around here and he's gonna keep working. I see him still grinding and getting better each day, and I think that's really his goal is to get better each day. And then we'll look up and he'll — you never know what happens. Geno Smith, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, all guys who people wrote off."
Those names – Smith, Darnold, Mayfield – were brought up by Ballard back in July, when the Colts reported to training camp. He didn't bring them up as examples of quarterbacks figuring things out when they went to other teams; he brought them up as examples of quarterbacks having non-linear development timelines.
"The plan for him is to continue to develop," Turner said. "He still has a job, a role, a responsibility, which is our backup quarterback, and he has to be prepared to dot hat. And then my job is to help develop him and continue to grow, because he is so young. We don't want to give up on him. We want to keep growing, continuing to learn and develop as a quarterback."
For 2025, Richardson is the Colts' backup quarterback; the Colts have had their backup start multiple games in each of the last three seasons. While Jones will not have a short leash, Steichen said, the Colts will need Richardson to be ready – while continuing to develop behind the scenes – throughout the 2025 season.
"(Jones) definitely has years (of) experience, time on task ahead of Anthony — throughout college, throughout the NFL and the little things he's seen, he's adjusted to, he's already executed," Turner said. "Anthony has not at this point with only a few years of reps in games. Anthony's made huge strides since he's been here in practice and throughout games, and you see it, you see the development and improvement. I do think he'll get there. I think he'll keep continuing to develop and learn from Daniel."
Also, Steichen was asked Thursday if Richardson could be a part of short-yardage packages for the Colts' offense this season. His answer:
"I want to make sure he crushes his new role and takes it in stride and does a hell of a job there," Steichen said. "And so, we'll see."
5. Tyler Warren was everything the Colts thought he'd be.
The best way to describe Tyler Warren might be "natural," in that everything he does seems to come so naturally to him. The way he works into open space? Natural. The way he plucks the ball out of the air on throws away from his body, and the way he uses his frame to make contested catches? Natural. The blend of smoothness, vision and physicality with which he runs with the ball in his hands? Natural. The willingness he has to scrap with bigger defensive linemen on run blocks? Natural.
"We thought he was going to be pretty good, and we think he's going to be a really good pro," Ballard said. "I don't want to put undue expectations on him, but he's pretty freaking good."
Coaches expected a lot from Warren during training camp, and he handled the mental load of it well – which, for a rookie tight end, is certainly notable. The learning curve for first-year NFL tight ends is incredibly steep; having to be a threat in the passing game while reliably blocking in the run game is much easier said than done.
"The tight end position is pretty mentally taxing," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "We ask a lot of our tight ends. Tyler is uniquely talented to handle a lot of that."
Nothing Warren showed at Grand Park or in preseason games dissuaded coaches from putting more on his plate. We'll see starting Sept. 7 how that manifests itself once the first-round pick's debut season kicks off.
"As we see (him handle different things), as training camp develops and we start having those unique ideas – those sort of creative ideas about ways to use him, ways to give him opportunities to play ball in a different manner," Cooter said. "That'll be a big part of the game weeks, because that's every game week. We're game planning opponents and trying to use our guys in creative ways.
"He's done a great job picking up what's needed. He's still learning things and running routes for the first or second or third time sometimes when we put a new play in. So, there's learning and growth that's going on. But we're really excited about how he's managed all that, and I think he's going to have great capability to help us when we get into that week-after-week game plan mode and are able to sort of put guys in different positions to maximize their success. We think he's going to have a great shot to have a good week, one week at a time."
6. The Colts' skill position players look to fit together nicely.
Between running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and tight end Tyler Warren, the Colts have a deep, versatile group of skill position players at the top of their depth chart. Throw wide receiver Adonai Mitchell in there – he had a strong training camp – as well as a couple rugged blockers in tight ends Mo Alie-Cox and Drew Ogletree, and Daniel Jones will have plenty at his disposal when he gets behind center at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sept. 7.
"There's so many ways we can get it done," Pittman said. "Pretty much anybody could take over on any given day. That gives us options however we want to attack teams that you can't double somebody. If you double somebody, alright, there's three others guys that are gonna go and get you. And if teams are going to drop back, J.T.'s going to run on them. If they bring that front up, we're gonna air them out."
It's not just that the Colts have options; the way this team's pass-catchers complement each other is an integral part of their offense.
"Everybody is good at their own thing, so whatever your role is, you gotta take advantage of that," Downs said. "We have a lot of guys that can make plays, so I feel like that'll help us be a lot more versatile. We don't have just one dude. We got five, six different guys that can make plays. I'm excited to see how that plays out."
7. The Colts almost completely overhauled their cornerback room over the last six months.
Four cornerbacks got snaps on defense in the Colts' 2024 season finale: Kenny Moore II, Jaylon Jones, Sam Womack III and JuJu Brents. Of those three, Moore is the only one locked in to start – while Brents and Womack were claimed on cutdown day (Brents was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins and Womack was claimed by the Tennessee Titans).
So returning to the Colts from 2024 are Moore and Jones; new to the Colts are Charvarius Ward (signed as a free agent in March), Johnathan Edwards (signed as an undrafted free agent in May), Xavien Howard (signed as a free agent in August) and Mekhi Blackmon (acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in August).
That list doesn't even include Justin Walley, the third-round rookie who was tracking toward starting opposite Ward and Moore before he sustained a torn ACL in a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this month.
"There has been significant change in that room," Ballard said. "Some based on injuries from where we started, some based on look, knew we needed to get better. We knew we needed to get better there."
The Colts will roll into Week 1 likely with the 32-year-old Howard, who didn't play in 2024 due to a foot injury, starting at cornerback alongside Moore and Ward. Howard's 29 interceptions from 2015-2024 are tied for the fourth-most in that span, and his familiarity with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo – who was his defensive backs coach during his first two years in the NFL – matters alongside his production, too.
"It helps a bunch because some of the concepts are from Lou's past," defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said. "And so he's played those concepts and he has some recall of what he's done before when he was with Lou — meeting with him, 'oh yeah, I remember that, we called it this, I remember that.' And so that helps. I think his rapport with Lou, and Lou's trust in him, helps all of us. We just gotta get him ready to go for Week 1."
The Colts envision Blackmon, a 2023 third-round pick of the Vikings, as a reliable backup at both outside and nickel corner. Edwards' athletic traits jumped off the practice field during training camp, as did his football IQ and toughness. And Jones has consistently competed to earn playing time over the last two years despite being a seventh-round pick; the depth and experience he has brings plenty of value to this group as well.
8. Lou Anarumo's unpredictability showed up, even in training camp practices.
A defining characteristic of Anarumo's defenses with the Cincinnati Bengals was the variation of coverages he called – and how those coverages were disguised. Anarumo teaches and schemes from a full menu of coverages, from man-heavy concepts to every zone look out there.
And from the start of training camp, as Anarumo installed those defensive playcalls, the Colts' offense was left to sort out some challenging looks and concepts.
"It's so hard to tell what they're getting to, because they show something and then the get to something else, but they're only getting to half on this side, and that other side looks like something else," Pittman said. "When you're doing your pre-snap read and the ball's snapped and everyone's moving, it's really hard to know what they're running. And that causes confusion for wideouts, for quarterbacks. That's part of the frustrating thing — you think it's going to something, and they go to something else, but then the other side is something completely different and you're running across the field into something that you don't know what it is. Lou's done a really good job with those guys."
Anarumo's defense will look and feel dramatically different than the one deployed over the last three years by former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. From 2022-2024, the Colts ran the highest percentage of Cover-3 in the NFL (44 percent of defensive snaps) and were in the bottom 10 in their rate of running Cover-0, Cover-1, Cover-2 and Cover-6. The Colts, too, blitzed at the lowest rate in the NFL (18.7 percent) over the last three seasons.
From 2021-2024, Anarumo's Bengals were 18th in blitz rate (28.6 percent) and didn't play any specific type of coverage more than 29 percent of the time, per Pro Football Focus.
Things will be different with the Colts as Anarumo filters his defense through the personnel he has at his disposal. But the variation and disguises he's already brought to practice will be fascinating to watch starting Sept. 7 against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium.
9. The Colts have waves of defensive linemen, but Laiatu Latu's development will be key.
The Colts have five-deep rotations at defensive end (Samson Ebukam, Laiatu Latu, Tyquan Lewis, Kwity Paye, J.T. Tuimoloau) and defensive tackle (Adetomiwa Adebawore, DeForest Buckner, Neville Gallimore, Eric Johnson II, Grover Stewart) and feel that group, collectively, is as strong and deep as it's been in recent memory.
With that depth, the Colts can roll through defensive linemen while keeping front-line guys as fresh as possible for late in games. Finishing games strong is a major emphasis for the Colts this season, and this depth could be significant in that push.
The Colts, though, haven't had a player reach double digit sacks since Justin Houston had 11 in 2019. It's sort of a fake stat (Ebukam had 9.5 in 2023) but it does underscore that the Colts haven't had a high-production sack guy off the edge in a few years.
Latu, though, could wind up being that sort of player. The Colts have seen signs over the last few months that Latu is taking a classic leap from Year 1 to Year 2 – largely in that he's thinking less and playing faster.
"I think his decision-making is a lot quicker," Buckner said. "He's done a really great job when he's rushing, throwing his first move and if it doesn't work quickly going to a counter move or a secondary move. And it's been really helping him out a lot."
Over the last 10 seasons, only five rookie edge rushers have had double-digit sacks; 17 second-year players have had double-digit sacks in the same time span.
"The more reps you get, especially at this level, the more experience you get and the more you'll be able to fix those little mistakes that you had early on along the way," Buckner said. "I feel like he's been doing a really good job this year continuing to rush and not just throwing one single move. He's been able to switch to different moves and counter and quickly learn from his mistakes. He's been able to really flush those bad plays and have a short memory whether it was a good or a bad play. That's really encouraging seeing that from him."
Anarumo, too, came away impressed with what he saw from the 2024 No. 15 overall pick during training camp and the preseason.
"He has a really, really high level of ability as an edge rusher," Anarumo said. "He can really bend and twist the edge and he's affected the quarterback both in practice and (games). I'm expecting big things. He's expecting big things from him. And the combination of those guys up front I think, will allow us to do certain things. I think Latu will have a big year."
10. On the whole, the Colts got the sort of competition they wanted out of training camp – and they feel better-prepared for the regular season because of it.
Let's wrap up here by taking a look back at some of the pre-training camp competitions we highlighted back in July.
Running back: There was strong competition behind Jonathan Taylor, with Khalil Herbert (a 2025 free agent signing) and D.J. Giddens (a 2025 fifth-round draft pick) entering training camp on paper as the favorites to earn roster spots. But Tyler Goodson, the 2023 undrafted free agent, consistently showed burst and juice throughout training camp, and by the time rosters were cut down on Tuesday, he was a sure-fire lock to make the initial 53 – despite dealing with an elbow injury. Giddens has a bright future, but Goodson will be in the mix this season, too. And for him, beating out Herbert – who's had some success in the NFL (4.8 yards/carry on 400 attempts) – was a sign the Colts' focus on preseason competition produced a positive result.
Wide receiver: Despite not having a clear path to a top-three receiver role, Adonai Mitchell battled hard in training camp and left Grand Park as firmly a summer standout. The depth and juice he provides – along with Ashton Dulin and Anthony Gould – sets this Colts receiver room up to be as strong as it's been in years. For comparison: In 2023, with Dulin out due to a torn ACL, the receivers who received the fourth, fifth and sixth-most snaps were D.J. Montgomery (124), Isaiah McKenzie (117) and Amari Rodgers (25).
Offensive line: The Colts rotated Tanor Bortolini and Danny Pinter between the first- and second-team offense to start training camp, but about a week or so into practice, Bortolini cemented himself as the Colts' starting center (this was before Pinter sustained an injury that sidelined him for the back half of training camp).
Defensive line: Adetomiwa Adebawore probably was going to make the 53 anyway because of his special teams contributions, but the third-year defensive tackle had a strong preseason, and looks to have earned his way into the Colts' backup defensive tackle rotation alongside Neville Gallimore and Eric Johnson II.
Linebacker: Even before Jaylon Carlies sustained an ankle injury that landed him on injured reserve (he's designated to return this season), there was some strong competition at Will linebacker between Joe Bachie and Cameron McGrone. Bachie, in particular, was all over the field during training camp, clogging passing lanes and playing fast, physical football.
Cornerback: While the Colts entered training camp expecting Justin Walley to start next to Charvarius Ward and Kenny Moore II, Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents both made plays with the second-team defense early in training camp. Both Jones and Brents sustained hamstring injuries; Brents returned but was waived as part of roster cuts this week. And while the Colts overhauled their cornerback room in the wake of Walley's injury, signing Xavien Howard and trading for Mekhi Blackmon, it was no surprise to anyone who watched practices at Grand Park that undrafted rookie Johnathan Edwards made the roster.
Safety: Seventh-round rookie Hunter Wohler looked to have earned some role on the Colts' defense before a foot injury landed him on season-ending injured reserve, but that opened the door for 2023 fifth-round pick Daniel Scott – who became one of the best stories of the preseason with a pick-six against the Bengals last weekend.
Special teams: Spencer Shrader firmly won the Colts' kicking competition over undrafted rookie Maddux Trujillo – a competition by no means he was guaranteed to win. Shrader connected on nine of 10 field goal tries in preseason games and made nearly 90 percent of his charted kicks in practice, as of special teams coordinator Brian Mason's last update. Critically, Shrader made two of three field goals from 50-plus yards – an area in which the Colts needed improvement after Matt Gay made only three of nine kicks from 50+ last year.
