Frank Reich’s Indianapolis Colts aim to build off a playoff appearance and win last year and these three players breaking out would help accomplish that.
Entering the 2018 season, the Indianapolis Colts were a team shrouded with question marks. Many wondered if Andrew Luck could return to full strength from his shoulder injury, if Frank Reich was the right head coach, if the defense would be able to hold their own and so on. Now approaching the 2019 NFL season, the stage is set much differently for this team under the direction of general manager Chris Ballard.
The Colts may not have won the AFC South last season but they got the last laugh in the division. Led by Luck, a surging Marlon Mack, a massively improved offensive line led by Quenton Nelson and Defensive Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard, Indianapolis went 10-6 in the regular season and made it into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
In their first playoff game, they fortuitously faced off with the division rival Houston Texans and owned their familiar foes for 60 minutes, emerging with a 21-7 victory. While they went on to suffer a defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round, they clearly marked themselves as a team on the rise.
Coming off of that, Ballard has continued to make moves to improve this team. Not only did he add a bevy of draft picks to the defensive talent pool but he also helped Luck with the signing of Devin Funchess while aiding the defense in landing Justin Houston via free agency. Thus, this team seemingly is in line to take a big leap forward and perhaps make a deep postseason run.
For that to happen, the Colts obviously need their new additions to have a positive effect on the performance of the team. At the same time, though, they also need other players to step up and make bigger contributions.
With that in mind, these three players should be circled as potential breakout candidates for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2019 season.