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The off-season gives us the perfect opportunity to do some evaluation on the Indianapolis Colts’ roster and position groups. The Colts have used the off-season to put in a lot of work to improve and upgrade the roster. Now that the majority of the roster is in place it allows us to look at what positions groups on the Colts roster are the strongest and ranking the top 3.
Running Back
The Colts have one of the best running back groups in the league. The Colts have an established veteran running back in Marlon Mack, a sophomore beast who tore the league up in his rookie year in Jonathan Taylor, a dynamic pass catcher in Nyheim Hines, and a valuable depth running back in Jordan Wilkins.
The Colts are embarrassingly rich with running backs options. The only issue with this group will be trying to divide up the touches and keeping every one happy. Expect Taylor to lead the way with Mack as first relief and Hines to add a different receiving dynamic, with Wilkins mainly on special teams and playing in case of injury.
Offensive Line
The Colts boast an elite position group here with four out of five starters returning for 2021. The Colts have left guard Quenton Nelson, who is arguably the best offensive lineman in the NFL, and a top five player in the league, a top five center in Ryan Kelly, a very underrated right guard in Mark Glowinski, and one of the best up and coming tackles in Braden Smith at right tackle.
The only question mark on the offensive line is left tackle, where long-time Colt Anthony Castonzo retired earlier in the off-season. The Colts didn’t draft a left tackle, but instead elected to sign a free agent in Eric Fisher. Fisher, when healthy, is a excellent left tackle who has developed throughout his career and protected Patrick Mahomes’ blindside. However, his health is a major question as he is coming off an Achilles tendon tear.
The Colts offensive line is unlikely skip a beat in 2021.
Defensive Line
The Colts’ defensive line group boasts the best defensive tackle in the league not named Aaron Donald in DeForest Buckner. Indianapolis trading for Buckner was a master move by GM Chris Ballard, and it payed off massively as he transformed an average defensive line into one of the best single-handedly. Buckner is an elite defensive tackle who is dominant in all facets. Buckner elevated the talent around him at the same time. Grover Stewart developed into a top nose tackle alongside Buckner.
Indianapolis added two rookie defensive ends to the group through the draft in Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, plus the emergence of Tyquan Lewis bodes well. Even adding a healthy Kemoko Turay and mixing in Ben Banogu will only strengthen the group.
Who would your top 3 Colts position groups be? Let us know in the comment section!