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It was a second-place finish in the AFC South for the Indianapolis Colts last season, but their 8-9 record was not enough for a playoff berth. They have not made the playoffs since the 2020 season. Still, the Colts have plenty of young players ready to take the next step. These are the three underrated Colts who could be breakout sleepers in the 2025 NFL season.
The Colts last made the playoffs as a wildcard team in the 2020 season, losing in the Wild Card round to the Buffalo Bills. They would go 9-8 the next year before going 4-12-1 in 2022. The Colts would then draft Anthony Richardson, but have gone a combined 17-17 in those two seasons. They also still do not have a playoff berth with Richardson. The Colts still have plenty of young parts. Some players need to step up if they are going to make it to the playoffs in the 2025 season, or potentially win their first AFC South title since the 2014 season.
The Colts did not make many splashy offseason moves. They brought in Charvarius Ward in the secondary. The Colts also brought in Daniel Jones at quarterback. They did move on from some defensive players in the front seven, and also kicker Matt Gay. Now, new players need to break out if the Colts are going to break their playoff drought.
Laiatu Latu makes an impact in his second season
The Colts were tied for 25th in the NFL last year in sacks while sitting 26th in the NFL in pressure rate. Latu was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 player in college, an All-American, and winner of the Lombardi and Ted Hendricks awards in college. He would be selected 15th overall in the 2024 NFL draft. Still, while he did make the PFWA All-Rookie team, his first season in the NFL was rather quiet.
Latu had just four sacks for a total of 23 yards last season. That places him third on the team in sacks, behind Kwity Paye and DeForest Buckner. Further, he has just five tackles for a loss, well behind Paye, Buckner, and fellow defensive lineman Grover Stewart. While Dayo Odeyingbo left in free agency, the Colts also drafted JT Tuimoloau, another defensive end, in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Latu needs to step up this year with Paye and Tuimoloau on the roster. Latu did have some highlights this past season, though. He had 38 total pressures and a 14 percent pass rush win rate, which was one of the best win rates on the Colts. The Colts have also brought in a new defensive coordinator, who should help Latu this upcoming season. Lou Anarumo has been brought in from the Cincinnati Bengals. He helped develop Trey Hendrickson into one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. If the Colts are going to improve on defense this year, it starts with the pass rush. That starts with Latu breaking out into a star.
A rookie steps up big for the Colts
The Colts drafted tight end Tyler Warren with the 14th overall pick in the NFL draft this past season. While expectations are high for him, he may still be underrated. Some draft experts had him rated as the top tight end in the NFL draft, but he would end up being the second tight end taken. Still, he is going to be in a position to break out in a similar fashion that Brock Bowers did for the Las Vegas Raiders last season.
To begin with, Warren should be the top receiving tight end. Last season, Kyler Granson was the top receiving tight end. He had just 31 targets and 14 receptions last year for 182 yards. Meanwhile, Mo-Alie Cox brought in 12 of his 22 targets for 147 yards and one touchdown. The Colts need a big-time red zone target. Their leader in touchdowns last year was Alec Peirce, who had 37 receptions on 69 targets for 824 yards and seven scores. Still, he is not the level or red-zone target that Anthony Richardson needs.
Richardson completed just eight of 22 passes in the red zone last year with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He ran more in than he threw in the red zone with five rushing touchdowns. Josh Downs was the biggest red-zone target, but he scored just twice in the red zone last year. Meanwhile, tight ends had a combined 14 targets all season in the red zone, with two scores. Warren could outperform his draft spot if he is a big-time red zone threat, and could change the look of this Colts offense.
Indianapolis has a new kicker
The Colts were 20th in the NFL last year in converting field goal attempts, converting at an 83.8 percent rate this past season. Their major issue was beyond 50 yards, where they went just three for nine. That 33 percent conversion rate was one of the worst marks in the NFL this past season. Matt Gay was the primary kicker last season, but he was cut after a second year converting under 85 percent of his kicks, and seeing a decline in his ability to kick from deep.
The Colts brought back a familiar face. Spencer Shrader spent some time with the Colts this past season, playing in just one game and converting all three extra points. He would also spend time with the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs last season. He was not the most accurate kicker in college, converting just 68.3 percent of his kicks in his college career, with a career long of 54 yards. Still, Shrader showed accuracy last year in the NFL. He converted on all five of his attempts at the NFL level, while also converting all nine of his extra point attempts.
Last season, the Colts lost three times by three or fewer points. Having a reliable kicker could have turned some of those into wins. If the kicking game was good enough to convert two into wins, they would have had ten wins, the same amount as the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, both of whom made the playoffs. Considering one of the losses was to the Houston Texans, if that becomes a win, they are division champions. Shrader was accurate last season, and he could be the difference in the Colts making a playoff run or not this year.
