How does the Indianapolis Colts’ young core of players compare to the rest of the NFL?
Having a pipeline of young, up-and-coming talent is a strong indicator of future success for a team. It also provides a team with high-impact players on relatively inexpensive rookie deals, which is an essential part of roster-building in a salary cap league.
Aaron Schatz of ESPN recently ranked each NFL team by their under-25 talent. A lot of factors were taken into account when putting these rankings together, including number of starts made, snaps played, the quality of play, importance of the player’s position, and length of the current contract.
The Colts ended up near the bottom of Schatz’s rankings, coming in at No. 26. A year ago, they ranked 20th, with Josh Downs and Laiatu Latu graduating from this list.
Schatz’s cutoff for being under 25 is Sept. 1, which made Sauce Gardner not eligible for this year’s rankings, as he will turn 25 before then.
The only “blue chip” player that Schatz noted for the Colts is tight end Tyler Warren. Although not a blue chip, Tanor Bortolini is another player Schatz mentioned.
There is the potential for the Colts to make a big jump in these rankings in 2027, but it is dependent on the development of several players, including Justin Walley, Jalen Travis, Jaylahn Tuimoloau, CJ Allen, and AJ Haulcy, all of whom are going to play significant roles this season.
That group finding success will be vital to the Colts ‘ short-term and long-term viability.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts ranked near bottom of NFL in ‘under-25’ roster talent
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Paul Bretl, Colts Wire | USA TODAY Network
