The Colts made life tough on their rookies this year, but adversity also builds and tests professionals. Here's how their rookies performed.
Eight players received phone calls on draft weekend to hear they were coming to a team with AFC South title aspirations. By midseason, their quarterback had been benched and head coach and offensive coordinator fired.
By the time he hauled in a game-winning fade ball in Week 6 against the Jaguars, Pierce felt like he was finding himself in Frank Reich's and Matt Ryan's offense. Then the disruption started, with Ryan benched for Sam Ehlinger and Reich fired, and a slide was not hard to see coming. Pierce had three zero-catch games in the six following Reich's dismissal.
Woods had a difficult transition in training camp like most tight ends do coming from college. He was trying to operate smoothly in a growing 6-foot-7 frame and to fit a complex passing game still finding itself between Reich's and Ryan's philosophies. A slow start was to be expected, and Woods struggled to get on the field in the first two games.
Between coaching changes, challenges in the run game and some minor injuries, Woods saw his playing time fluctuate constantly in the second half of the year. He played the final four games without a set position coach, as Klayton Adams left to take a job at Stanford. Raimann gave the job up to Dennis Kelly the next week, and then an injury brought him back in against the Patriots, when Bill Belichick threw the kitchen sink of pressures against him and Sam Ehlinger and came away with nine sacks. It had Raimann in tears after the game.
His rookie season in totality should not guarantee him such an important job heading into next year. However, he has shown enough to receive the first crack as Pryor did. A full offseason in the Colts' strength program will do him well, but the pressure will remain high, as feeling protected is essential to making a rookie quarterback work.The Colts traded their third-rounder in 2023 to jump into the same round last year to select Nick Cross.
Eric Johnson was the one who saw playing time, snagging 126 spans as a rotational defensive tackle. Almost all came on base downs, and he finished with four tackles and zero pressures. This year was about developing strength and learning the speed of the game after a sizeable jump from Missouri State, and he got to learn from two of the best in DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. He'll compete to back up those two up again next year.
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