The Indianapolis Colts will look a lot different in 2023 with new head coach Shane Steichen on the sidelines. Steichen is coming to the organization after spending the last two seasons as offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The work that he did with Jalen Hurts should provide optimism that whoever the Colts land as their long-term answer at the quarterback position will be in good hands. A big reason Hurts was able to take that step forward was that the Eagles also surrounded him with talent at the skill positions.
The Colts have Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce to lean on at wide receiver, but Parris Campbell is hitting free agency. If he opts to sign elsewhere, the team needs to find a suitable replacement for their emerging slot receiver.
Luckily for the Colts, there are some pretty good slot options available in free agency. Jakobi Meyers and JuJu Smith-Schuster are two of the better options and both have the skill set and versatility to play on the perimeter as well.
But, they could prove costly. Given the dearth of wide receiver talent available in free agency, they could become too expensive for Indianapolis. If that occurred, they could look to the trade market to find an upgrade.
One player to keep an eye on is Jerry Jeudy of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos made him available ahead of the deadline and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, they could try to trade him again this offseason.
“He was available all trade deadline and nobody really, really made a huge push there,” Rapoport said during an appearance with NBC Sports Boston (h/t NESN’s Dakota Randall). “So, could be traded? Yeah, but I don’t know that it’d be like the feeding frenzy that maybe he would expect.”
With Sean Payton taking over as head coach, the Broncos may value Jeudy more now than the last regime did. He is an elite route runner that can find success at every level of the field. Injuries have been an issue throughout his career, but he did have his best season in 2022.
The Colts’ second-round pick is very high on the board and would likely be enough to get a deal done for Jeudy. If they wanted to lower the price, they could offer the third- and fifth-round pick that they have in the 2023 NFL Draft in exchange for the Alabama product.
The kind of bidding war the Broncos were hoping for may not ensure for Jeudy, but they should be able to land some draft capital. With holes in other areas of the roster and lacking cap space or draft picks to fill them, trading someone like Jeudy could be the only avenue to bring back the necessary assets to fill those voids.
Indianapolis would then have a nice pass-catching trio for whoever is under center to target. With tight end Jelani Woods hoping to take a step in Year 2 and Jonathan Taylor healthy, the Colts would have the makings of a very solid offensive unit.
