It is the dawn of a new era for the Indianapolis Colts as they tabbed Shane Steichen as their new head coach. Steichen is taking over for interim head coach Jeff Saturday after spending the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, so he certainly knows how to get the most out of an offense.
In Indianapolis, the hope is that he can help get their unit back on track. The Colts had dark horse Super Bowl potential in 2022 but fell woefully short of expectations. A big reason for that was the lack of production from the quarterback position.
Matt Ryan was not the upgrade over Carson Wentz that the organization had thought he would be. He was a turnover machine throughout the season, throwing 13 interceptions in 12 games. Ryan also fumbled 15 times, losing five of them. Sam Ehlinger and Nick Foles didn’t find much success when they got their shots.
Finding a long-term answer at the quarterback position is the No. 1 goal for the Colts this offseason. That could very well come during the 2023 NFL Draft. But, before that, the team will have a chance to address other needs in free agency.
One area that needs improvement is the offensive line. It wasn’t too long ago that the Colts’ offensive line was regarded as the best in the NFL, but in recent seasons, their performance has really fallen off. That is what makes guard Isaac Seumalo such a good fit for them this offseason.
Seumalo has spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Eagles, making him a natural fit in Indianapolis. Steichen knows him well and it won’t be surprising to see him bring in a few of his former players to ease the transition.
The familiarity is nice, but Seumalo would also be a nice upgrade at right guard over Will Fries. This year’s group of interior offensive linemen free agents is solid, but Seumalo may be the best one. Sports Info Solutions ranked him third in their points earned metric and it is hard to argue against that.
Starting all 17 games in 2022, Seumalo ranked 15th among guards with a pass-blocking win rate of 93.6 percent while also registering an above-average number in run-blocking win rate. Adding him would give the Colts arguably the best guard combination in the NFL when pairing him with Quenton Nelson.
