Indianapolis Colts: 6 breakout candidates in 2024

Cody Manning

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Indianapolis Colts: 6 breakout candidates in 2024 image

Every NFL season brings players that break out and become more household names.

The Indianapolis Colts have a handful of players entering their Year 3 and are poised to get more recognition by the end of the upcoming season.

Plus of course, there is the special talent that is leading the offense. 

Here are six players from the Colts who can make a name for themselves in 2024:

Indianapolis Colts breakout players in 2024

QB Anthony Richardson

The easy choice of which player for Indianapolis will not only break out but become one of the young stars in the league is Richardson. In his brief 173 snaps as a rookie, we got a glimpse into the playmaking ability that he brings with his arm and legs. 

If there was one game to point to for AR what he can do as a quarterback in the NFL was when he helped lead the 23-point comeback to tie up the game against the Los Angeles Rams to send it to overtime.

Unfortunately, he did suffer his season-ending shoulder injury the following week against the Tennessee Titans and one could argue if he had been able to stay healthy in Year 1, he would have broken out as a rookie. For now, the Colts have a budding stud leading the franchise and plans to unleash him in Year 2.

LT Bernhard Raimann

The Colts have appeared to find their left tackle in their 2022 third-round pick. Raimann has steadily improved since he took over as the full-time starter halfway through his rookie season. Per PFF, in Year 1 he gave up seven sacks, four QB hits, 16 hurries, 27 pressures, and accounted for nine penalties in his 709 snaps with a 95.8 pass-blocking efficiency score. 

Raimann cut down his mistakes in Year 2. Playing 1,012 snaps, he gave up four sacks, five QB hits, 25 hurries, 34 pressures, and finished with six penalties. His pass-blocking efficiency score increased to 96.8.

If Raimann can continue on this upward trend with his performance then he can become one of the better left tackles in the league and set himself up for a nice payday as early as next offseason. 

WR Alec Pierce

The old saying that patience is a virtue can be applied to receivers adjusting to life in the NFL. There are plenty of examples of receivers breaking out in Year 3 and Nico Collins for the Houston Texas is one of them from the 2023 season. Could Pierce be the next one to take the next step in Year 3?

He had his moments in his first two years but has lacked consistent production because of his role in the offense in the first season under Shane Steichen and the lack of the deep ball from the quarterbacks he’s played with outside Anthony Richardson. With that being said, he made impact plays when given the opportunity.

With the addition of Adonai Mitchell, the pressure is on Pierce to deliver in 2024 and be one of the deep threats in the passing attack for AR. 

TE Jelani Woods

There is plenty of excitement of what the Colts offense will look like in 2024 and one of the forgotten pieces that can bring an explosive element from the tight end room and a large presence in the red zone is Woods. There was a level of expectation for him entering Year 2 but due to hamstring injuries, he was forced to miss the entire 2023 season. 

Shane Steichen can utilize Woods as a mismatch tight end. He’s too fast for linebackers in space and too big for defensive backs. Something that we did get a glimpse of in 2022.

He has given updates via social media that have made it look like Woods is putting his hamstring issues behind him. If he can hit the ground running and stay on the field, he can become a playmaking player in the Indy offense this year. 

CB Dallis Flowers

As a rookie, Flowers made his impact via special teams as a kick returner, averaging 31.1 yards per return which led to him being named to the 2022 NFL All-Rookie Team. Because of injuries, he ended up playing over 90% of the defensive snaps in the final two games and in his lone start, he forced a fumble. 

Because of what he showed in those final two games in his first season, he was given the opportunity for a starting role last year and earned a spot with the starting defensive unit on opening day. In each game to start the season, he improved and was the most reliable corner outside on Kenny Moore II on the roster.

Unfortunately in the fourth game of the season, Flowers tore his Achilles which derailed the progress he was showing as a potential starting-caliber cornerback. Similar to Jelani Woods, he has provided updates on his rehab and is looking to continue where he left off in 2023.  

One change this offseason for Flowers is that he has switched his uniform number to No. 21. The next step for him is to make more impact plays in coverage, with more plays that end with his hands on the ball, he will gain more recognition by the end of the season. 

S Nick Cross

Could Year 3 be the one where Cross puts it together and turns his flashes into consistent play on the field? After his good showing in the preseason as a rookie in 2022, he was an opening-day starter but reverted to the bench after two games and didn’t see more than 10% of the defensive snaps until he got 36% of them in Week 13 of the 2023 season. 

Cross had his ups and downs in the final six games but had moments where he made plays for the Indy defense and got his hands on his first career interception in the Week 14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cross is still 22 years old and still has the potential to be a playmaker on the backend of the defense. Gus Bradley stated he has an opportunity to earn the starting free safety role. He has to show that he has developed in the mental aspect of the position to earn Bradley’s trust. 

This summer he has the chance to show he’s on the verge of a breakout and keep the front office from thinking about adding a trusty free-agent veteran like Justin Simmons.

Cody Manning

Cody Manning Photo

Cody Manning is a graduate of the University of Tampa’s Sport Management program. He spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Guest and Member Relations Game Day staff where he was a Team Leader and earned Difference Maker of the Year in 2017. During his time with the Bucs, he helped start Blitzalytics, a scouting and analytics media company. After that came to an end, he joined USA Today’s Colts Wire as a contributor in 2021. Outside of football, he is an avid WWE and Batman fan. You can find him on Twitter/X @CodyTalksNFL.