Strong draft puts Colts in solid position to win AFC South

Plenty happened to the Indianapolis Colts last season. To begin with, they were behind the eight-ball when Andrew Luck retired just before the schedule started. But the resourcefulness of head coach Frank Reich helped keep them in the playoff hunt for quite a while. BetAnySports customers have witnessed some changes thus far in the off-season. How much of a difference does it make for them?

This season they felt they had to get to another level at the quarterback spot. And Philip Rivers did not want to go back to L.A. with the Chargers. So the marriage was made. And even though the 38-year-old Rivers had a rough season, throwing 20 interceptions, he may have a good year or two left in him.

And management has done its best to put additional weapons at his disposal.

The two "knocks" on running back Jonathan Taylor, if you want to call them that, are that he may not be a lot of use as a pass-catcher, having not done a lot of that in college, and that he has a lot of mileage on him, having piled up an enormous number of carries as one of the top backs in the nation virtually from the day he stepped on the field.

These are valid points, and all we can say is that they will work on his receiving skills. As for the other thing, it will be a big relief for him that he won't have to carry the whole burden in Indianapolis. I would assume the design is for him to split duties in the backfield primarily with Marlon Mack, who topped 1000 yards last season.

This team (priced at +3000 to win the Super Bowl at BetAnySports) can run the ball effectively as it is, or maybe you remember last year's game at Kansas City when they were missing a couple of receivers and everybody in the secondary and still found a way to win. Reich wants to play the ground-and-pound if he possibly can, and the team ran the ball more than 46% of the time last season, which is a lot in this day and age.

Will this be a huge help for Rivers? Sure, if he is on board with having a lot of balance in the offense. Even under Anthony Lynn, who loves the running game, the Chargers ran from scrimmage on just 38.6% of all plays in 2019. One of the draft acquisitions who will make life easier for him is Michael Pittman of USC, who is 6-4 and a favorite of scouts, because he is physical enough to fight off defenders and catches everything in sight.

And then, of course, you have the incumbents, like Parris Campbell and the speedy TY Hilton, if injuries don't get the best of them, along with Zach Pascal and tight end Jack Doyle, and you might be able to say they've got the makings of a pretty formidable receiving corps.

The Colts' offensive line has been built to the point where it is one of the best in the NFL. So the fifth-round pick, Ball State's Danny Pinter, is an intriguing proposition as a developmental player. Here's a guy who started his college career as a tight end, then was moved to the tackle spot. His 40 time was the best of anyone at his position. Because he's a bit small and has relatively short arms, he's likely going to be moved inside to guard. He'll develop, but he is ideal for any zone-blocking scheme because of his agility. And he'll be very useful on special teams too.

Did the draft alone vault the Colts to the point where they are genuine contenders in the AFC South? Well, some of that, along with the acquisition of Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who in effect was the first-round pick (brought aboard in exchange for the 13th overall selection)

At the moment Indianapolis is +145 to win the division, with an over / under of nine wins (-130 over, +110 under). This reporter believes they could be ready to get over the hump.

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