23-year old QB Andrew Luck had quite a rookie season, but he has some areas that the Colts hope he improves on in 2013 and beyond.  The Colts would like to see Luck improve his completion percentage (54.1%) and cut down on his INTs (18).  That being said, Luck has a big time arm and he plays similar style wise to Ben Roethlisberger as he tends to hold onto the ball until the last minute….which causes him to take big shots….but also allows him to make big play throws down the field.  Luck played in 16 games (all starts) as a rookie for the Colts last year and he completed 339 of 627 passes (54.1%) for 4,374 yards with 23 TD passes and 18 INTs (76.5 QB Rating).  Luck also carried the ball 62 times for 255 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs last year for the Colts.  Luck led the Colts to an 11-5 record (68.8%) record during the regular season in 2012.  37-year old Matt Hasselbeck will be the Colts’ backup in 2013.  He played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Titans last year and he completed 138 of 221 passes (62.4%) for 1,367 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 INTs (81.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards (2.9 ypc) for the Titans last year.  Hasselbeck has now played in 194 games (152 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 3,029 of 5,018 passes (60.4%) for 34,517 yards with 201 TD passes and 147 INTs (82.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 339 times for 1,229 yards (3.6 ypc) with 8 TD runs so far in his career.  Hasselbeck is 80-72 (52.6%) during the regular season as a starting QB in the NFL.  Hasselbeck can still play at a high level and he will be able to help Luck develop as a QB.  24-year old Chandler Harnish will be the Colts’ #3 QB in 2013.  He was a 7th round pick (#253 overall) out of Northern Illinois in the 2012 NFL Draft.  He has yet to get into a game in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE QBs IN 2013:  B+

The Colts have signed 27-year old RB Ahmad Bradshaw to a 1-year, $1.1 million dollar deal.  He played in 14 games for the Giants last year and he carried the ball 221 times for 1,015 yards (4.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 245 yards (10.7 avg) for the Giants last year.  Bradshaw has now played in 84 games in his first six years in the NFL and he carried the ball 921 times for 4,232 yards (4.6 ypc) with 32 TD runs.  He has also caught 132 passes for 1,087 yards (8.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far in his career.  This was a steal for the Colts if Bradshaw is healthy, as he is by far the best running back on the roster right now.

When the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, they also brought the franchise history with them.  One of the more interesting players of the Colts’ past is QB Earl Morrall.  He played in 51 games (26 starts) in his four years with the Colts and he completed 363 of 676 passes (53.7%) for 5,666 yards with 47 TD passes and 40 INTs (80.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 19 times for 37 yards (1.9 ypc) with 1 TD run for the Colts.  Morrall was an amazing 22-3-1 (88%) as the Colts’ starting QB during the regular season.  In 1968, Morrall made it to the Pro Bowl by leading the Colts to a 13-1 record during the regular season.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for the Colts in 1968 and he completed 182 of 317 passes (57.4%) for 2,909 yards with 26 TD passes and 17 INTs (93.2 QB Rating).  Morrall led the NFL in TD passes (26) in 1968.  He also carried the ball 11 times for 18 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run in 1968.  In the first two playoff games of 1968, Morrall completed 24 of 47 passes (51.1%) for 449 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception as he led the Colts to wins over the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings by a combined score of 58-14!  But, the Colts ran into a buzzsaw against Joe Namath and his Jets in the Super Bowl.  On 1/12/1969, Jets’ QB Joe Namath guaranteed a victory over the heavily favored Colts and he delivered with a 16-7 win.  Morrall picked a bad day to have an awful game in the Super Bowl.  He completed only 6 of 17 passes (35.3%) for 71 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (9.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for -2 yards (-1.0 ypc) in the Super Bowl.  Morrall is still #8 in passing yards (5,666) and #5 in TD passes (47) in Colts’ history.

The Colts didn’t go for flash in the 2013 NFL Draft.  They went for glue type players.  Here is who they got:

1st round (#24 overall) – Bjoern Werner, OLB/DE, Florida State

3rd round (#86 overall) – Hugh Thornton, OG, Illinois

4th round (#121 overall) – Khaled Holmes, C, USC

5th round (#139 overall) – Montori Hughes, DT, Tennessee-Martin

6th round (#192 overall) – John Boyett, S, Oregon

7th round (#230 overall) – Kerwynn Williams, RB, Utah State

7th round (#254 overall) – Justice Cunningham, TE, South Carolina

I really like the first three picks the Colts made in the 2013 NFL Draft.  Bjoern Werner should be able to help the Colts amp up the pass rush a little bit in 2013 and beyond.  G Hugh Thornton and C Khaled Holmes were smart picks as the Colts need to start protecting Andrew Luck better.

FIRST IMPRESSION:  B

The Colts selected 22-year old TE Justice Cunningham out of South Carolina with the 254th overall pick (7th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  He is 6’4″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  Cunningham is a really solid run blocker as he can get to the second level and hit moving targets.  That is his strength on the football field.  He does not have much speed or moves, as he runs straight after he catches the football.  Cunningham played in 13 games for South Carolina last year and he caught 23 passes for 324 yards (14.1 avg).  He played in 54 games in college and he caught 50 passes for 581 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Cunningham will try to stick with the Colts as their #3 TE in 2013 and beyond.

The Colts selected 22-year old RB Kerwynn Williams out of Utah State with the 230th overall pick (7th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Williams is 5’7″, 196 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Williams runs hard for a player his size and he can break arm tackles.  He is fast enough to get to the corner and get downfield.  But, he’s not much of a pass blocker due to his size and he was only a 1-year starter at Utah State.  Williams played in 13 games (all starts) at Utah State last year and he carried the ball 218 times for 1,512 yards (6.9 ypc) with 15 TD runs and he also caught 45 passes for 697 yards (15.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Williams played in 49 games (18 starts) in his four years at Utah State and he carried the ball 382 times for 2,515 yards (6.6 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He also caught 64 passes for 870 yards (13.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs in college.  Williams could be an outstanding 3rd down back in 2013 and he could return some kickoffs or punts.  Williams has the ability to have a much bigger role down the road for the Colts.  I really like this pick for them.

The Colts selected 23-year old safety John Boyett out of Oregon with the 192nd overall pick (6th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  He is 5’9″, 205 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Boyett is solid against the run and he plays faster than his timed speed on the field.  He has good ball skills, but he can’t handle covering NFL type WRs and TEs man to man.  Boyett played in 1 game (1 start) last year for Oregon (due to surgery on both knees) and he had 2 tackles and 1 interception.  Boyett played in 40 games (36 starts) in his four years in college and he had 278 tackles, 23 passes broken up and 10 interceptions.  Boyett will likely have to earn his P.T. on special teams before he gets a shot at playing any D for the Colts.

The Colts selected 23-year old DT Montori Hughes out of Tennessee-Martin with the 139th overall pick (5th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Hughes is 6’4″, 322 pounds and he runs a 5.0 40.  Hughes is a big man that can push the pocket back towards the QB.  He is a good tackler and he is solid against the run.  But, he has issues off the field that led to him leaving Tennessee for Tennessee-Martin after two years.  It will also be interesting to see how Hughes handles the huge step up in competition in 2013 and beyond.  Hughes played in 11 games (all starts) at Tennessee-Martin last year and he had 42 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks and 1 batted ball.  Hughes played in 47 games (23 starts) at Tennessee and Tennessee-Martin in which he had 109 tackles, 20.5 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 5 batted balls, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts selected 23-year old center Khaled Holmes out of USC with the 121st overall pick (4th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Holmes is 6’3″, 308 pounds and he runs a 5.15 40.  Holmes is a solid blocker when on the move as he can hit moving targets in the run game.  He is also a solid pass blocker, but his game is quite a bit on the finesse side.  Holmes will need to get a tad meaner to excel in the NFL and it will be up to the Colts’ coaches to bring that out in him.  Holmes played in 11 games (all starts) for USC last year.  He played in 39 games (36 starts) in his four years with the Trojans.  This was a solid pick for the Colts as Holmes should be a starter for them in the near future.

The Colts have dealt 26-year old center A.Q. Shipley to the Ravens for a conditional draft pick in 2014.  Shipley played in 14 games (5 starts) for the Colts in 2012, which was his first taste of the NFL.  The Colts drafted Khaled Holmes in the 4th round of last month’s NFL Draft, which is what made Shipley expendable.  The Colts shouldn’t miss Shipley too much moving forward.