How the Indianapolis Colts offense looks will depend on who's playing quarterback

This offseason, the Indianapolis Colts signed former 6th overall pick Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson, a former high first rounder himself, for the Colts starting quarterback job. Anthony Richardson is now back at practice after previously missing minicamp with a shoulder injury (on the same shoulder that he hurt in 2023), with both players taking reps with the first team offense during training camp.

While the team has not announced a starter yet, it still appears that Anthony Richardson will get the first opportunity to start this season, but that could change at any moment.

How much does this decision impact the rest of the Colts offense, and what opportunities do we have to react once a starter is announced?

Wide difference for wide receivers

The biggest impacts will be felt at the wide receiver position. Take a look at these PPR discrepancies from when Anthony Richardson is on the field versus any other quarterback for the Colts:

Player	PPG with Anthony Richardson	PPG with other Colts quarterbacks	Difference if Richardson starts
Michael Pittman Jr.	9.5	13.0	-4.5
Josh Downs	9.4	11.2	-1.8
Alec Pierce	7.3	9.1	-1.8

Some of this is expected - Anthony Richardson is clearly a mobile-first quarterback, and the offense will be designed to put him into the best positions to win.

Now, should we expect these exact gains if Daniel Jones is starting? Likely not - after all, Daniel Jones also likes to run, albeit much less in total than Richardson. That being said, even if that difference is cut in half, we're still talking about an increase of 1-2 PPR points per game for all three of these guys.

Given the varied outcomes here, I think that the impact for each of these guys is as follows:

• Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs have some WR3 intrigue (around or inside the top 36 at the position) if Daniel Jones is announced the starter, whereas they fall into a boom/bust (and mostly bust) WR4 or Flex player if Anthony Richardson is the starter. They are currently being drafted as WR4s, around the 45-50 range at the position, giving them some possible upside to chase now if the QB swap to Daniel Jones occurs. In my subscriber-only rankings, I have both players ranked right around their ADPs.

• Alec Pierce is basically undraftable in either scenario except in best ball leagues, where he's available as a late dart throw (around pick 175-180) as a naturally boom or bust player.

Will Jonathan Taylor feel an impact?

Probably not - at least not one that's super meaningful for his workhorse role. Both quarterbacks pose a risk to poach some of the goal-to-go rushes from him - possibly stealing a touchdown or two over the season - but both could open up extra efficiency as well, as defenses will have to account for the scrambling possibilities of both quarterbacks.

Health permitting, Jonathan Taylor can be drafted as a rock solid RB1 with overall RB1 upside any given week if the cards fall right, and I have him right in line with his average ADP.

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