This sure has been a down stretch at the Rhino and Compass. The Twins are bad, and posts have been non stop about how bad the Twins are. So let's talk about the Colts, who have been one of the hits of the 2025 NFL season, and Daniel Jones is having his career resurgence in Indianapolis rather than with Kevin O'Connell. How the heck did that happen?
In this area, I have no choice but to agree with Saquan Barkley. Last summer, he told Diana Rossini "You give him an offensive line, and I’m telling you, he’s a top quarterback. ... He has it.” A good offensive line can give a young quarterback more time to develop and figure it out, and allows a mediocre quarterback to be good, and a good one to be great. When the Rams went on their run with Kurt Warner, it was after drafting Orlando Pace first overall, not a QB or a weapon.
The Vikings are a perfect example of this. They've given special attention to their offensive line, and as a result, have been able to develop Kirk Cousins into something better than he otherwise would have been, and managed with Sam Darnold after that. The Colts have bounced from quarterback to quarterback in the last several years as well, with varying success. They weren't ever really bad but never particularly good, either. Philip Rivers was still effective, but Matt Ryan was over the hill.
They used draft picks to develop an offensive line that is now one of the better ones in the league, supporting Daniel Jones as he turns himself into an Indianapolis legend. And that line, the incredible part of all of it is that two long term starters left the team this offseason (to go to Minnesota of all places) which means that there is an argument that it could have been even better last year, and certainly two years prior when Gardner Minshew went to the Pro Bowl. That Anthony Richardson struggled so mightily with a line that is protecting Jones' renaissance is probably a factor in their being zero trade interest in the former #4 overall pick.
In retrospect, drafting Richardson was a colossal misstep. At the position the Colts were, it made sense to draft a QB, however Richardson wasn't ready for the NFL, and certainly wasn't ready to be a high first rounder. Given the choice, I think Indy would have rather taken Deon Witherspoon, the corner the Steelers grabbed a pick later. They still would have scuffled to an about .500 record, and would have needed a QB again now.
I could see Richardson having a career like Geno Smith, where he takes a back seat for several years and reemerges somewhere in 7 years, taking all that time to learn the position, all while keeping his body healthy. Richardson famously didn't start playing football until late in his high school career, and bviously needed time to develop his understanding of the game, even if he had raw physical ability.
And I think Richardson knew this too. He's not arrogant, and has taken this benching in stride, as a learning opportunity. That's such a rare quality in today's world, and the sign of a future leader.
A future leader. It's Daniel Jones' time now.
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