7. Indianapolis Colts
Jim Irsay believes that Chris Ballard was the best GM candidate of the 21st century. That may be overstating things, but he should be a significant upgrade over Ryan Grigson.
From Day 1, Grigson completely neglected what should have been his primary responsibility – protecting Andrew Luck. He also failed to give the Colts a complete defense that could win games against quarterbacks like Tom Brady.
Still, from 2012-2014, Indianapolis went 11-5 three times and made the playoffs each season. The 2015 and 2016 seasons brought regression, but the Colts still went 8-8 in each year. Now they have a general manager who will (at least theoretically) try to assemble a football team rather than a fantasy team. That should be worth a few wins, right?
Unlike most non playoff teams, Indianapolis is undeniably set at the quarterback position.
The @colts are on 🔥🔥🔥 today!
Luck. Dorsett. FIFTY-YARD TD! #ForTheShoe https://t.co/vI92zizrLX
— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2016
The Colts head into 2016 with a strong quarterback, talented skill players and a defense that has talent but needs help. If that sounds familiar, it should. The same things were true about the Falcons heading into 2016.
With a strong offseason, Indianapolis could well be a Super Bowl contender in 2017. It wouldn’t even be that surprising.