After two one-year experiments at quarterback in Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz and a disastrous Week 18 collapse in Jacksonville to miss the playoffs, the Colts head into the 2022 season with a hope for stability at the position in the form of veteran signal-caller Matt Ryan. With Ryan's veteran leadership and elite running back Jonathan Taylor's dynamic skill set, the Colts shouldn't have much of a problem moving the ball this season despite a subpar group of pass-catchers. Defensively, despite the loss of coordinator Matt Eberf lus, who became the Bears' new head coach, Indianapolis should field a plus unit.
Playing in arguably the weakest division in the league, the Colts only have Tennessee to truly contend with for the AFC South title. Assuming Indianapolis can sweep their opening two games on the road, in one of the easiest back-to-back road slates any team will face all season, they have a chance to establish themselves as a big player in the AFC with home games against Kansas City and division rival Tennessee in the third and fourth weeks. Another advantage of Indy's schedule is two layup games to end the season against the likely non-contending Giants and Texans.
Assuming Ryan and Taylor stay healthy, there's decent value in Indianapolis to win the AFC South at -115. While the Colts have the potential to make a run this season, there is so much competition in the AFC that +1300 to win the conference almost looks a bit too light. This teams seems capable of making a second- round playoff appearance, which I'm sure most Colts fans would welcome after last year's Week 18 collapse.
- More NFL futures:'SportsLine Projection Model's best bets
Below, you'll find the Indianapolis Colts 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein and R.J. White.