Eleven years ago, Reggie Wayne had a message for the last quarterback the Colts took with a top-five draft pick.
"I'm gonna hold it down until you feel like you're ready," Wayne told Andrew Luck back then. "And then when you're ready, I'll sit in the passenger seat and buckle up."
The meaning of that message: Don't put the weight of the franchise all on yourself in Year 1. The Colts were coming off a 2-14 season and had recently parted ways with Peyton Manning. That's a lot of pressure for a first-year quarterback; Wayne and the Colts worked early on to alleviate as much of it as the could.
A little over a decade later, Colts players – the guys who were on 2022's 4-12-1 team – will dispense a similar message to whoever the team drafts Thursday night, regardless of who it is and what position he plays.
"We're putting it on ourselves," running back Jonathan Taylor said. "No matter what happens with this pick, we know that hey, people are looking toward us for guidance, leadership — guys who have been here in this system and have had success."
Taylor and the Colts' returning players know they need to be the main reason why this year becomes better than last year. It's a message general manager Chris Ballard sent at the start of the offseason, and one that's been embraced by the team in the wake of such a disappointing season.
"Our best players have to play to their standard," Ballard said in January.
So Taylor, who battled ankle issues for nearly the whole 2022 season and saw his yards per carry average drop from 5.5 in 2021 to 4.5 in 2022, doesn't want the pressure of turning things around in 2023 to fall on whoever the Colts take at No. 4.
"That's really asking a lot of a rookie regardless of the position," Taylor said. "It doesn't matter what his position is, it's a lot to put on a rookie saying hey, we need you to help take us to the next level. No, it's going to take that plus everyone else who has already been established to help whoever that guy lean on us."
Colts coaches and players have been working for a few weeks already on establishing and reinforcing their standards for the 2023 season – standards that players will expect every draft pick to meet once they get inside the walls of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. Six 2022 captains are back on the team in 2023: Taylor, left guard Quenton Nelson, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebackers Shaquille Leonard and Zaire Franklin and cornerback Kenny Moore II.
"For us, that's showing them — whether it's workouts, whether it's practices, whether it's in the film room — just constantly competing," Franklin said. "And once they see that the best guys are trying to do their best version, try to get the best out of themselves and constantly try to raise their level, everybody will follow suit."
Among the other returning players who will be counted on to turn things around: Wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Ashton Dulin; tight ends Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods and Kylen Granson; offensive linemen Bernhard Raimann, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith; defensive linemen Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, Grover Stewart and Tyquan Lewis; linebacker EJ Speed; and defensive backs Isaiah Rodgers Sr., Dallis Flowers, Julian Blackmon, Rodney Thomas II and Nick Cross.
It'll be on those guys, first and foremost, to make sure 2023 is better than 2022. After all, whoever the Colts take in this year's NFL Draft wasn't here for last season.
"I'm still thinking about (2022)," Pittman said a few weeks ago. "Today we were watching some film in there, and I'm like, dang, we had that game, we let it slip. It's always there. Which, I don't know, might be good because we don't ever want to feel like that ever again. I mean, that was probably the ultimate low of my career."
The Indianapolis Colts are back on the field for the first day of veteran voluntary minicamp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
Shane Steichen Head Coach
44 LB Zaire Franklin
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox
41 LB Grant Stuard
10 QB Gardner Minshew
28 RB Jonathan Taylor
10 QB Gardner Minshew
Shane Steichen Head Coach
17 WR Mike Strachan
16 WR Ashton Dulin
21 RB Zack Moss
35 RB Deon Jackson
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox
80 TE Jelani Woods
83 TE Kylen Granson
49 TE Jalen Wydermyer
Shane Steichen Head Coach
10 QB Gardner Minshew
21 RB Zack Moss
35 RB Deon Jackson
21 RB Zack Moss
10 QB Gardner Minshew
84 WR Ethan Fernea
Reggie Wayne Wide Receivers
44 LB Zaire Franklin
41 LB Grant Stuard
35 RB Deon Jackson
21 RB Zack Moss
34 CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr.
33 CB Dallis Flowers
23 CB Kenny Moore II
17 WR Mike Strachan
Reggie Wayne Wide Receivers
56 C/G Quenton Nelson
64 G Arlington Hambright
10 QB Gardner Minshew II
44 LB Zaire Franklin
Shane Steichen Head Coach
96 Bryan, Taven DT
10 QB Gardner Minshew II
54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo
57 LB JoJo Domann
95 DT Chris Williams
71 T Jordan Murray
65 Dakoda Shepley T
50 LB Segun Olubi
50 LB Segun Olubi, 57 LB JoJo Domann, 92 DE Kameron Cline
99 DT DeForest Buckner
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54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo
96 Bryan, Taven DT
55 Khalid Kareem DE
99 DT DeForest Buckner
55 Khalid Kareem DE
38 CB Tony Brown
Brian Mason Special Teams Coordinator, #2 Matt Gay K, #8 P Rigoberto Sanchez, #3 Lucas Havrisik K
54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo, #51 DE Kwity Paye, #92 DE Kameron Cline, #95 DT Chris Williams, #99 DT DeForest Buckner
Shane Steichen Head Coach
16 WR Ashton Dulin,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
PHOTO TAKEN BY MICHAEL PITTMAN JR.
21 WR Zack Moss,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Head Coach Shane Steichen,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Head Coach Shane Steichen,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
72 T/G Braden Smith, #65 C Dakoda Shepley, Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Head Coach Shane Steichen,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
85 TE Andrew Ogletree, #81 TE Mo Alie-Cox, Tom Manning Tight Ends Coach,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo, Nate Ollie Defensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Reggie Wayne Wide Receivers,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
90 DT Grover Stewart, #99 DT DeForest Buckner,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Bryan Bing
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Head Coach Shane Steichen,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Reggie Wayne Wide Receivers, #6 WR Isaiah McKenzie,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
34 CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr.,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
44 LB Zaire Franklin,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
34 CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr.,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
23 CB Kenny Moore II,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
30 CB David Vereen,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
16 WR Ashton Dulin,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
23 CB Kenny Moore II,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
PHOTO TAKEN BY MICHAEL PITTMAN JR.
23 CB Kenny Moore II,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
23 CB Kenny Moore II,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
23 CB Kenny Moore II,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
Nate Ollie Defensive Line, #54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
55 DE Khalid Kareem,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
51 DE Kwity Paye,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
30 CB David Vereen, #34 CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr.,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
55 DE Khalid Kareem, Nate Ollie Defensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
97 DT McTelvin Agim, Nate Ollie Defensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
52 LB Samson Ebukam,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
54 DE Dayo Odeyingbo, Nate Ollie Defensive Line,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
10 QB Gardner Minshew,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
44 LB Zaire Franklin, #92 DE Kameron Cline,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
81 TE Mo Alie-Cox,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
17 WR Mike Strachan,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
16 WR Ashton Dulin,
Players practice during Veteran Mini Camp offseason workouts.
