What is an absolute must for the Indianapolis Colts this offseason?

Following an 8-9 season where the Colts again missed out on the playoffs, there are a few different options that could potentially fall into the must category.

A big one that GM Chris Ballard mentioned after the season was that his roster construction approach needs to be better, specifically adding more competition throughout the roster to fight off complacency and hopefully help elevate the play of the entire team.

Recently, Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports listed the one big thing that each NFL team has to accomplish this offseason. And for the Colts, he selected finding a tight end.

This position, along with the secondary, are the biggest needs that the Colts have to address this offseason. At tight end specifically, this group lacked a pass catching threat.

Combined, the four tight ends on the Colts roster would total 467 receiving yards in 2024. For some context around that figure, there were 25 individual tight ends who had more yards than the Colts entire unit did.

Defenses don’t have to account for this position group in the passing game whatsoever, which puts an added stressor on the other pass catchers and the quarterback.

There is also something to be said for having a versatile and well-rounded skill set at the tight end position, which can add a level of unpredictability to an offense.

When it comes to tackling this need, the draft may end up being the best route for the Colts to do that. As highlighted here, there aren’t many high end free agent options available this offseason.