2022 Indianapolis Colts Odds, Schedule, & Fantasy Football Team Preview
What’s up RotoGrinders! The next stop on the AFC South tour is Indianapolis to take a glance at the Colts.
Using RotoGrinders NFL 2022 projections, we review all 32 NFL Teams this summer and uncover all the best bets and league winning picks we can find. Among the questions we will look at the to answer in this article:
- Indianapolis Colts Betting Odds: Can they take care of business in the division?
- Team Matchup Overview: The rush defenses in the AFC West can all be exploited, but can the Colts’ pass defense hold up in those potential shootouts?
- Fantasy Football Drafts: Jonathan Taylor is a total stud behind one of the best offensive lines in football. Can he replicate his performance from last season? He’s the safest choice on any board.
Be sure to check out all the great sports betting, fantasy football, and DFS content available on RotoGrinders leading up to kickoff. We’ll be covering fantasy football for BestBall with Spike Week, rankings and projections, DFS preseason with RotoGrinders Premium, and RotoGrinders Premium and Sports betting at RG and ScoresAndOdds.
2022 Indianapolis Colts Schedule, Lines, and Best Bets
Projected Odds, derived & modified from data originally published by Sean Koerner here.
Win Total and Total Games Favored:
9.5 (-120) / 12 Games Favored ( 4 Big Favorites / 0 Big Dogs)
The Colts get to beat up on the Jaguars and Texans twice, but also have to deal with the NFC West, which is the new alleged powerhouse division in football. The Colts are favorited in two-thirds of its games, but many of them are borderline coin flips. It will be pivotal to at least split the two divisional games against the Titans. Matt Ryan should give Indy a bit more of stability at quarterback than Carson Wentz did, though I’m not sure the ceiling of the offense improves much.
Best Bet: Yannick Ngakoue Over 7.5 Sacks – This guy is a monster. This Colts front seven could arguably have the most talent that he’s ever been surrounded with. Most of those former Jaguars’ teams that Ngakoue was apart of consisted of negative game scrips, where opponents rarely had to throw the ball late in the third-or-fourth quarters of games.
Now, with 17 games on the schedule, and a change of scenery, I like the over 7.5 sacks line quite a bit. The Texans and Jaguars will have to throw the ball a ton to keep up in the division, while the Titans certainly have offensive-line issues of their own. Those are already six games that should project to be above-average game environments for him. In my opinion, the only thing standing in the way of Yannick hitting eight sacks would be missing time due to injury.
Indianapolis Colts Props
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Favorite Prop: I’m looking at those six divisional games. Matchups against Houston and Jacksonville should be extremely favorable to pound the snot out of the football, while Ryan won’t have be forced to do much damage through the air. The Titans have one of the most underrated defensive units in the league with top-5 upside.
That unit showcased who it can be against the Bengals last postseason, setting a league record for sacks in a playoff game. Ryan can still win games, but the Colts will be at their best if he’s protecting the football and only trying to win a game on his own when they fall well behind – which shouldn’t happen during at least a third of their schedule. I’m leaning under 3,900.5 passing yards on PrizePicks.
Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football Projections
Team Rankings and Ratings
Offense Ranks:Rank 11/ Elite Rush / Average Pass/ Rank 13 Points For)
Defense Ranks:Rank 11/ Very Strong Rush / Average pass / Rank 29 Points Allowed)
Opponent Strength – Rushing:6 difficult vs. rush. 5 soft vs. rush.
Opponent Strength – Passing:4 difficult vs. pass. 6 soft vs. pass.
It’s no secret that the strength of this team is running the football behind an extremely polished offensive line. Six of Indy’s opponents are labeled with either a “strong” or “very strong” rush defense. It bodes well for the Colts that they are given at least a 50% chance to win all of those games.
From a betting perspective, the Colts (and Titans) are two of my favorite longer shots to win the AFC. It’s not a 1u play, but worth a sprinkle. Both teams should take care of the Texans and Jaguars. Imagine if the Colts sweep the Titans, or vice-versa? There’s a realistic chance one of those two teams are 6-0 in the division. Getting the No. 1 overall seed and bye week is massive and a hypothetical division sweep would put either team in the drivers’ seat.
It’s very possible the AFC West all beat up on each other, leaving the Bills, in my opinion, as one of the other likely candidates to earn the top conference seed. Indy and Tennessee may not be the most talented overall rosters on paper, but both franchises are again in unique situations to do some more damage in a lopsided division – much like how the Titans earned last year’s top seed in the AFC. You can bet the Colts to win the AFC at 13/1 on Caesars.
The fantasy football outlook is easy. Taylor and Pittman should be weekly starters. Alie-Cox and Ryan should be reserves. Fliers on whoever wins the #2 receiver role come Week 1.
Indianapolis Colts Top Fantasy Football Plays & Picks
Noteworthy Depth Chart
QB: Matt Ryan – Underdog Rank: 154 (ADP 154 / 0% ADP Gap)
RB: Jonathan Taylor – Underdog Rank: 1 (ADP 1 / 0% ADP Gap)
RB: Nyheim Hines – Underdog Rank: 119 (ADP 137 / 15.13% ADP Gap)
WR: Michael Pittman – Underdog Rank: 28 (ADP 30 / 7.14% ADP Gap)
WR: Parris Campbell – Underdog Rank: 157 (ADP 174 / 10.83% ADP Gap)
WR: Alec Pierce – Underdog Rank: 179 (ADP 165 – -7.82% ADP Gap)
TE: Mo Alie-Cox – Underdog Rank: 200 (ADP 213 / 6.5% ADP Gap)
*Note: Premium Subscribers can find updated rankings for Underdog Fantasy in the content schedule here.
New Additions of Note: Matt Ryan, Alec Pierce, Phillip Lindsay, Stephon Gilmore
Departures of Note: Carson Wentz, T.Y. Hilton, Zach Pascal, Jack Doyle, Marlon Mack, Xavier Rhodes
I don’t think Ryan gives this team much more of an overall ceiling. But he has shown in recent years to at least pepper volume to his number-one receiving target. This year, that guy happens to be Michael Pittman. He’s a prime breakout candidate and there is no receiver depth behind him that will challenge for any workload. The issue is, you aren’t getting any break with his current ADP, as the market has seemed to already catch up to his new supporting cast and hopeful role on offense.
A deeper punt with potential high-touchdown equity is Alie-Cox at TE. He has insane athleticism. The departure of Jack Doyle is critical for him to not only see the field more, but have a chance to garner a few more red-zone looks.
Image Credit: Imagn