‘4 Downs’ with Rich: the Colts Biggest Questions Heading into the ‘26 NFL Season

Rich ran his four downs on the Indianapolis Colts before Shane Steichen came on the show, on purpose, so the coach could not influence the questions. Asked whether Steichen might hear them and bail on the interview, Rich shrugged. "This is nothing he hasn't heard before."

First down is the receiver. Michael Pittman has been traded away, which means it is Alec Pierce time, and Rich wants to know whether Pierce is genuinely a wide receiver one. Not paid like one, which he is, but built like one. Josh Downs is there and the Colts have talent around him, but the test is what happens when defenses shade his way and two dudes get on him. There is a wrinkle to that evaluation, too. Pierce is not practicing right now.

Second down goes to the running back who just got his. Jonathan Taylor's two-year extension is well deserved, and Rich concedes it is a little ridiculous to ask for more from a player who has cleared 300 carries in back-to-back seasons. He is asking anyway. Does Taylor have another gear? Lead the league in rushing again. Beat Bijan Robinson in all-purpose yards. Be the first-team All-Pro. Do it now, Rich argued, while he still has the muscle.

The pushback from the desk was fair. Taylor led the league in rushing in his second year with 1,800 yards and had 18 touchdowns last season, and he has never been a huge receiving guy. Rich's answer did not move. Does Taylor have another gear? That is the question he wants answered.

Third down is not about a player at all. Rich is heading to Canton this weekend, where Carlie Irsay-Gordon is presenting Adam Vinatieri for enshrinement, and he plans to ask her about the notepad. She takes notes on the sideline, and everybody has seen it. So what does she do with them? Rich is certain she does something. What he actually wants to know is whether those notes turn into decisions she might feel compelled to make.

Fourth down is the one that ties it together, and it is a simple question with a lot of freight attached. Will the MetLife castoffs lead the Colts to the playoffs?

Daniel Jones arrives off a breakout season that was also an Achilles tear season. Sauce Gardner cost two first-round picks and then got hurt. A Giants quarterback and a Jets cornerback, both now in Indianapolis, both expected to captain their side of the football. Rich thinks the Colts need to make the playoffs this year, in many ways, shapes and forms.

Which, he suspects, might be exactly what is getting written down in those notes.