2025 Colts Breakout Candidates… not named Anthony Richardson

Which non-QB Colts could take a big leap forward in 2025? A trio of 2024 rookies stepping into bigger roles, a young player with immense upside moving up from the back of the rotation at his position, and a veteran who enjoyed a career year last season, but could fly even higher in a contract year.

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Laiatu Latu, Edge Rusher

Latu was the first Defender off the board in the 2024 Draft, and had a very impressive rookie season. The Polynesian Pass Rusher only had 4 sacks, but his 14% Pass Rush Win percentage was 29th out of 122 qualifying Edges, higher than pass rushers TJ Watt and Maxx Crosby.

With an incredibly polished pass rush arsenal of moves and counters, a high football IQ, a 99th %ile tracking data athleticism (PFF) as a prospect, relentless work ethic, and one of the most productive pass rush profiles as a prospect we’ve seen in decades, there is incredible optimism that Latu takes a step forward as a franchise pass rusher.

Latu was a rotational player in 2024, starting only 1 game, but new DC Lou Anarumo brings fresh eyes to evaluate the Colts Edge room. Those eyes might see in Latu shades of Trey Hendrickson, his top edge rusher with the Bengals, who NFL Networks’ Daniel Jeremiah compared Latu to as a prospect in the pre-draft process with their remarkably similar builds, athletic profiles, and skill-sets coming into the NFL. Lou got 57 sacks out of Hendrickson in 4 seasons in Cincinnati, so he could see lightning strike twice with Latu.

The biggest obstacle for a Latu breakout? The Edge Rush depth. 2021 1st Round pick Kwity Paye is on his 5th year option, and while he hasn’t emerged as a franchise pass rusher with his elite athletic profile, Paye has been one of the best run stopping DEs of the last few seasons. The Colts 2023 leading Edge Rusher Samson Ebukam is back after missing all of 2024 with a torn Achilles. What his level of play will be one year removed from a devastating injury is to be determined, but he likely will take up some valuable snaps. Long time rotational Edge Rusher Tyquan Lewis has shown strong spurts, in particular in 2023 as a situational pass rusher as well, but could see a bigger snap share in taking over the departed Dayo Odeyingbo’s role as a rotational 3 Technique Defensive Tackle as well.

Should Latu carve out a larger role in 2025, a breakout is likely on the horizon. With him being the only Edge rusher under contract after this season, he could make an even bigger leap in 2026 as well.

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Tanor Bortolini, Center

Another 2024 rookie, Bortolini was a 4th round pick out of Wisconsin who stepped up as a spot starter at Center and held his own very well.

In 5 starts, Bortolini allowed just 7 Pressures and 0 sacks, while also using his elite tier agility and impressive speed to be a strong puller in the run game to spring several big runs.

The Colts were so impressed with Tanor, that they decided to let 9 year vet and Pro Bowl Center Ryan Kelly enter Free Agency. The starting Center job in now Tanor’s and if he continues his positive strides from 2024 in this full time role, he could be a breakout player for the Colts well respected line.

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Alec Pierce, Wide Receiver

Alec Pierce had a career year in 2024, and could take another step forward in 2025. The deep ball specialist out of University of Cincinnati, Pierce finally got to play with QBs that could maximize his skillset. Having Anthony Richardson and a 39 year old Joe Flacco throwing to him, both QBs were much more willing and able to deliver the deep ball than his previous QBs Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Sam Ehlinger, & Gardner Minshew.

The result?

Pierce led the entire NFL in yards per catch with 22.3, giving him a team leading 824 yards and 7 TDs in just 37 catches and 69 targets!

Pierce is one of the most athletically gifted WRs in the NFL, boasting a blazing fast speed vertically, quick straight acceleration off of his releases, and a very large frame to outmuscle opposing defensive backs for contested catches. This pairs very well with Richardson’s best ball to throw, and can create some magical big plays the likes of which Colts fans haven’t seen consistently since the days of TY Hilton’s prime.

If Richardson stays healthy and continues to make strides, it bodes very well for Pierce. Alec is on the last year of his rookie deal, and has every motivation to earn himself a big payday in an exploding Wide Receiver market.

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Jaylon Carlies, LB

The final 2024 rookie on this list, Carlies had a rotational role with the Colts linebackers and impressed in spot starts.

The former Safety turned Weakside Linebacker had 36 tackles, 11 Run Stops, 2 Tackles for Loss, 1 Pass Defended, and 1 sack in 6 starts in 2024. Carlies even ranked very highly as a coverage linebacker, and would have ranked 3rd if he had enough snaps to qualify behind only Zach Baun and Fred Warner in Coverage grade. Coverage has long been a weak spot of the Colts Defense at linebacker, and Carlies could give the Colts their best potential fix for these woes since Bobby Okereke.

Carlies did miss 7 games with simultaneous fibula and shoulder injuries in 2024 (but did have his best game of the season in his first week back in Week 16 and started for the remainder of the year), so there is a small sample size to factor in. But Carlies as of right now is in line for the Colts starting Weakside LB spot, as starter EJ Speed signed with rival Houston Texans recently.

The Colts certainly will at minimum add competition to the job with Carlies, but health permitting he will have a shot at the starting WILL job and could be a breakout in 2025 to pair nicely alongside MIKE Zaire Franklin. Worst comes to worst, he will be the 3rd LB in the rotation once more, but with a likely larger snap share.

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Adetomiwa Adebawore, Defensive Tackle

For our final breakout, let’s go for a deeper sleeper: 3rd year Defensive Tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore. The former Northwestern Wildcat coming into the NFL was known as a tweener, a player who didn’t have a set position. He was used in a variety of ways with the Wildcats, moving across the line. He was especially miscast as the teams Nose Tackle or 1 Technique, not setting him up to utilize his freakish athleticism to penetrate fronts but instead to eat up space.

And by freakish athleticism, I mean Adebawore is the only player in Combine testing history to weigh over 280 lbs. and run a 40 yard dash under 4.5 seconds. He also displayed insane agility and explosiveness at the combine, all at a 6’1 & 282 lb frame with near 34 inch arms, giving him a natural leverage advantage over linemen.

In his first 2 seasons as a Colt, Adebawore had a small rotational role behind star DT DeForest Buckner & backup Taven Bryan. He has had only 269 total snaps in his pro Career, 146 as a pass rusher. But despite that low usage, he has had 9 Pressures and 2.5 sacks as a DT, while improving as a run stopper over time.

With Dayo Odeyingbo a Bear, the role as a hybrid Defensive End and Defensive Tackle that he occupied is freed up.

Taven Bryan and Raekwon Davis at DT are also gone, and new defensive Tackle Neville Gallimore had less pro success than both prior to joining the Colts. Adebawore has an opportunity if he continues to show promise and development, to earn a much bigger role in the rotation and use his rare athletic gifts to have a breakout in 2025.