When the Indianapolis Colts decided to select Tyler Warren in the first round out of Penn State, it felt like a major boost for Anthony Richardson… or will it be Daniel Jones?
That's right, while discussing the prospects of assimilating the Nittany Lion into Shane Steichen's offense on NFL Live, Matt Hasselbeck broke down the situation, noting that while Warren will certainly be a great offensive weapon for the Colts this fall, it's unclear who will be throwing the ball his way, as Indianapolis appears to be firmly out on their first round quarterback.
“Just think about it this way, could you imagine if a year from now, if we're talking about, ‘there's competition for Drake Maye, there's competition for Caleb Williams, there's competition for Jayden Daniels,'” Hasselbeck said. “I think the situation they are in there in Indianapolis, they basically have already acknowledged that he's not ready to do this as a passer. He's not, and that's why Daniel Jones is here. So listen, Tyler Warren is going to help somebody, it's just a matter of which quarterback it actually is.”
Entering the offseason publicly looking to add competition for their QB1 spot, the Colts turned heads around the NFL by bringing Daniel Jones in to compete with Richardson for the spot mere months after he was released from a nine-figure deal with the New York Giants. While Jones was bad in New York and ultimately didn't do much of anything during his short run with the Minnesota Vikings, he was also drafted high in the first round and has incredible motivation to win a job in a way that Richardson may not feel in the pursuit of keeping it.
Will Jones end up winning the job with the Colts this fall? Eh, maybe not right away, but the more interesting question is, if he ends up seeing the field, will Jones give his spot back to Richardson and go back to the bench? Or will it mark a changing of the guard for Steichen's offense moving forward?