The Indianapolis Colts may be in the bottom half of the NFL in terms of market size, but they are in the top half in terms of winning percentage through the years. The reason this franchise has regularly found success is the abundance of great Colts players through the years.
Founded in Baltimore in 1953, the Colts won back-to-back NFL titles in 1958 and 1959. They then took Super Bowl 5 to close the 1970 campaign and won another Lombardi Trophy at the end of the 2006 season.
While the team is beloved in Indianapolis, it has to be one of the most hated organizations in the league to this day by the people of Baltimore.
In one of the most infamous moves in sports history, owner Robert Irsay moved the team in the middle of the night from Maryland to Indiana. The video of the Mayflower moving trucks pulling away from the team facility in 1984 is still an iconic image.
Whether on the East Coast or in the Midwest, this franchise has been home to some fantastic football players, so let’s go ahead and discuss the five best Colts players of all time.
Peyton Manning
He may have fallen just short of NFL GOAT status, but Peyton Manning is the cream of the Colts’ crop
Peyton Manning Indianapolis ColtsThomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
There is no doubt that Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. The only question about the legendary signal-caller is what his career would have looked like if he wasn’t cursed to play in the same era as Tom Brady.
Peyton, the son of longtime New Orleans Saints QB Archie Manning, was one of the most highly-touted draft prospects in league history coming out of Tennessee in 1998. And, boy, did he live up to the hype.
Manning came into an awful 3-13 Colts squad and could only manage that same record the next season while leading the league in interceptions with 28, the most by a rookie QB in NFL history.
Despite a lot of tough Sundays, he still finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race and would have won if not for a guy named Randy Moss.
The next season, Manning threw for over 4,000 yards, a feat he would accomplish in 11 of his 13 seasons in Indianapolis. He would go on to make 11 Pro Bowls and earn five First-Team and three Second-Team All-Pro nods as a Colt.
He also led the league in completions, passing touchdowns, and passer rating three times, passing yards twice, and completion percentage once.
Most importantly, Manning’s team flipped its record in his sophomore season, going 13-3 and making the first of its 11 playoff appearances with Peyton under center. They would make the Super Bowl twice, winning in the 2006 season and losing in 2009.
Manning’s biggest issue, despite winning four NFL MVPs and one Offensive Player of the Year Award in Indy, was his record against Brady. The two faced off 12 times while Peyton was in Indianapolis, and Manning was 4-8 as a Colt against Brady and his New England Patriots.
In the end, Manning further made his case as the second- or third-greatest QB of all time with three successful seasons with the Denver Broncos that resulted in a second Super Bowl victory.
But if the QB had retired in 2011 when a neck injury made him miss his last season under contract with the Colts, his 54,828 passing yards and 399 touchdowns would still have put him in the top 15 all-time in both categories.
2
Johnny Unitas
Before Payton Manning and Tom Brady were even born, ‘Johnny U’ was the GOAT
Johnny Unitas Baltimore ColtsHerb Weitman-USA TODAY Sports
Before Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady made their mark on the NFL starting in the late 1970s, the consensus best QB of all time was the Colts’ own Johnny Unitas.
The man with the iconic black high-tops was a ninth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 out of Louisville but couldn’t beat out starter Jim Finks, backup (and eventual Colts head coach) Ted Marchibroda, or even third-stringer Vic Eaton to make the team.
Pittsburgh’s loss was Baltimore’s gain, as the Colts signed “Johnny U” in 1956 after a season of playing semi-pro football on weekends. That was a smart move.
Fast-forward almost two decades and Unitas had played 17 of his 18 NFL seasons with the Colts, winning two NFL Championships, one Super Bowl, and three NFL MVP Awards.
He also made 10 Pro Bowls and five First-Team All-Pro squads. He went 117-60-4 as a starter with the Colts and amassed 39,768 passing yards and 287 passing touchdowns.
In addition to all the compiled stats, Unitas was also the winning QB in “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” when the Colts beat the New York Giants by a score of 23-17 in sudden death overtime of the 1958 NFL Championship Game.
That’s not a bad accomplishment to have on your resume.
3
Marvin Harrison
Someone had to catch all those balls from Peyton Manning, and Marvin Harrison was the best at that
Marvin Harrison Indianapolis Colts WRJames D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Getting away from Colts quarterbacks, there were also skill position players who left their mark on the organization over the years, none greater than wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
A little too skinny and a little too slow for NFL scouts, the Syracuse alum was the 19th overall pick and the fourth receiver taken in the 1996 NFL Draft. While Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn, and Eddie Kennison all had successful careers to different extents, none matched what Harrison did for the Colts.
Over 13 seasons, all in Indianapolis, Harrison caught 1,102 balls for 14,508 yards and 128 touchdowns. Those numbers are all first in Colts history and fifth, ninth, and fifth, respectively, in NFL history.
On some levels, Harrison doesn’t get enough credit for his greatness because of the players he played with. He plied his trade alongside QB Peyton Manning, WR Reggie Wayne, tight end Dallas Clark, and running backs Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James on one of the most talent-laden offenses pro football has ever seen.
That fact aside, what Harrison could do as a possession receiver — a role in which he is one of the best to ever do it — stands alone.
4
Dwight Freeney
The Colts have almost always been known for their offense, but Dwight Freeney was so good that he had to make this list
Dwight Freeney Indianapolis ColtsMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Colts’ defenses never seemed to be world-beaters, but in the early 2000s, as Manning was creating his offensive juggernaut, the team built a small but fast defense around a star pass rusher in Dwight Freeney.
Six years after hitting a home run with Marvin Harrison, the Colts returned to the Syracuse well with the 11th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft and took Freeney.
With 13.0 sacks and a league-leading nine forced fumbles and 20 tackles for a loss, the defensive end burst onto the scene as a rookie, barely missing out on Defensive Rookie of the Year to Julius Peppers.
Over the next 10 seasons in Indianapolis, Freeney put up double-digit sacks six times, leading the league with 16.0 in 2004, while making seven Pro Bowls and garnering three First-Team All-Pro selections. He also finished in the top three for Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Freeney helped the Colts win their most recent Super Bowl in 2006 and is in the Colts Ring of Honor. In 2024, the sack master was chosen for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
5
Edgerrin James
‘Edge’ was the best running back for a franchise with a long history of incredible backs
Edgerrin James Indianapolis Colts RBLou Capozzola-USA TODAY Sports
The Colts have had some great running backs over the years, from Alan Ameche to Eric Dickerson to Marshall Faulk. But the greatest Colts RB of all time — by a hair — is Edgerrin James.
After starring at the University of Miami, James played seven seasons for the Colts, which is two more than both Faulk and Dickerson. Over those years, he racked up 9,226 rushing yards, leading the NFL in that stat in each of his first two seasons. He also had 2,839 receiving yards and 75 total touchdowns.
He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 after the Colts took him fourth overall in that year’s draft and ended up with four Pro Bowls and one First-Team All-Pro nod while in Indy.
And while the Colts swapped out James for Joseph Addai before their 2006 Super Bowl run, Manning’s offense was never better than when he had James behind him.