Following the trade deadline on Tuesday, ESPN's Ben Solak highlighted several winners and losers across the NFL, and included were two members of the Indianapolis Colts -- with one appearing in each category.
Among Solak's winners was wide receiver Josh Downs, who goes from a Colts
offense that has struggled for much of the season to move the ball through the air to catching passes from Patrick Mahomes."Downs wins the award for best environmental improvement at the 2026 deadline, as he goes from an offense 31st in EPA per dropback and 32nd in explosive pass rate to an offense that ranks eighth in EPA per dropback and seventh in explosive pass rate," wrote Solak.
Downs also falls into the winner category because he got his wish. Not only did he want
out of Indianapolis and made that known by requesting a trade, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Kansas City is where he wanted to end up.
In Solak's "loser" category was Jonathan Taylor. It's already been tough sledding in the run game this season for the Colts, with Taylor averaging under 4.0 yards per carry, and things aren't going to get any easier with a further depleted wide receiver room.
Defenses can now put even more attention on Taylor and the run game.
"Now Taylor is stuck on a Colts offense that will look a lot like the offense he endured in the winter last season: so totally incapable of throwing the football that he will have no room to run," wrote Solak. "He's a fun player stuck in a bad spot."
Solak didn't include Daniel Jones in this article, but he could be placed in the loser category as well. While Jones hasn't played well this season, not having a vertical presence in the pass game and his receivers not winning their matchups often enough haven't helped things either.
Attempting to find some sort of consistency in the pass game is only going to be a greater challenge moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: ESPN selects a winner and loser from Colts trade deadline deals
