Exit Peyton Manning.  Enter Andrew Luck.

Everybody knew that Andrew Luck was going to be the first overall pick in 2012, as it was widely believed that the Stanford superstar was going to be a difference-maker in the National Football League.  The Colts, who had Peyton Manning, had to watch their stud Quarterback sit out that year, resulting in a terrible season and a #1 overall draft pick for Indianapolis, which of course led to Luck donning the horseshoe.  How appropriate is that?

Luck’s early trajectory matched the highest expectations. He earned Pro Bowl selections in each of his first three seasons (2012–2014), elevating the team deeper into the postseason each year. His peak campaign arrived in 2014, when he led the entire NFL with 40 touchdown passes and threw for a franchise-record 4,761 yards while powering the Colts all the way to the AFC Championship Game. Possessing elite field vision, deep-ball accuracy, and the athletic strength to extend plays through heavy contact, Luck regularly carried entire game plans on his shoulders.

That physical style of play and porous pass protection eventually took a severe toll. A lacerated kidney and shoulder damage limited him to seven games in 2015, and after battling through the 2016 campaign, lingering shoulder issues forced him to miss the entire 2017 season following surgery. Luck mounted an inspiring return in 2018, delivering a stellar 39-touchdown performance that earned him his fourth Pro Bowl nod, the AP Comeback Player of the Year award, and another postseason victory.

Then came the moment that stunned the sporting world. In August 2019, at just 29 years old and on the eve of the regular season, Luck abruptly announced his retirement, citing the relentless cycle of injury and rehabilitation. Though his career ended far sooner than anyone anticipated, his talent and impact left an indelible mark on the era.

He threw for 24,671 Yards with a 171-83 TD-INT Ratio while also punching it in the end zone 14 times on the ground.

Drafted in the third round out of Florida International in the 2012 NFL Draft, Eugene Marquis "T.Y." Hilton arrived in Indianapolis with blazing sub-4.4 speed and immediately transformed into one of the most lethal deep-threat receivers of his generation. Though initially slotted into return duties and rotational work on special teams, injuries across the receiving corps quickly forced Hilton into the spotlight. He answered by striking up an instant, electric connection with rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, establishing himself as the primary weapon for a new era of Colts football.

Known as "The Ghost" for his remarkable ability to disappear behind secondaries and then suddenly appear wide open deep downfield, Hilton enjoyed a decade of excellence in Indianapolis. In his 10 seasons with the team, he achieved five 1,000-yard receiving seasons (2013–2016, 2018). His best year was in 2016 when he led the NFL with 1,448 receiving yards on 91 catches. This peak performance led to four straight Pro Bowl nominations from 2014 to 2017, cementing his reputation as one of the franchise's top wide receivers alongside Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne during the Indianapolis era.

Known as a big-game performer who famously torched the division-rival Houston Texans on a regular basis, Hilton’s production eventually slowed as injuries piled up toward the end of his tenure in Indy. After a final ten-game stretch with the Colts in 2021, Hilton spent a brief late-season stint with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 before stepping away from the gridiron.

With the team, Hilton tabulated 9,691 yards with 53 touchdowns.

Ray Donaldson played 17 seasons in the NFL, the first 13 with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, where he was their starting Center for 12 of them.

From 1986 to 1989, he was named to the Pro Bowl, and he was unquestionably considered to be one of the best Centers in the game.  He later played for the Seattle Seahawks, then spent two more seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, both of which earned him a Pro Bowl Selection.  He would stabilize that Cowboys O-Line to a win in Super Bowl XXX.

A complete beast at the University of Alabama, Cornelius Bennett was drafted second overall in 1987 by the Indianapolis Colts and, as part of a mega-trade, would become a Buffalo Bill.   With the Bills, he would help them win four straight AFC Championships and was a five-time Pro Bowl Selection.   One of those seasons saw Bennett named a First Team All-Pro, and UPI named him Defensive Player of the Year twice.   Securing well over 1,100 Tackles over his career, the Bills may never have won a Super Bowl during Bennett's time there, but without the defensive stalwart, they never would have had four cracks at it.   Considering his versatility as a Linebacker, he should have received at least a look from the powers that be.

A member of the 100 Sack Club, Robert Mathis proved time and time again over his career that he was a certified beast on the pass rush.  

Following a season where he was a vital part of a Colts defense that would win Super Bowl XLI, Mathis would be named to six consecutive Pro Bowls, culminating in 2013, when he would be named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year and lead the NFL in Sacks.  Known for his way of evading blockers by getting them to commit to where he was no longer there, Mathis might have enjoyed the least amount of contact of anyone with 100-plus Sacks!

In a career spent entirely with the Indianapolis Colts, Mathis would net 123 Sacks with 527 Tackles.

Generally, we don’t really talk about the retirement of NFL Punters, or Punters in general, but we do feel compelled to mention that Pat McAfee of the Indianapolis Colts has retired.

McAfee, who is only 29, was a very popular player amongst the Colts fans, both for his skill and for his quirky personality.  He actually ranked third in jersey sales on the team.  He retired from the NFL to join the growing website Barstool Sports.

The Punter is a former two time Pro Bowler and one time First Team All Pro Selection.

While we don’t see him as a Pro Football Hall of Famer, he is eligible in 2022 and we will be profiling him once our 2022 Football Futures are up.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Pat McAfee on a great career and wish him the best at Barstool Sports. 

Now maybe we should get a former Punter to work for us!

Drafted late in the First Round out of the University of Miami, Reggie Wayne was brought in to complement Marvin Harrison.  It is safe to say he accomplished much more than that.

Wayne blossomed into an elite NFL Wide Receiver and exemplary route-runner, earning six Pro Bowl selections and leading the NFL in Receiving Yards in 2007.  Spending his entire professional career with the Indianapolis Colts, Wayne was a large part of their Super Bowl XLI win, catching a 53 Yard Touchdown Pass in the first quarter.  He went over 1,000 yards eight times in a season, finishing with 14,345 for his career.  He also had another 1,254 Yards in the Playoffs, an exceptional number that should be celebrated on its own.

Our work in progress of the Greatest 50 Players of each major North American franchise continues.

We are proud to present our Top 50 Indianapolis Colts, an organization with 2 Super Bowls, 2 NFL Championships and a rich history in two cities.

As always, we will give you a sneak preview of the top 5:

1. Peyton Manning

2. Johnny Unitas

3. Gino Marchetti

4. Marvin Harrison

5. Raymond Berry

The complete list can be found here and we encourage you to check it our and voice your opinions.

Up next will be the Top 50 Minnesota Timberwolves, and yes the #1 choice on that one was very easy!

Look for that soon!

We can hear the anger from some of you now.  Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Fame Running Back was not exactly the model player in terms of behavior as suspensions, attitude and decline certainly made him less of a player than he was with the Los Angeles Rams.  Still, this is a player who won the Rushing Title as a Colt and still had two First Team All-Pro Selections with Indianapolis.  That is enough to earn him a spot here.

Dickerson entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Colts responded by enshrining the star into their Ring of Honor in 2013.

Known mostly for at one time holding the longest Field Goal (56 Yards) in NFL history, Bert Rechichar should probably be known more for being a three-time Pro Bowl Safety who was a punishing tackler.  Rechichar recorded 24 Interceptions for Baltimore and was also a top kick returner in the league.  This is definitely one of those players who you wonder why he isn’t remembered more.

Duane Bickett would win the AP defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 1985 and follow that up with a Pro Bowl nod in ’87.  Bickett was a starter immediately for the Colts and he would accumulate over 50 Quarterback Sacks for the organization.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, Ted Hendricks was with the Baltimore Colts for the first third of this career.  Hendricks would win his first of four Super Bowls with Baltimore (Super Bowl V) and went to three Pro Bowls with the team.  Hendricks, the Strong Side Linebacker had 11 picks for the Colts.  He would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

In a professional football career that was only spent in Baltimore, Dick Syzmanski was quite the versatile player, even for his era!  Syzmanski was used predominantly as a Center, a position in which he went to 3 Pro Bowls in.  However for two seasons Baltimore used him at Middle Linebacker, the first of which was the second straight NFL Title that the Colts won in 1959.

Bubba Smith would become more known for his acting career (notably as Hightower in the Police Academy movies) but for many in Baltimore he is best known as the gargantuan defender who helped the Colts win Super Bowl V.  Smith was the first overall draft pick in 1967 and his five year run also saw him make the Pro Bowl twice.

From the Marines to the NFL, Gene Lipscomb had a strange road to the National Football League, as not only was he undrafted out of college, he didn’t play in one.  Lipscomb would break in the Los Angeles Rams, but a trade to the Colts saw him hit his apex, where he would not only help the team win two NFL Championships but would make the First Team All-Pro roster twice.

A member of the Super Bowl V Championship Team, Defensive Lineman, Billy Ray Smith ended his career perfectly; on that championship win.  Nicknamed “The Rabbit” by his teammates, Smith was a defensive captain and known as one of the locker room leaders and on the field with his solid dedication to fundamentals.

The starting Right Tackle for the Super Bowl XLI Champions, Ryan Diem started 150 games for the Indianapolis Colts. Diem played his entire career with Indianapolis and while he was never a Pro Bowl selection he provided solid protection from the strong side for Peyton Manning.

An Indianapolis Colt for 13 of his 14 seasons in the NFL, Eugene Daniel was one of the more popular players amongst the Indianapolis fan base. While he was never a Pro Bowl selection his on-field tenacity would become legendary in the Colts locker room. Daniel still holds the record of the longest Interception Return for a Touchdown in Indianapolis history.

Arriving to Baltimore after three years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jimmy Orr would be a productive a Wide Receiver earning First Team All-Pro accolades in 1965. Orr finished in the top ten in Receiving Yards as a Colt three times (he had done in twice before in Pittsburgh) and led the NFL in Yards per Reception three times, two of which was when he was in Baltimore. Orr’s last game was in Baltimore’s Super Bowl V win.

A Baltimore Colt for the duration of his thirteen years of service in the NFL, Don Shinnick was one of the better pass rushers of his day. The former UCLA Bruin still holds the career record for Interceptions for the Colts and would lead the league in that metric in 1959, the same year he helped Baltimore to it’s second straight NFL Championship.