Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen watches warmups Thursday at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.

WESTFIELD – Jonathan Taylor. AD Mitchell. Josh Downs. Michael Pittman Jr. Even Quenton Nelson.

Linebacker E.J. Speed was on a roll this week as the Indianapolis Colts opened training camp at Grand Park Sports Campus, and he was rattling off names surrounding second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson to support his sky-high confidence in the team’s offensive potential.

“The offense is so loaded,” Speed said. “This is actually a year where I am super excited to – like I won’t be sitting down during a game. I really want to see the offense live this year.

“I want to see the offense go out there and do what they do. I think there are going to be a lot of points this year for sure. There’s going to be fireworks.”

Looking for a reason to be bullish on the Colts, who are coming off a 9-8 season that saw them fall just 15 yards short of an AFC South championship? Start with the offensive potential.

Now, there’s not a lot of track record here to rely on.

Taylor hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2021, but he showed signs of a return to form in his final three games last year. – rushing for 327 yards and three scores and averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

He rushed for 188 yards and one touchdown on 30 attempts in the season finale against the Houston Texans with a playoff spot on the line, and he’s happy and healthy this summer with last year’s contract squabble far in the rearview mirror.

Pittman is coming off a season in which he set career highs with 109 catches and 1,152 receiving yards, and he signed a three-year, $70 million contract to return as a free agent in the spring.

And Nelson is a three-time first-team All-Pro at right guard whose return to dominance in 2023 helped spark a bounce-back season for the offensive line.

But most of the rest of the hype around this offense is centered around hope and high expectations.

Downs put up outstanding numbers — 68 catches for 771 yards — as a rookie but must prove he can make the expected leap in Year 2, and Mitchell is a second-round draft pick with freakish athletic traits who will compete with Alec Pierce for the second outside receiver role.

Then there’s Richardson, perhaps the most intriguing player in the NFL this summer.

He played just four games as a rookie, but offered a tantalizing glimpse of how his dual-threat ability could fit in head coach Shane Steichen’s offense.

Richardson is far from a finished product, and there are sure to be growing pains in Year 2.

But Steichen, who is not prone to hype, likes what he’s seen this spring and summer.

“I just think he’ll make some plays that people haven’t seen before,” Steichen said. “He did some last year that were incredible and just to build on that — 22-year-old, going into a second year, the athletic ability that he brings — again, just so excited about it.”

Richardson’s growth might be the primary factor that determines whether Indianapolis lives up to its enormous offensive potential.

Steichen might be the biggest reason to believe the quarterback can get the job done.

As an offensive coordinator he helped Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts develop into young stars.

In his first year as a head coach, the Colts’ offense ranked 10th in scoring (23.3 points per game) despite starting the back-up quarterback for 13 games and ranking 26th in third-down conversions (35.3%) and 23rd in red-zone touchdown conversions (49.1%).

If the combo of Taylor and Richardson — who played just two snaps together in 2023 — can improve the situational numbers, the offense could reach a new gear.

“I don’t think people realize — a lot of people talk about the guys we have in the locker room, which is a huge part,” Taylor said. “But Coach Steichen is a major part of that (offensive potential). He’s kind of like a mad genius.”

Indianapolis believes it has the right mix of youth and experience to launch the offense into one of the league’s elite units.

A largely veteran offensive line will be leaned upon to open holes for a dynamic running game and give Richardson time to unleash his cannon of a right arm in the deep passing attack.

Pittman and Taylor have reached the stage in their careers where they’re not just the team’s most lethal playmakers but also two of its most important leaders. And younger players like Downs, Mitchell and Pierce have plenty of room left to reach their ceilings.

A lot, of course, depends on Richardson’s ability to be consistent and keep the chains moving from down to down in addition to his explosive big-play ability.

He certainly sounds like man who relishes the challenges ahead.

“Man, I don’t feel like there’s any way you can stop the offense,” he said. “We’ve got too many options. Me, I’m two options within myself, throwing the ball and running the ball. Then you’ve got JT back there, and we got all these weapons catching the ball for us.

“So I don’t think there’s any way we should be able to be stopped. So we just got to keep pushing and just keep working together and building more chemistry.”