A full season removed from their trip to the AFC Championship Game, the Indianapolis Colts have bottomed out - and their roster reflects that.

Like many of the league's successful teams (Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots), they can overcome it with elite quarterback play, but without Andrew Luck, the Colts look more fit to compete for the first overall pick than the AFC South crown.

While teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings have found success by filling out their depth chart with talent in all three phases of the game, the Colts need Luck to return to his 2014 form to have any chance of success in 2016.

But what if 2015 repeats, with Luck struggling before succumbing to injury? Not only have the Colts done nothing to upgrade their quarterback depth - Scott Tolzien's currently holding the clipboard behind Luck - one could argue they're actually worse off now.

The Colts have fallen so far that, outside of the quarterback position, it's hard to suggest anyone would take the balance of Indianapolis' roster over any other team's - except maybe the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers.

Let's take a look at the Colts' projected roster for 2016.

Offense

This offensive line is relying on a lot of young, middling talent to keep Luck upright, with a rookie starting at center and three of the final four spots filled by below-replacement-level options.

The Colts could possess an advantage at wide receiver. Donte Moncrief improved steadily in his second season, while Phillip Dorsett could do the same now that he has a top-three spot secured. If T.Y. Hilton, one of the league's most productive players, stays healthy this could be a strong group, but all of the enthusiasm surrounding these pass-catchers depends on two young players taking big leaps forward in 2016.

Position Projected Starter QB Andrew Luck RB Frank Gore WR T.Y. Hilton WR Donte Moncrief WR Phillip Dorsett TE Dwayne Allen LT Anthony Castonzo LG Jack Mewhort C Ryan Kelly RG Jonotthan Harrison RT Denzelle Good

Key Reserves: OT Le'Raven Clark (R), RB Robert Turbin, TE Erik Swoope, OT Joe Haeg (R), G Hugh Thornton

The Colts are dangerously thin at running back, with a 33-year-old Frank Gore and little else - and the running game could be nonexistent if Gore doesn't rush for 1,000 yards, which no one his age has done since 1984.

The tight end position was also handled in a head-scratching manner. Dwayne Allen's overall production has steadily decreased since his rookie season - bottoming out with 16 receptions last season - yet the Colts locked him into a four-year, $29-million deal. Meanwhile, the team allowed Coby Fleener, who'd become a bigger and bigger part of the offense, to walk away at a similar price.

Defense

The Colts had the league's 26th-ranked defense in 2015 and arguably failed to upgrade a single position through the draft or free agency.

On the contrary, the one player to excel on the 2015 defense left via free agency. Jerrell Freeman was the lone member of the Colts to crack PFF's Top 101 players of 2015.

Position Projected Starter DE Kendall Langford NT David Parry DE Arthur Jones OLB Erik Walden ILB D'Qwell Jackson ILB Nate Irving OLB Trent Cole CB Vontae Davis S Mike Adams S Clayton Geathers CB Patrick Robinson

Key Reserves: S T.J. Green (R), DT Henry Anderson, DT Hassan Ridgeway (R), Robert Mathis, Sio Moore, Darius Butler, D'Joun Smith

It's hard to imagine where this team's pass rush is going to come from. The aging trio of Robert Mathis, Trent Cole, and Kendall Langford would have to play at a ridiculous level in order for Indianapolis to exceed the 22nd-ranked 35 sacks it tallied last season.

Vontae Davis is still a top-10 corner in the league, but the rest of the Colts' secondary needs serious help. Rookie second-round pick T.J. Green could slide into a starting role at safety, but that's yet another unknown for a team expected to be a perennial Super Bowl contender.

Special Teams

Sadly, if there's any position group an impartial observer would take from this squad, it's likely the special teams unit. The Colts do have future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri and Pat McAfee, possibly the league's best punter.

That said, there's little upside in the return game with Quan Bray likely holding down duties as he did in 2015. If Dorsett begins returning punts, that could bring some excitement to special teams - but that would mean he's either not getting it done offensively, or the franchise brain trust is comfortable risking a first-round pick at football's most dangerous position. Not ideal, but nothing is with a roster this devoid of depth.