Indianapolis Colts: Training Camp Battles to Watch

Indianapolis Colts training camp will feature plenty of positional battles.

The Indianapolis Colts are an interesting team to keep an eye on this season. After an unfortunate season for the Colts, they have the weapons to really surprise heading into 2024. So far into the offseason they’ve re-signed most of their players who went into free agency, and made some very good draft picks. It’s still early and a lot of things can still happen to their roster. Yet with that said, let’s talk about some Colts training camp battles that we should keep an eye on.

Indianapolis Colts Training Camp Battles to Watch

Wide Receiver

The WR room for the Indianapolis Colts is very young and still has some question marks. I could confidently say that Michael Pittman and Josh Downs should be locked in as starters. The problem for the Colts is that they need to watch training camp to determine who will step up as the WR3 of the team. Alec Pierce was selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and quite frankly, he has not performed up to that standard.

In two seasons he has produced a total of 73 catches for 1107 yards and four touchdowns. Last season he only played one game where he did not play at least 91% of the snaps. Pierce is getting all this playing time but is still incapable of producing for them. Now who is his competition?

In the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft the Indianapolis Colts selected Adonai Mitchell. He is an intriguing prospect that has all the skills to become a problem for opposing DBs. Mitchell fits with what we hoped Alec Pierce could do for us. He is a WR that is capable of making big plays whenever Anthony Richardson wants to air it out deep. If Mitchell is able to fix his inconsistency with his intensity then this job can easily be his. This is the one training camp battle that I am most excited to watch.

Tight End

Tight enf feels like a position I can assure will be in a training camp battle every single season. The Colts can not figure out who their starting TE will be, and there are many reasons for that. Last year the position was dealing with injuries, and honestly, no one stepped up when they were needed. So many things can happen with the Colts TE position, but if you were to ask around, people believe that it will be Jelani Woods that takes the starting job for the Colts.

It will not be an easy task for Woods to accomplish because the Colts have some reliable options that they like when it comes to Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson. Whoever is named the starter will not be a lock at all this season. The Colts have lots of guys in this positional group that are capable of being a red zone threat. This one may not be locked in until the day before Week 1.

Safeties

As a Colts fan, a lot of things make me scratch my head. I am not entirely sure why Indianapolis did not sign a safety in free agency, but in Ballard I Trust. The only surefire starter the Colts have is Julian Blackmon as the SS. On the other side, our starting FS spot is wide open for either Rodney Thomas II or Nick Cross. Thomas had very up and down games last year, and that will need to be something he improves on if he wants this role. The DC Gus Bradley stated that it will come down to consistency at their FS position. Training camp will be huge to see who locks up the starting FS position.

Cornerbacks

The cornerback situation is very similar to the safety position. Gus Bradley stated that, “Outside of Kenny Moore in the slot, the two starting boundary spots are wide open”. This means players like JuJu Brents, Dallas Flowers, Jaylon Jones, Jaylin Simpson, and the return of Darrell Baker will all have shots to grab those starting roles.

And while Colts fans wanted Indianapolis to sign or draft a CB this offseason, Ballard loves the players that they have. Ballard believes that with more experience and a healthy CB room, we should expect to see better play from this position this season. There are lots of question marks, but if the Colts can figure this out they can be a dangerous defense this season.