After the Broncos Preseason Game

Quarterback

Starter: Richardson 7

Others: Ehlinger 15, Bean 12, Slovis 12, Flacco 6

DNP: None

Everything went as expected. Richardson, the young starter is scary as hell for defenses, but still has a lot to learn. Flacco, the veteran backup, has a vintage arm, great experience and feet made of stone. Ehlinger is Mr. August, Bean is a risk-taking athlete who needs be molded into a QB, while Slovis is a tantalizing prospect who never seems to put it all together.

Fullback

Starter: None

Other: None

DNP: None

Sadly, the Colts did not unpack any plays that use a fullback. Yet.

Halfback

Starter: Taylor 7

Others: Goodson 17, Hull 13, Scott 8, Pennix 3, Sermon 3

DNP:

It’s always hard to tell much about runningbacks in preseason. But, we know that Taylor’s the man, Sermon’s the backup, Hull’s the pass catcher and Goodson will try to make himself hard to cut. One thing I did find interesting was that all 8 of Scott’s snaps and 3 of Pennix’ 4 were at halfback, even though most rosters have them at WR and TE. Both are much better off in the backfield.

Wide Receiver

Starters: Pierce 11, Pittman 6

Others: Cleveland 18, Winfree 18, Montgomery 16, Treadwell 13, Fernea 13, Mitchell 6, Gould 2, Slywka 2, Pennix 1

DNP: Dulin

With Pittman entrenched at No. 1, while Pierce and Mitchell duel for No. 2, the rest of the corps got extended tryouts. And the winner was … nobody, really. None of them looked significantly better or worse than the others. Like, Montgomery had the most yards, but also the only drop. This position bears a lot of watching yet.

Slot Receiver

Starter: Mitchell 5

Others: Gould 18, Treadwell 7, Montgomery 4, Fernea 3, Pierce 2, Pittman 1, Slywka 1

DNP: Downs

This is Downs’ position, and it looks very much like Gould, his roster spot already bolstered by his return ability, will be No. 2. Treadwell is a reclamation project who is more H-back than nifty slot, at 225 pounds or so. Mitchell was just getting a look-see inside, he belongs outside.

Tight End

Starter: Alie-Cox 3

Others: Woods 15, Mallory 14, Tomlinson 7, Ogletree 6, Murray 3, Granson 1

DNP:

Alie-Cox is still the starter, but the Colts are hoping that either Woods or Ogletree can supplant him. Neither looked like he might able to do that right away. It was interesting seeing Mallory get so many snaps inline, as he’s more of an H-back, and, as expected, he showed up better as a receiver than a blocker. Tomlinson didn’t run a single route (everyone knows he’s there to block, and he’s quite good at it). Granson will be a huge factor here and at H-back, but is a known commodity at this point.

Left Tackle

Starters: Raimann 7

Others: Freeland 33, Witt 12

DNP: None

There’s no reason to believe that Raimann will not rank among the NFL’s best LTs this season. Freeland has all the talent in the world, but seemed like he was facing Aaron Donald again as he gave up 1 hit and 2 pressures on just 17 pass-blocking snaps. Witt fared somewhat better, but not much. Keep an eye on this position. Freeland is still the favorite to be the No. 3 tackle with Goncalves and Witt yet to make strong cases for themselves.

Left Guard

Starter: Nelson 7

Other: Sills 45

DNP: Nelson is still Nelson. Although Sills won’t knock him off starter’s perch, he is making another strong case for a roster spot.

Center

Starter: Kelly 7

Others: Pinter 26, Bortolini 17

DNP: None

Although the Colts really want to see Bortolini succeed here, and he certainly did not look bad at all, Pinter put in a really strong showing. The presumed starter at RG in 2023’s camp, Pinter can play all three interior spots and could still stick even if Bortolini remains Kelly’s heir apparent.

Right Guard

Starter: Fries 7

Other: Tucker 45

DNP: None

UDFA Tucker has been one of my guys to watch this summer, and he looked like a first-rounder as a pass blocker and like he was on his first day of organized football in the run game. Fries was Fries, so much better in the passing game than the run as well.

Right Tackle

Starter: BSmith 7

Others: Goncalves 33, Hambright 12

DNP: None

Smith made only a token appearance. Goncalves looked like a rookie, allowing 2 pressures on 17 pass-blocking snaps and getting no push in the run game. He’ll improve, but it will take time and reps. Hambright did his usual did-he-even-play? act, not standing out for anything good or bad.

Nose Tackle

Starter: None

Others: Johnson 15, Laulu 2, Bryan 1 Stewart 1

DNP: Davis

The Colts played 19 snaps with a nose tackle, about the same number as they usually play all year, so they must’ve been looking for something here. They didn’t find it in Johnson, who doesn’t look like a nose at 6’4½, 299 pounds, didn’t even look like an NFL player most of the time. Nobody else did anything else from the position, either, so when they do play someone on the nose, it’ll be Stewart or whichever backup DT has enough wind – at least until Davis can challenge.

Defensive Tackle

Starters: Bryan 14, Stewart 10

Others: Laulu 35, Adebawore 33, Johnson 24, Leo 3, Bell 2, Odeyingbo 1

DNP: Buckner, Davis

With Buckner out, Stewart made a token appearance, but the competition was really between rookie Laulu, second-year man Abedawore and veterans Johnson and Bryan. Nobody stood out as good as either a pass rusher or a run defender, with Laulu’s missed tackle and Johnson’s penalty noted as liabilities. If I had to pick a winner of the group, it’d be Bryan, but only by a hair and mostly because he faced better players.

Defensive End

Starter: None

Others: Adebawore 11, Bryan 11, Laulu 4, Lewis 3, Johnson 3, Bell 2, Odeyingbo 2

DNP: None

The Colts don’t play true 5- or 6-tech ends very often. And, when they do, it’s usually a defensive tackle lined up a little wider than normal. Adebawore managed to get some noticeable penetration from the position, though, and it could be where he spends a lot of his time going forward. His versatility stands to help him make the roster.

Edge Defender

Starters: Lewis 8, Paye 11

Others: Land 46, Leo 31, Bell 28, Odeyingbo 21, Stuard 10, Latu 8, Olubi 6, Brooks 5, Ajiake 3, Flowers 3, McGrone 2, Blackmon 1, Cross 1, Harrison 1, Lammons 1, Laulu 1

DNP: Avery, Ebukam

With Ebukam out and Paye, Lewis and Latu with little to prove, this was a putched battle of pass-rushing hopefuls. And, they were, as a group, disappointing. Land, Odeyingbo and Bell were barely noticable as pass rushers, while the others were essentially absent. None of the blitzers saw much success either. The good news is that, while he only played 8 snaps, Latu looked very much the part. Other than Paye and Latu, this group didn’t add anything positive to the run defense.

Inside Linebacker

Starter: Franklin 6

Others: Ajiake 21, McGrone 21, Young 14, Stuard 13, Olubi 11, ESpeed 8, Anderson 4,

DNP: None

Franklin showed up, looked great, sat down. McGrone is the guy to beat here, but it won’t be easy. Although he was just average against the run, he was excellent in coverage, and mounted at least a token pass rush. Young also played well in coverage, but appeared undersized at taking on blockers in the run game. Ajiake wasn’t a factor, and Stuard stands out only for his two missed tackles.

Outside Linebacker

Starter: ESpeed 4

Others: Olubi 13, Stuard 13, Ajiake 11, Abraham 9, McGrone 9, Young 7, Anderson 6, Franklin 4

DNP: Carlies

Speed waved hello, then was out of the game. Otherwise, it was much the same story as it was with the ILBs, although Young really stood out in coverage.

Cornerback

Starters: Flowers 35, Jones 12

Others: Baker 38, Simpson 29, ASpeed 19, Abraham 15, Brooks 1, Moore 1

DNP: Brents, Fields

With Brents out and Jones pretty much guaranteed a spot, probably as a starter, the game was a free-for-all among the other guys jockeying for position. Of them, Baker looked particularly good. Abraham had some ups and downs, but was not bad at all. Speed flew under the radar, while Flowers and Simpson probably wished they did – both were beaten badly. Against the run, Simpson was good, Flowers and Speed were awful and the rest were meh. Flowers’ disastrous overall performance might have allowed Abraham to leap in front of him at the position.

Slot Corner

Starter: Moore 7

Others: Lammons 21, Abraham 11, Tutsie 11, Brooks 10, Harrison 6, Cross 3, Baker 1, Blackmon 1, Franklin 1, Thomas 1

DNP: With Moore established, this was an open competition between Lammons and Abraham with Tutsie, Brooks and others thrown in, just to see what would happen. Although Abraham made the headlines with his forced fumble recovered for a TD, Lammons was more consistent in coverage. This will be one of the most exciting competitions to watch all summer.

Strong Safety

Starter: None

Others: Dabo 6, Denbow 4, Blackmon 2, Brooks 2, Harrison 2, Cross 1, Franklin 1, McGrone 1 ESpeed 1, Moore 1, Thomas 1

DNP: None

Like nose tackle, the Colts played far more snaps with a strong safety (22) than they normally do, so they musy be looking for something in particular. Of them, Denbow looked like an old-school SS, knocking heads, but giving up a lot of room on coverage. Nobody else stood out.

Free Safety

Starters: Blackmon 4, Cross 23

Others: Denbow 24, Thomas 14, Dabo 7, Harrison 7, Brooks 3

DNP: None

Cross put his mark on the No. 2 safety spot, but it still has to considered to be in pencil. He only allowed one reception for 1 yard, but it was a TD to Mims. He was an asset in the run game and as a tackler. Thomas looked okay, but didn’t really threaten Cross.

Kicking

Shrader was 2/2 on extra points, while Gay was 1/1. Gay hit a 35-yard field goal attempt, but went wide left on a 54-yarder. Meh.

Punting

Sanchez got decent length on his punts, but was not great directionally.

Kickoffs

Sharder’s kicks went a bit farther and had better hang time, but they were also returned farther, Gay edged him a bit, but neither was impressive.

Kick Returns

Gould added some excitement, while Flowers looked competent.

Punt Returns

Gould seems like he’s got the job sewn up.

Special Teams

Baker, Cleveland and Ajiake seemed to do a good job of getting downfield. Missed tackles by Denbow and Scott didn’t help their causes. At least there were no penalties.

Stock up: Hull, Gould, Mallory, Pinter, Adebawore, Young, Baker, Abraham, Cross.

Stock down: Freeland, Johnson, Stuard, Flowers, Simpson.