The Indianapolis Colts begin training camp in just a few weeks where several storylines will come to fruition and positions will be fought for over a two-week span.
While training camp will be a time for the starters and well-known players to get into the groove of playing again, it is also a time for some players to gain some ground on the depth chart.
Here are four Colts with the most to gain at training camp:
CB Nate Hairston
When training camp finally arrives for the Colts, the entire cornerback room will be under some heavy competition. Hairston will be fighting for a roster spot in a few weeks but could be one of the players that emerges as a winner like he did in the spring.
Following a polarizing 2018 season that saw Hairston go from a starter to being benched for the second half of the season. The Temple product will have plenty to gain when training camp arrives if he can have a strong showing.
Hairston is likely competing for a depth role, but he still has plenty to gain in a few weeks.
LB Bobby Okereke
As the Colts’ third-round pick in the draft, Okereke should have a chance to battle for a significant spot in the front seven as soon as training camp starts. He’ll be battling with third-year linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. for the MIKE position.
Okereke brings a lot of similar aspects to the field that Darius Leonard does. Maybe not to the same level, but the traits are similar. His strength comes in coverage, which is where he can begin to carve out a role for himself in the middle of the defense.
Okereke has a chance to grab a seriously significant role if he proves to be more valuable than Walker Jr., who has talent in his own right.
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
We know the starters in the defensive end room will be veterans Jabaal Sheard and Justin Houston, but there will be a lot of time to work in others to the rotation. While Kemoko Turay is the favorite to be the third pass rusher in the room, Muhammad has a chance to gain some prominence with a strong showing at training camp.
The athletic pass rusher showed a lot of promise during his first season with the Colts after being a waiver claim before the start of the campaign. He has to show some more consistency, but the ceiling is high in the Colts’ attacking front.
Muhammad will be competing with Turay and rookie Gerri Green for a solid role in the defensive end room.
WR Deon Cain
The wide receiver room will be one of the competitions to watch the most at training camp. Among the several players vying for a role and a roster spot, Cain might have the highest trajectory of those in the room.
We don’t really know what the Colts have in Cain yet. He had a strong training camp showing in 2018 before a torn ACL ended his rookie season prematurely. However, he could rise as high as the WR2 across from T.Y. Hilton if he can do so again.
How Cain will respond from ACL rehab will determine what type of role he has in the wide receiver room, but he has a lot to gain with a strong showing at training camp.
