WESTFIELD, Ind.—A humid, hot morning for the Colts’ final training camp at Grand Park, a massive sports complex that your kid may have a tournament at sometime soon …
• Daniel Jones has been without restriction through the first couple of weeks of camp, and he told me that, aside from getting a little more explosiveness back as a runner, he feels pretty much all the way back. That, of course, is the result of an aggressive approach to his rehab, and the commitment he showed back in December when, right after the surgery, he was back in quarterback meetings and riding around on a scooter at the practice field. The Colts feel like Jones was right there with the best quarterbacks in the league before fracturing his fibula before the team’s Week 11 bye last year. There’s a lot of hope here that he can get back there. And there was a 40-yard run he ripped off early this week that got everyone’s attention. He hit 19.5 mph on the GPS on that one. So, given that this is a quarterback coming back after a torn Achilles to his plant foot, just eight months out, Jones is in a really good place.
• The big question at the skill positions is where the Colts are going to find a third receiver. With Alec Pierce shelved for another week and a half or two weeks, and Josh Downs out for a bit with a groin tweak, the coaches are getting a long look at Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Laquon Treadwell as candidates. Rookie Deion Burks has potential but is probably still a ways off, and second-year slot Coleman Owen is an interesting dark horse. Really, this won’t be about replacing Michael Pittman Jr.’s role. Downs and Tyler Warren do enough in those areas to make up for Pittman’s loss. It’s about who will physically be on the field, and whether it’s a third receiver or a second tight end (Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree and promising fourth-year man Will Mallory) from a deeper room. It also wouldn’t be a stunner to see the Colts add another receiver to the mix.
• The offensive line should be improved based on the progress of the guys on the right side, with Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson and Tanor Bortolini very solid beside them. Matt Goncalves, now going into his third year, looks ready to take a big jump at right guard, after getting extra work in over the offseason with ex-Bears center Olin Kreutz (who the Colts have sent guys to in the past, since GM Chris Ballard knows him from his time in Chicago). And massive right tackle Jalen Travis flashed last year in limited chances, which earned him the shot he’s getting right now to replace Braden Smith. The hope here is that the group will be better in the run game, with Jonathan Taylor back on a new deal. There’s a little more depth at tailback too, with rookie Seth McGowan looking like a violent, physical downhill runner who should be a nice complement to the highly-decorated starter.
• The secondary and defensive line are as balanced as they’ve been in some time. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, standbys on the inside, now have Colby Wooden (who arrived in the Zaire Franklin trade), Adetomiwa Adebawore and Derrick Nnadi behind them. On the edge, the additions of Arden Key and Michael Clemons and the development of J.T. Tuimoloau give DC Lou Anarumo more options around Laiatu Latu (rookies George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry are in the mix too). On the back end, Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward and Justin Walley make corner one of the roster’s strongest positions, and rookie A.J. Haulcy’s trending towards being the safety to start opposite Camryn Bynum in Week 1.
• Linebacker is the question. Rookie C.J. Allen, who was likely to play right away, has missed all but a couple of training camp practices with a hamstring issue. So right now, veteran Akeem Gaither-Davis, journeyman Austin Ajiake and rookie Bryce Boettcher are rotating through, fighting for playing time. Ideally, over time, the draft picks, Allen and Boettcher, who have looked tough, physical and instinctive, wind up winning the starting jobs. But this remains one that still needs some time to play out.
