The Indianapolis Colts are officially beginning training camp on Thursday, and thus the heated battles for roster spots and starting roles will be the main storylines to keep an eye on.
With training camp set to begin at Grand Park in Westfield, we decided to take another crack at projecting the 53-man roster. There are a few changes from our last projection—which came immediately following the spring workouts.
Offense (24)
Quarterback (2)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team |
| QB | Andrew Luck | Jacoby Brissett |
Not much to talk about here. Luck is healthy, and Brissett will reprise his role as a high-value backup. The latter will be a free agent following the 2019 season so the Colts might try to get something for him, but that’s only if they are blown away with an offer. Other than that, no reason to keep more than two on the active roster.
Running Back (4)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team | Third Team | Fourth Team |
| RB | Marlon Mack | Nyheim Hines | Jordan Wilkins | Spencer Ware |
Keeping four running backs might be a lot, but the Colts carried that amount throughout the 2018 season. One of Wilkins and Ware will likely be a healthy scratch on game days. Before we get into training camp and the preseason games, I’m going with Wilkins as the RB3.
Wide Receiver (5)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team |
| WR | T.Y. Hilton | Deon Cain |
| WR | Devin Funchess | Chester Rogers |
| WR | Parris Campbell* |
Keeping six could be on the docket here, but I expect the Colts to save some room for an extra offensive lineman. This means a crowded room becomes very tight. The Colts ran 11 personnel over 70% of the time in 2018, so we included three starters. Cain and Rogers are the depth with a few others on the practice squad.
Tight End (3)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team | Third Team |
| TE | Jack Doyle | Eric Ebron | Mo Alie-Cox |
Another spot that could keep an extra player, I’m going with three here because that’s what the Colts typically do. If this trio is fully healthy to begin the season, there won’t be a need to carry more. Expect one of the tight ends that didn’t make the cut to work on the practice squad.
Offensive Line (10)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team |
| LT | Anthony Castonzo | J’Marcus Webb |
| LG | Quenton Nelson | Nico Siragusa |
| C | Ryan Kelly | Evan Boehm |
| RG | Mark Glowinski | Joe Haeg |
| RT | Braden Smith | Jackson Barton* |
If you listen to general manager Chris Ballard since he took over in 2017, he’s always mentioned having a specific number of offensive linemen on the active roster: 10. They’ve done it each of the past two seasons, and I don’t see a change in that philosophy.
The players may be different. Maybe Le’Raven Clark makes it or the Colts keep Antonio Garcia on the roster before putting him on the suspended list but with the starting five solidified, it’s really the reserve roles that are up for grabs.
Defense (26)
Defensive Line (10)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team | Third Team |
| DE | Jabaal Sheard | Kemoko Turay | Al-Quadin Muhammad |
| DT (3T) | Denico Autry | Tyquan Lewis | Jihad Ward |
| DT (1T) | Margus Hunt | Grover Stewart | |
| DE | Justin Houston | Ben Banogu* |
This will be the most difficult position to cut. The starters are likely in place with a handful of players competing for the reserve roles. Banogu starts out as a defensive end but given his position flexibility, can be used as a SAM linebacker as well. He, along with Turay and Muhammad, make up the edge rushers.
Lewis will compete with Autry but can also work on the edge while Stewart follows Hunt at the one-technique and Ward works as a situational pass rusher from the three-technique.
Linebacker (5)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team |
| WILL | Darius Leonard | E.J. Speed* |
| MIKE | Anthony Walker | Bobby Okereke* |
| SAM | Matthew Adams |
They could keep six linebackers but with Banogu’s aforementioned flexibility, they might not need to add another body unless they wanted to for special teams purposes. Adams would technically be the starting SAM but given how often the Colts are in nickel—52% per Football Outsiders—that role is becoming less vital. Still, Adams held the role down the stretch and will likely do so when Banogu works as a rusher. Walker and Okereke could wind up splitting time at MIKE, but the nod goes to Walker for me.
Cornerback (6)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team | Third Team |
| CB | Pierre Desir | Rock Ya-Sin* | Jalen Collins |
| CB | Quincy Wilson | Marvell Tell III* | |
| SLOT | Kenny Moore II |
You can never have too many cornerbacks, and the Colts need all the depth they can get here. The starting trio from 2018 is likely to stay the same to begin the season while rookies Ya-Sin and Tell develop. Collins gets the nudge over Nate Hairston and Chris Milton given his upside in coverage. Tell replaces Milton as the team’s primary gunner.
Safety (5)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team | Third Team |
| Strong SAF | Clayton Geathers | Khari Willis* | Matthias Farley |
| Free SAF | Malik Hooker | George Odum |
Typically, only four safeties would be kept. And that could very well happen. But given the injuries that have befallen the room recently, it might be best to keep five on the roster, especially given how versatile the entire group is both in the secondary and on special teams.
Special Teams (3)
| Pos. | Starter | Second Team |
| P | Rigoberto Sanchez | |
| K | Adam Vinatieri | Rigoberto Sanchez |
| LS | Luke Rhodes | |
| KO | Rigoberto Sanchez | Adam Vinatieri |
| H | Rigoberto Sanchez | |
| PR | Chester Rogers | Parris Campbell |
| KR | Jordan Wilkins | Chester Rogers |
The trio of Sanchez, Vinatieri and Rhodes will return as arguably the best in the NFL. The returners will have a competition during training camp and the preseason. Campbell could eventually replace Rogers if the Colts feel the injury risk isn’t too high.
