The Indianapolis Colts used a third-round pick on safety Julian Blackmon in the 2020 NFL Draft hoping he would eventually make an impact his rookie season but would have to do so after recovering from an ACL tear.
The Utah product suffered a torn ACL during a game in December and even though he couldn’t compete in the NFL combine or at a pro day, the Colts were confident enough in his tape to take him in the third round.
Now, as training camp progresses, Blackmon has been on the active/Non-Football injury list. General manager Chris Ballard told Alex Marvez of Sirius XM that the team hopes to activate him in the coming weeks.
Help coming at safety for the @Colts as they hope to activate 2020 3rd-round pick @JumpManJu32 in 2-3 weeks, GM Chris Ballard told Bill Polian & me on our @SiriusXMNFL training camp show. The former @Utah_Football DB is on active/NFI coming off a torn ACL suffered in December
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) August 21, 2020
Blackmon is an intriguing talent given his fluid movements and versatility. He likely won’t be making an impact right away as he will have missed all of training camp recovering from the knee surgery.
But Ballard has said all offseason that they hope to get Blackmon making a consistent impact by October—even if that would be the earliest mark on the timeline.
With Malik Hooker’s future in question, Blackmon will have a chance to make an impact during the second half of the season. In a young secondary, the Colts will need the entire unit to step up.
Though it will be a while before Blackmon sees consistent playing time, this is a good sign that he’s progressing in the right direction.
