The first day of Colts training camp is in the books.
Westfield, IN — The first practice of training camp was nearly everything we expected. The defense shined while the offense, which is currently manned by two quarterbacks, took the day to dust off the cobwebs.
The rookie class as a whole saw minimal run today in various team periods while the main offseason acquisitions — Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum, Daniel Jones — logged plenty of first-team reps. That is aside from rookie CB Justin Walley, who was regularly rotated in with the starting cornerbacks, even starting the team’s final 11-on-11 period with the first-team nod.
It was a day of acclimation for all Colts new and old. It was an uninspiring showing, one that may be viewed to the public eye as a foreshadowing of what’s to come, though it’s important to recognize that it’s rare for any first day of practice to go off without a hitch.
For disclosure, I will always be tuned in for the team periods, of course, but each day I will switch between focusing on the offense and defense. Today, I was on the defensive side for the individual periods and tried my best at covering both sides of the ball in team periods. Moving forward, I will dedicate each day to one side of the ball. With that being said, here are my notes from Wednesday, the first practice of training camp for the Indianapolis Colts:
- QB1 — The first battle of many between Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones kicked off almost as expected. A day littered with inaccuracies, which could very well be attributed to their player profiles at this point in their careers, though perhaps it’s more so a case of chemistry (or lack thereof) for Daniel Jones, whereas with Richardson, the ramped-up return from his shoulder setback in mid-June could be proving to be a hindrance itself.
Regardless, it was an overall up-and-down day from both quarterbacks. Daniel Jones may have had a better completion percentage on the day when compared to Richardson, though their passing charts between the two were a night-and-day difference. Jones essentially lived near and behind the line of scrimmage through the air while two separate fades/go-balls (one to Alec Pierce in 7-on-7, one to Anthony Gould in 11-on-11) propped up his average depth of target. Meanwhile, Richardson was attempting passes in all phases of the passing game. Additionally, both quarterbacks saw dropped passes in their team sessions, notably with two easy ones from Richardson slipping through the intended passcatcher’s hands.
When it comes to snap count, Anthony Richardson may have edged out Daniel Jones slightly in team periods, but this has been set up as a true battle for the starting job as it’s been advertised all offseason.
- Free Agent Acquisitions — The big three (Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum, Daniel Jones) were all presumed starters for the day. Ward and Bynum, in particular, were a deadly duo in the backend. Although training camp practices are essentially set up for the defense to school the offense on any given day, Ward and Bynum were as advertised in their first day as Colts. Since I’ve already talked at length about how Jones performed, I’ll take this time to shout out newcomer DT Neville Gallimore, who had veteran Grover Stewart jumping for joy thanks to his efforts in the defensive line’s individual period.
- Rookies — Each rookie had a quiet first training camp practice aside from CB Justin Walley. As previously touched on, Walley was not only strong in coverage on the day but was a regular member of the first-team defense in team periods. The aforementioned rotation saw both Jaylon Jones and Justin Walley get near equal run with the starters.
As for the team’s first two draft selections, TE Tyler Warren and DE JT Tuimoloau, they had quiet days, sure, but the overall lack of opportunity in team periods suggested that these two in particular will see a slower ramp-up than most given the crucial aspect of playbook installation.
Miscellaneous:
- Two TE sets featuring Mo Alie-Cox and Tyler Warren; MAC the starter in 11 personnel
- Adonai Mitchell had two on-brand plays: first being a break off at the line of scrimmage that left the CB in the dust, but Anthony Richardson threw it behind him while the second was a connection from Richardson over the middle of the field for ~15 yards before he fumbled
- LBs Austin Ajiake and Joe Bachie (followed Lou Anarumo from Cincinnati) impressed in coverage
- Anthony Gould with a couple of nice catches, one being the aforementioned fade ball from Jones
- Charvarius Ward was definitely sticky in 1-on-1 coverage; Camryn Bynum was the lone safety in team period on numerous occasions
- The Colts’ crowd cheered loudly during the first team period when Anthony Richardson relieved Daniel Jones of his duties