Now less than a month from training camp, here are the most exciting duels to watch out for
Just a month from football making its comeback trail, with the first taste of real news from our Colts. There are several position duels where how the players perform in camp will mean a lot to their chances of starting or not in Week 1 of the regular season.
Alec Pierce vs. Adonai Mitchell
I have said this way too many times but I will say it again, Alec Pierce was the biggest loser from Anthony Richardson’s injury, and his stock dropped tremendously because of it. In camp he will get the perfect chance to showcase his deep ball skillset and establish a rapport with the Colts’ franchise quarterback. He will have heavy competition from the talented rookie AD Mitchell, who the Colts invested a second round draft pick in. Mitchell is an unknown commodity as a rookie, but he offers a much more diverse skillset, and a higher ceiling than Pierce.
Kwity Paye vs. Laiatu Latu
Another underperformer, Kwity Paye’s lack of progress in the pass-rushing department was probably a big reason why the Colts used their first round pick on Laiatu Latu, the most productive college pass-rusher of this draft class. Paye offers value as a run defender and a high motor player, but the NFL right now is a pass dominated league. Latu will battle Paye for the starting edge rusher spot alongside Samson Ebukam, who proved he can both defend the run and the pass last season. The most likely outcome in my opinion is Paye being deployed on running downs and Latu starting the season as a pass-rush specialist. Camp will provide the first clues as for the Colts’ plan for the position.
Jelani Woods vs. Kylen Granson
Jelani Woods missed last season with harmstring issues, Kylen Granson stepped up as the #1 tight end getting 50 targets, catching 30 of those for a little over 350 yards. The rest of the tight ends combined had 69. Granson and Woods have two very different body types and there is a decent chance that Steichen utilizes them differently, so they will not eat into each other’s snap share, but given the abundance of depth at wide receiver I think the offense will roll with just one, or no tight ends most of the snaps. Woods has the upper hand right now because of his versatility as a blocker and pass-catcher, but he has not played in a year.
Nick Cross vs. Ronnie Harrison Jr. vs. Rodney Thomas II
Assuming veteran Julian Blackmon has a starting job locked up in what is a thin Colts’ safety group, the spot next to him is completely up for grabs. It appears that former 3rd round pick Nick Cross has the upper hand before the start of camp, as he was the starter through the final weeks last year, and his athleticism offers the highest upside. Ronnie Harrison Jr. played a bit of a hybrid role, and his performance surprised me, he even got a pick-six. Rodney Thomas II started the season as the starter before slowly losing his position not only because of the lack of splash plays but also missing tackles in run defense. One would assume Chris Ballard is going to add another veteran to the mix.
Dallis Flowers vs. Jaylon Jones
Flowers was slowly growing into the starting cornerback spot, being a special teams’ player in the past but stepping up due to the lack of depth in the position. He started the first games last season before tearing his Achilles. Jones started in his place and was not bad, especially taking into account he was a late round rookie and not much was expected of him, but his lack of athleticism limit his ceiling. The Colts did not add any potential starters in the offseason, so it seems like the #2 cornerback spot behind Brents is free for the taking.