The Big Picture

Ogletree sustained a torn ACL during a mid-August joint training camp practice with the Detroit Lions at Grand Park that cruelly cut short what looked to be a promising season. The 2022 sixth-round pick (No. 192 overall) from Youngstown State had quickly carved out a role in the Colts' offense during training camp, impressing coaches with his combination of size and speed – and making plays like this:

Ogletree didn't take a straight line to the NFL – he began his college career as a wide receiver at Division-II Findlay, then moved to tight end after transferring to Youngstown State, where he became just the third player in the last 20 years to be drafted out of that program.

But the jump in competition from Division II to FCS to the NFL didn't phase Ogletree as training camp got underway.

"Switching from receiver to tight end, I was always a big receiver," Ogletree said in August. "I weighed about 225-230. I was always bigger than the DBs, and now that I weigh 260-plus, it's a real advantage for me and a disadvantage for them because I've got the size, I say I've got some speed and I can jump. I mean, put them all together, you have a pretty good player (laughing)."

The Colts began to envision Ogletree as a playmaking weapon in their offense as he continued to make plays with the first-team offense during training camp. He was one of the feel-good stories at Grand Park, which made his season-ending knee injury that much more gutting – as a sixth-round pick, he was going to play a valuable role for the Colts' offense if his season hadn't ended before it could start.

But after a one-year delay, Ogletree will again have an opportunity to build a role in whatever the Colts' offense looks like in 2023. And what the 6-foot-5, 260 pound tight end said the night he was drafted still stands heading into his second season in the NFL.

"I feel like I'm a ball of clay," Ogletree said. "They can mold me however they want, however they see fit."