WESTFIELD, Ind. – After about 30 minutes of methodical warmups and individual drills, the Colts held their first full-team practice period of training camp Thursday morning at Grand Park.
And Anthony Richardson, over a handful of red zone plays, did not disappoint a sizable crowd that gave him a standing ovation upon his arrival on the practice fields for the start of training camp.
Lining up next to running back Jonathan Taylor – a combination we only saw for two plays in 2023 – Richardson ripped touchdown passes to wide receivers Josh Downs, Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. and tight end Kylen Granson during the Colts' first 11-on-11 period of the preseason.
"He looked sharp," head coach Shane Steichen said. "We'll go back and look at the tape but he looked really good today."
The Colts stuck to red zone work in Thursday's training camp curtain-lifter as a way to ease the team into the first of 12 practices at Grand Park.
"I think it's just the ramp-up period," Steichen said. "We didn't want long running distances right off the bat, sometimes hamstrings happen the first couple days, we're trying to limit that. So we started in the red zone."
But while sports science drove the decision to start players off in the red zone, it's an important area of improvement for the Colts' offense in 2024.
The Colts in 2023 ran the 11th-most red zone plays (174) in the NFL but were 27th in red zone passing touchdowns (11), leaning heavily on the run (17 red zone touchdowns, 7th) to get in the end zone. Ultimately, the Colts were 23rd in red zone touchdown rate (49.1 percent) despite finishing tied for 10th in points per game (23.3).
Notably, again, Richardson and Taylor were only on the field for two snaps in 2023 – neither of which were in the red zone.
"It's exciting because the playbook is open to everything," Steichen said of the Colts' quarterback-running back duo. "You got a quarterback that can do everything — he can throw from the pocket, he can get out of the pocket, he can run the football and then you got Jonathan Taylor, who's one of the best backs in the league. Having both those guys in the backfield is going to be critical for our success."
Opening up the playbook with Richardson and Taylor will mean leaning on Richardson's running ability when necessary. But that's not something Steichen will shy away from while designing game plans on a game-to-game basis.
"People ask this too a lot, hey, are you going to limit the run game," Steichen said. "I kind of think, like, shoot, are you going to limit Steph Curry from shooting three-pointers? Well, that's one of Anthony's strengths. We're not going to get away from that. That's what he does well."
For Richardson, it's less about how much he runs and more about being cognizant of the situation in which he's carrying the ball.
"My legs have always been one of my superpowers," Richardson said. "Trying to take that away from me, I don't think that's a good thing for this offense. It's just more so me playing a little bit smarter and learning how to take care of myself for my teammates, knowing when to make the right play and when to try to get an extra few yards."
But whether Richardson is using his legs or not on a given play, just the threat he can – coupled with the rest of the Colts' running backs, receivers and tight ends – is an advantage in and of itself.
"I don't feel like it's any way you can stop the offense," Richardson said. "We got too many options. Me, I'm two options in myself, throwing the ball and running the ball. And then you got JT back there and all these weapons catching the ball for us."
News & notes
- Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis was placed on the non-football illness list Wednesday due to high blood pressure, Steichen said.
- Linebacker Zaire Franklin forced an incompletion in coverage during a seven-on-seven red zone period.
- Cornerback Dallis Flowers swatted away a pass in seven-on-seven, while cornerback Jaylon Jones' tight coverage in a goal-to-go 11-on-11 period forced an incompletion.
- Overall, Steichen felt both sides of the ball started training camp strong on Thursday. "It looked sharp and crisp, not a lot of mental errors," Steichen said. "Obviously we gotta go back and look at the tape but excited about the first day."
- The Colts do not practice Friday, then will have their first back-to-back practices of training camp Saturday and Sunday.
