WESTFIELD, Ind. – We'll find out Friday from head coach Shane Steichen if the Colts will play their starters in Sunday's preseason opener against the Denver Broncos.
But whether Anthony Richardson, DeForest Buckner & Co. take the field, there are a handful of players worth keeping an eye on until the final whistle this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium:
TE Jelani Woods
Woods, like the rest of the Colts' tight ends, has mixed and matched with different offensive personnel groupings during training camp. Maybe the most important thing about Woods' training camp is he's been available for every practice – this after he missed the entire 2023 season with hamstring issues.
The 6-foot-7, 253-pound Woods is on track to play in his first game since Jan. 8, 2023. The moments he had as a rookie – including his two-touchdown game against the Kansas City Chiefs and his eight catches for 98 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers – will need to start transferring over to preseason games, since none of Woods' coaches were here in 2022.
These next few games will be a prime opportunity for Woods to put enough on tape to carve out a role within a crowded Colts tight end room.
WR Anthony Gould
The Colts will piece things together at slot receiver for as long as Josh Downs, who sustained an ankle injury during Wednesday's practice, is out. And Gould, a fifth-round speedster from Oregon State, will play a part in those efforts.
Gould was primarily known for his returning skills during the pre-draft process, but he's always envisioned himself as an offensive weapon – not just a specialist. Getting live NFL game reps, and seeing his speed transition over to them, will be important no matter how long Downs is out – because Gould could play a role in the Colts' offense regardless.
A bonus, of course, is seeing if Gould gets an opportunity to return a dynamic kickoff or a punt.
OT Blake Freeland
The second-year swing tackle has found himself tested quite a bit during training camp. He took the majority of first-team snaps at right tackle early as Braden Smith was eased back into full-team work following offseason knee surgery, and with the second-team offensive line, he's been tested by a deep group of Colts defensive ends.
The Colts were pleased with Freeland's offseason, and the strength he added over the last few months has been apparent at Grand Park. As Freeland gets more and more reps – both in practice, joint practices and preseason games – he'll have more opportunities to continue honing his technique.
Athleticism has never been a concern for Freeland; now that he's stronger, the strides he makes with his technique through more experience will be important for the Colts' offensive line depth in 2024.
RBs Evan Hull & Tyler Goodson
It's too early to say Trey Sermon has the Colts' RB2 job locked up, but he's had some noticeable moments during camp and was listed alone as Jonathan Taylor's backup on this week's unofficial depth chart. That leaves a key battle for a roster spot between Hull, a 2023 fifth-round pick, and Goodson, who appeared in six games last season.
Everything Hull and Goodson do – running the ball, catching passes out of the backfield and pass protection – will be under a microscope in these full-speed preseason games, starting Sunday vs. Denver.
DT Adetomiwa Adebawore
The 23-year-old Adebawore has sneakily had an impressive training camp. Earlier this week in a red zone period, he hit a spin move to quickly put pressure on quarterback Joe Flacco, who was forced to loft the ball out of the back of the end zone to avoid a "sack" on the play.
Sort of like Freeland, athleticism has never been a question for Adebawore, who was the first player in NFL Combine history to run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash while weighing at least 280 pounds. The Colts drafted Adebawore to play defensive tackle – he played defensive end in college at Northwestern – and his power and technique both have been noticeable on the interior during camp.
As the Colts look to build a strong, eight-deep defensive line rotation, a jump from Adebawore could be an important part of those efforts.
"The coaching points he's received from coach (Charlie) Partridge throughout OTAs and early on in camp, you can see the strides that he's made every single day," defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. "... A lot more power. He's a twitchy guy, a powerful guy and he's really using that power and learning to really play the game within the game and working off his power as well."
S Nick Cross, Ronnie Harrison Jr. and Rodney Thomas II
The Colts are sorting through who to pair with Julian Blackmon and how to do it, and have used training camp practices as a test site of sorts. Blackmon has played both strong safety (where he started in 2023) and free safety (where he started in 2022), with Cross, Harrison and Thomas all getting run at strong/free safety with the first-team defense.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said last week the Colts will settle on their best pairing when someone emerges from the competition. These three preseason games, beginning with Sunday's against the Broncos, will be critical in determining who rises to the top next to Blackmon – and where they'll play.
"I think we gotta get to the games and just see – we're just trying to find the best possible combination to get all the best people out there at the same time," assistant general manager Ed Dodds said. "Julian's obviously made plays, Nick's done some good things, Rodney has and so has Ronnie. And it's just figuring out – not just the best combination of two guys, but which guy at free, which guy at strong. ... We just gotta keep watching them."
