Colts Minicamp Takeaways: Daniel Jones, Tyler Warren Provide Optimism

Who's In, Who's Out?

The following players missed all three days of practice: QB Anthony Richardson (shoulder), LB Zaire Franklin (ankle), LB Jaylon Carlies (shoulder), CB Jaylon Jones (soft tissue), DE Samson Ebukam (Achilles), OT Blake Freeland, S Daniel Scott, WR Blayne Taylor, TE Maximilian Mang

Defensive end Kwity Paye missed Tuesday's practice but was back on Thursday, while cornerback David Long Jr. missed Tuesday but returned Wednesday and Thursday. OT Braden Smith missed Thursday after getting banged up on Wednesday.

The following players returned for all of minicamp after missing time in OTAs: WR Michael Pittman Jr. (knee), WR Josh Downs (soft tissue), and TE Drew Ogletree (soft tissue).

Cornerback Charvarius Ward wasn't injured during OTAs, but the team was ramping up his involvement after he'd been away from the team for part of the offseason with his family. He participated in live team drills for the first time on Tuesday and kept it up throughout the week.

Daniel Jones Takes Control of QB Race

With Jones leading the charge, he performed better than the reputation that preceded him. He looked like he already had a decent grasp of the offense, getting rid of the ball quickly and spreading it around to open pass-catchers with room to run. Throughout OTAs and minicamp, the media saw the Colts work on two-minute drill sessions twice, and Jones led the offense to touchdowns on both occasions. He hasn't been timid about pushing the ball downfield, but he has been very careful when getting down close to the goal line, opting to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone on multiple occasions.

Throughout the week, Jones went 13-of-19 (68.4%) passing during 11-on-11s, with completions to Pittman (4), Downs (2), Tyler Warren (2), Jonathan Taylor (2), Alec Pierce, Tyler Goodson, and Will Mallory.

Pittman finished with two touchdowns; the first came on Tuesday when he won a jump ball with rookie cornerback Justin Walley in coverage, from about 20 yards out. The second score was on Wednesday and came in the low red zone, punctuating a two-minute drive.

Tyler Warren is for Real

We've now seen rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp, and Warren has been a stud in every setting. No matter if it was Richardson, Jones, or Riley Leonard, they all looked Warren's way, early and often.

Warren appears to be the guy that the Colts have been hoping for, who opens things up over the middle of the field. He's had several yards-after-catch opportunities, caught a wide-open touchdown from 20 yards out in 7-on-7s on Tuesday, and caught a downfield corner route on Thursday where two defenders crossed right in front of his eyeline as the ball got to him.

With Downs in the slot and Warren at tight end, there is very little excuse for the Colts' passing game not to have some sort of rhythm.

Rookies are Plenty Involved

Warren was drafted to save an entire position group, so he was obviously going to be used a lot. However, essentially their entire draft class has lived with the second-team groups. We've even seen some occasional looks for guys like Walley and JT Tuimoloau with the first team due to injuries ahead of them. The coaching staff has been quite bullish on Walley, often mentioning his instincts and competitiveness.

This seems like a legitimate opportunity for the young guys to earn playing time if they take advantage of their opportunities.

Young Pass-Catchers Stepping Up

Just as he did last year in this setting, second-year wide receiver AD Mitchell really stood out in team sessions, catching a high volume of balls in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, primarily with the second group and quarterback Leonard. Colts head coach Shane Steichen has noted the work Mitchell has put in this offseason; the team is just looking for consistency from the second-year receiver.

Lou Anarumo's Multiplicity as Advertised

Throughout the offseason since the Colts hired Anarumo, word about him has centered around being "multiple" in the way that he uses players, formations, and even game plans, week to week. That was evident this week at minicamp, as a high volume of players were used for a variety of formations in nickel and dime. For the most part, we know who the majority of the starters are, but there will be a lot of players involved in rotations. The Colts need to know who fits best in what roles.

Colts Getting Much-Needed Look at Depth Linebackers

To the point of rotating through defenders, we saw numerous linebackers get valuable reps with the first and second units. This is largely due to starters Zaire Franklin and Jaylon Carlies being out while they recover from procedures.

Despite the expectation being that Segun Olubi would be the Colts' third linebacker, we saw mostly Joe Bachie and Cameron McGrone as the first-team linebackers. Olubi did get a lot of work with the second group, as did Jacob Phillips and Liam Anderson.

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