Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Jalen Travis (75) stands on the field Thursday, July 31, 2025, during Colts Training Camp at Grand Park in Westfield. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colts Rookie Has Potential to Be Great Contributor

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Zach Hicks | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 12:52 PM ET

The Indianapolis Colts just completed their initial 53-man roster cutdowns and, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, rookie fourth-round selection Jalen Travis made the team. He's expected to step into a big role as the swing tackle, filling in behind Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith on the outside.

Travis, 23, is a fascinating prospect. He spent most of his college career at Princeton before transferring to Iowa State for his final season. He was a two-time all-conference performer at Princeton and earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors as a senior this past season. At the NFL Combine, Travis showcased elite explosiveness and foot speed despite his 6'7" 330 pound frame.

Travis entered into a competition this offseason with third-year pro Blake Freeland for the swing tackle job. Travis appeared to have the leg up in the competition when Freeland went down with a season-ending ankle injury in the team's second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Since then, Travis has taken reps at both left tackle and right tackle to prepare for his new role.

The Colts concluded preseason play with a blowout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, and Travis seemed like the perfect player to focus on in this match-up. He played a little over half of the game and showed some excellent traits in limited action. His size and explosiveness really popped on film, and he is slowly building up his technique to survive in the league. He needs to be a bit cleaner with his hands and his footwork, but those should come with time.

After the draft, Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said that Travis, "has got a really good ceiling to what he's going to become in our league." I tend to agree with that statement, and I broke down exactly why I'm optimistic about the young player in the video below. This breakdown is a bit longer than other ones on the channel, but it's well worth it to get a good feel for the young player.

If you like this type of content, be sure to like and subscribe to the channel after watching. Also, leave a comment with your thoughts and feedback regarding the content and/or Travis' overall play in the game. Travis has a bright future in the NFL, and this is just one of many videos to come talking about his efforts.