Vibe Check On Colts' Roster Following Rookie Minicamp

The 2025 NFL Draft is a wrap, and the Indianapolis Colts have been able to usher their rookies through minicamp, getting a look at the group for a couple of days on the practice field as well as in the meeting rooms.

The Colts' roster is now at 91 players (they get one international exemption) after adding eight draft picks and 15 undrafted free agents, and the primary positions for a couple of guys who have flexibility have been better sorted out than before.

Head coach Shane Steichen has arguably the best arsenal of skill position players he's had in his short time in Indy, and guys have specifically been added for new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's system.

What's the vibe throughout the roster as the Colts work their way through the offseason program and behind to integrate their rookies with the veterans?

QUARTERBACK

Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Jason Bean

Richardson and Jones will duke it out for the right to be QB1, while Leonard and Bean do the same for QB3. Leonard likely has the inside track, as he could feasibly become the team's backup quarterback in 2026 while Bean is more of a developmental player at this stage.

RUNNING BACK

Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens, Khalil Herbert, Tyler Goodson, Salvon Ahmed, Ulysses Bentley

The Colts are very high on Giddens. While Taylor is obviously the starter, we could see the Colts willing to give him more rest than before due to the quality of backups the team now has between Giddens and Herbert. If Giddens can step up and be the backfield's leader in pass protection, he could earn a sizable role.

WIDE RECEIVER

Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, AD Mitchell, Ashton Dulin, Anthony Gould, D.J. Montgomery, Laquon Treadwell, Ajou Ajou, Blayne Taylor, Tyler Kahmann, Coleman Owen, Landon Parker

The Colts made a few moves after the draft in getting Taylor, Kahmann, Owen, and Parker as undrafted free agents. The team's receiver group is pretty well settled with the top six, but we could see some movement on their practice squad once the season begins. Taylor, in particular, is a height/weight/speed freak who the Colts will likely want to develop behind the scenes.

TIGHT END

Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory, Jelani Woods, Sean McKeon, Albert Okwuegbunam, Maximilian Mang

This is a pretty interesting group. The Colts may not be compelled to keep as many tight ends on the roster since, now, their new top one, Warren, can do everything. The Colts hold Alie-Cox and Ogletree in high regard for their blocking, while Mallory is perhaps a better pass-catcher than the two. Woods is the ultimate X-factor because he's got more upside than anybody but Warren, but has been hurt for two straight years. Mang is a compelling blocking tight end out of Germany by way of Syracuse (similar to Bernhard Raimann's story out of Austria), who the Colts may want to put on the practice squad.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Braden Smith, Danny Pinter, Dalton Tucker, Blake Freeland, Jalen Travis, Josh Sills, Wesley French, Luke Tenuta, Jack Wilson, Marshall Foerner

We can see a pretty clear likely starting five here, but the depth is still a little iffy. Last year, the Colts relied on rookies Goncalves and Bortolini playing well, and they did, to their credit. Travis, a mid-round rookie this year, will likely compete with Freeland for the ever-important swing tackle role, although Freeland was defeated by Goncalves for that spot last year. Pinter and Tucker can provide decent depth at center and right guard, respectively, but there just wasn't really any competition brought in from the outside. Outside of adding Travis, this is a real "we like our guys" group.

DEFENSIVE LINE

DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu, Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis, Neville Gallimore, JT Tuimoloau, Isaiah Land, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Tim Smith, Durell Nchami, Joe Evans, Devonta Davis, Desmond Little

This group is growing on me. The Colts added more compelling depth to this group on the interior, and it feels like true open competition behind Buckner and Stewart between Gallimore, Adebawore, Smith, Evans, and Davis. It felt like there was very little competition for the spots of former depth tackles like Taven Bryan and Raekwon Davis. With a new defensive coordinator in Anarumo, it'll be interesting to see how some of the older edge guys like Ebukam and Lewis earn time versus younger investments like Latu, Tuimoloau, and Paye.

LINEBACKER

Zaire Franklin, Jaylon Carlies, Segun Olubi, Jacob Phillips, Joe Bachie, Cameron McGrone, Liam Anderson, Austin Ajiake, Solomon DeShields

This group didn't get much attention this offseason, especially after E.J. Speed and Grant Stuard departed in free agency. However, the secondary did, which should probably tell us that the emphasis of Anarumo's defense is going to be more about defensive backs in coverage. Linebackers are always critical to special teams, but the Colts won't be using as many base sets featuring three linebackers under Anarumo. Will they keep fewer linebackers on the active roster? If you're not Franklin or Carlies, you better be good on special teams.

CORNERBACK

Charvarius Ward, Kenny Moore II, Jaylon Jones, Justin Walley, JuJu Brents, Samuel Womack III, Corey Ballentine, David Long, Alex Johnson, Johnathan Edwards

This is a very crowded room, and it'll be fascinating to see how it all sorts itself out after camp. You feel good about Ward, Moore, Jones, and Walley being on the roster, but surely, not everyone between Brents, Womack, and Ballentine can make it, right? And Ballentine's specialty is more than likely going to be on special teams, which may get him his spot.

SAFETY

Camryn Bynum, Nick Cross, Hunter Wohler, Rodney Thomas II, Daniel Scott, Marcel Dabo, Trey Washington, Ladarius Tennison

Now that we've seen seventh-rounder Wohler working out with the safeties at rookie minicamp rather than linebackers, you can feel slightly better about the depth of the safeties. However, the Colts could really use two more things to happen. First, the Colts need Scott, who GM Chris Ballard has been pumping up now for the third year, to stay healthy. He's missed his first two seasons before training camp even began due to ACL and Achilles injuries. The Colts could also use third-year international player Dabo, or either of their undrafted rookies in Washington or Tennison, to show some real juice so that the depth of the safeties looks better behind Bynum and Cross.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Spencer Shrader, K Maddux Trujillo, P Rigoberto Sanchez, LS Luke Rhodes

The Colts really like Shrader, which is why they felt comfortable releasing Matt Gay halfway through a lucrative contract. However, they also pressed hard to land Trujillo as an undrafted free agent, and the Colts have said that Shrader and Trujillo are comparable as prospects multiple times. It may be a true 50-50 competition for the kicker spot this summer.

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