The Indianapolis Colts travel to the Baltimore Ravens, the franchise’s old stomping grounds, at 7 PM EST this Thursday night (FOX 59/NFL Network).
Colts fans can also tune in locally to 93.5 & 107.5 The Fan / 97.1 Hank FM.
For the Colts, 3rd-year pro Anthony Richardson will get the starting job for the preseason opener over top quarterback challenger Daniel Jones—with the two expected to alternate roles next weekend hosting Green Bay.
In a joint training camp practice against the Ravens on Tuesday, the Colts passing attack was impressive offensively facing former Indy head coach, now Baltimore senior defensive assistant/secondary coach Chuck Pagano’s new unit. The Colts offense also mixed in some solid runs behind Richardson and their backfield.
Things that I’ll be looking out for on Thursday night:
Offense:
-
Anthony Richardson: All eyes will be on the former 4th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, who’s still only 23-years-old. Richardson appears to be in the driver’s seat for the Colts QB1 job as of now, but could really use a strong showing in Week 1 of preseason to cement his starter status for the regular season opener.
-
Interior o-line: The Colts have new long-term interior offensive line starters at center and right guard with Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves, and inquiring minds want to know how the 2nd-year pair will fare against the Ravens first-team defense.
-
AD Mitchell: After a rocky start to team training camp with drops, the 2nd-year wideout has caught fire as of late and has been nearly uncoverable at times—with his still elite ability to separate. He was reportedly dominant against the Ravens secondary during their joint training camp practice. However, we’ll have to see if his practice highlights translate to game day action.
-
Tyler Warren: This year’s top Colts rookie has impressive hands, a huge catch radius, and immense physicality to dish out punishment to the opposing defense. It’ll be interesting to see not only how much run he gets early on, already listed as the team’s ‘TE1,’ but also how the Colts utilize him from the get-go.
-
That’s my DJ! The Colts have struggled finding an impact backup to star workhorse Jonathan Taylor since Zach Moss left in free agency two years ago. The rookie 5th round pick surprisingly slipped in this year’s draft a bit, but has already shown flashes throughout training camp. He looks to be the primary between-the-tackles backup behind Taylor, especially coupled with a strong preseason showing.
Defense:
-
Revamped Secondary: We’ve heard that this unit is more aggressive and attacking than in year’s past, with the veteran additions of Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward in free agency, as well as the arrival of impressive rookie Justin Walley. With outside cornerbacks such as Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents banged up with hamstring injuries, and Walley suffering a recent knee injury in camp, and it’ll be interesting to see just how many of their key defensive backs play. They’ve already held...
Stampede Blue
