And this from the back end of my Saturday two-a-day—my takeaways from an early-evening Colts practice …
1. Anthony Richardson is impressive, and it doesn’t take more than a couple of throws to really understand why the Colts were comfortable taking a kid with 13 college starts fourth overall. But that the rookie, who is up to 255 pounds (11 pounds bigger than he was at the combine) and is carrying it easily, is a physical freak is news to no one. What Indy’s liked since drafting him is how quickly he’s picking things up. Through spring and early in the summer, he’s been able to take in play calls and spit them out in the huddle, which is something rookie quarterbacks often struggle with. That’s a good sign on Richardson’s capacity to learn.
He’s got a long, long way to go, and Indy’s still working through how much to play him in the preseason—having joint practices with the Bears and Eagles should help, too, from a reps standpoint. There’ll be ups and downs, of course, and Richardson is still in the “doesn’t know what he doesn’t know” phase. But the more he sees, the faster he’ll learn, and there’s plenty of reason to be excited about that, based on how he’s picking stuff up.
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2. Everyone’s raving about Shaq Leonard’s comeback from a debilitating back injury in 2023, as early returns are that he looks phenomenal and is playing free after a really difficult 2022. Leonard was a 5 a.m. regular at the Colts facility in the spring, which allowed him to get his rehab in, and still be around for all of Indy’s team stuff. And that he looks so good is great news for a team that lost Bobby Okereke in the offseason. Also, Zaire Franklin really played well in Leonard’s absence last year, and has had a really nice offseason.
3. Kenny Moore II has emerged as a really important figure for Gus Bradley on defense, after a very sideways season for the veteran last year—a year during which he was hurt, and not pleased with all that was happening around him. The new staff, and holdover DC in Bradley, are now getting a reengaged player. That’s important because of the youth the team will lean on in the secondary, dotted with rookies and young vets like Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas II. Moore can still really play, too, which helps.
4. One swing factor in the season for the Colts will be the development on Bernhard Raimann. The left tackle struggled through his rookie year, and the line fell apart around him. A big part of the issue was size and strength, something Raimann has worked hard to address this offseason. He had a fantastic spring and summer. But the pads don’t go on until Tuesday here, so there is still a bit of a wait-and-see outlook from the team on where he is. If his progress holds up, though, the staff here believes the offensive line will quickly become a strength again.
5. I’d pay Jonathan Taylor, but that’s just me. Why? Well, mostly because he can be what Ezekiel Elliott was for Dak Prescott, or what Todd Gurley was for Jared Goff, for Richardson. And my feeling is that if the deal you do with him looks bad for a year on the back end, that, say, $13 million spent is worth it in the name of developing your young quarterback. To me, Taylor takes the pressure off Richardson, and is a ticket to second-and-6 and third-and-2 for the offense, which will allow the coaches to more thoroughly manage the quarterback’s development. That said, very clearly, Taylor’s relationship with the Colts isn’t in a great place right now.
