2025 Indianapolis Colts’ Player Preview: D.J. Giddens

Indianapolis Colts RB D.J. Giddens hopes to carve out a role his rookie year.

If there is a dead time in the annual NFL calendar, it’s now. So, it’s a perfect time to get a look at some of the 2025 Indianapolis Colts roster, because why not?

Paul Bretl of USA Today’s Colts Wire examines incoming Colts’ rookie running back D.J. Giddens, who could play a decent role for a team that can use all of the offensive help that it can get. The fifth-round pick out of Kansas State University probably won’t get a ton of carries with Jonathan Taylor on the roster, but he could provide some fresh legs and fill in should Taylor miss some time with injury.

Last year in college, Pro Football Focus gave Giddens scores of 85.0 in rushing and 33.6 in passing. In 12 games last year, Giddens rushed for 1,343 yards and seven touchdowns for a 6.6-yard average.

The rushing stats are excellent, but that rating in the passing game is a bit concerning and area scout Tyler Scout pointed this out to the Indianapolis Star following the NFL Draft.

“He’s got to improve a little bit in the pass pro, but he’s only 21 years old,” Hughes said. “He played through that wrist injury this year, so you can give him a slight advantage where it’s going to get better, but he’s tough enough, he’s strong enough and he knows the game well enough where you see his character come into effect there. He’s going to hit his ceiling in the passing game. He’s shown enough on tape, as far as a receiver, where he can make guys miss in the open field and run some routes and catch the ball reliably.”

Giddens is tough and has something to prove

Giddens is 6’1″ and a little more than 200 lbs. (some list him at around 212). That’s not enormous, but he should be sturdy enough.

And, according to Hughes, he’s not afraid to tough it out through injuries like he did at Kansas State in 2024.

“They’ve got to be smart enough and they’ve got to be tough enough,” Hughes said. “That’s what this kid is. … He played banged-up this whole season for the most part, he’s not a guy who goes down on first contact, he can run through people.

“I think he’s going to come in with a chip on his shoulder. He probably thinks he’s a better back than some of the guys taken before him. … He’s all-business. He’s got the right mindset.”

The rookie knows there will competition for playing time

Giddens will be battling free agent addition Khalil Herbert and Tyler Goodson for the No. 2 spot on the roster. According to Bretl, while Giddens can certainly handle a decent workload, the Colts could really use his help in the passing game.

“There’s value in the Colts having a secondary back to lean on to help lighten what’s on Taylor’s plate over the course of a long 17-game season,” Bretl writes. “Not to mention that, ideally, there isn’t such a steep dropoff in play when Taylor isn’t on the field.

“The Colts’ offense could also benefit from having a pass-catching element out of the backfield as well. This was something that wasn’t much of a factor last season, but having it would provide defenses with another dimension to contend with and expand the playbook for Shane Steichen.”

The 21-year old rookie knows that nothing will be handed to him.

“It’s competition, for sure,” Giddens said. “Everybody coming in — I’m coming in to start — that’s what everybody’s mindset is. But whatever it is, I’m gonna keep working, so I’m not trippin’.”