Colts Camp Diary, Day 3: Anthony Richardson Leans Into Tyler Warren

--Daniel Jones was up to bat first with the first-team offense, going 7-of-10 passing (70.0%) during 11-on-11s, which is efficient, but there is more to the story. Without there being a heavy focus on RPOs on Friday, it forced the quarterbacks to scan the field for longer, which shined a light on Jones being consistently late with the ball. On numerous instances, Jones held onto the ball and threw to a comeback route roughly 10 yards downfield, but because they were late, the defender was able to get there immediately to break up the pass. Jones also often stared down receivers and didn't set his feet upon throwing. On a high point, there was a throw that Jones had to Josh Downs about 15 yards down the left hash that was perfectly placed.

--While he was far from spotless, this was Richardson's strongest day so far, and it was for a boring reason. We all know that he can throw the ball farther than anyone else, but he wasn't digging into that on Friday. He went 8-of-11 passing (72.7%) during 11-on-11s, and he took the "layups," so to speak. Short throws and dumpoffs are integral to establishing rhythm in the passing game and keeping drives alive, and Richardson focused on it. The vast majority of his throws were inside five or 10 yards, and he leaned on the tight ends, finding rookie Tyler Warren three times during 11s alone and Will Mallory once. If Richardson can continue to show a willingness to throw it short and do it accurately, he'll gain some major steam. One area to work on for Richardson is short out routes, which he routinely struggles to complete. They often fall short when going to the right, and high when thrown to his left.

--Warren keeps looks better and better. He's making things look routine and bailing the quarterbacks out of some poor throws by making skilled catches.

--Another highlight play occurred on a pass by Riley Leonard that he might actually want back. He threw the ball about 10 yards down the right side to Albert Okwuegbunam, but the pass was behind the target, and Okwuegbunam reached back with one hand and pulled it in.

--Two guys on opposite ends of the momentum spectrum are second-year receivers AD Mitchell and Anthony Gould. Mitchell has yet to make an impact, as many of the targets thrown his way have been poorly thrown balls, but he's also had some drops, missed 50-50 balls, and has slipped on the grass a few times. Gould had a big play for about 30 yards on the first day and has quietly eaten up a ton of short targets from both Jones and Richardson through the first few days.

DEFENSE

--We saw Anarumo's defense begin to get very multiple on Friday. There were three-safety looks with Camryn Bynum, Nick Cross, and Rodney Thomas II on the field. Versatile defensive linemen JT Tuimoloau and Lewis played both end and tackle in certain situations, and we even saw some defensive back blitzes.

--Defensive backs continued to hound pass-catchers at the catch point, particularly on comeback routes thrown by Jones. Jaylon Jones had a pair of click-and-close breakups against Michael Pittman Jr. and Mitchell, Samuel Womack III had a similar breakup while covering Ashton Dulin, and Hunter Wohler had one while defending Mallory. Earlier in the day, Wohler put a big hit on Mallory on a throw from Richardson, but Mallory held on for the completion. Bynum was able to smack away a low pass that Richardson threw to Downs. This was not a good day for comeback routes.

--This was the third consecutive day that rookie Justin Walley was running with the first-team defense, as he partnered up with Ward and Moore on Day 1 as a boundary corner, JuJu Brents and Ward on Day 2 as the slot, and Jones and Moore on Day 3, filling in for Ward on the outside.

--The pass rush continues to be productive, as Laiatu Latu, Buckner, and Neville Gallimore all could've been credited with would-be sacks. Latu beat left tackle Bernhard Raimann badly on his, using a cross-chop to get around the edge and get to Jones.

SPECIAL TEAMS

--The kicker battle is upon us! It didn't get off to a great start, though, as Spencer Shrader was 4-of-6 (66.7%) on field goals, with makes from 34, 37, 42, and 45, and misses both from 53 yards. Maddux Trujillo wasn't any better, going 3-of-5 (60.0%), with makes from 34, 37, and 45, and misses from 42 and 53 yards.

--The Colts also worked on punt returns. Earning punt protector reps were Daniel Scott and Thomas. Returners were Gould and Coleman Owen. Gunners were Dulin, Tyler Goodson, Womack, Jones, Brents, Walley, Corey Ballentine, D.J. Montgomery, Alex Johnson, Johnathan Edwards, Ajou Ajou, David Long Jr., Mitchell, and Laquon Treadwell.