The Indianapolis Colts took the field again in training camp on Saturday, and the focus of the day was clearly redzone work.
During team drills, there were multiple observations to take away as I watched from the sidelines. The team's first preseason game of the year kicks off next Thursday, and today's practice made it clear to everyone watching that they have a lot of work to do before that game, and more importantly, the regular season.
August 2 Training Camp Practice Notes
Rough day for Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones as QB competition continues
Saturday put an end to Anthony Richardson's recent run of great practices . Both he and Daniel Jones struggled significantly throughout the day. They evenly split starter snaps during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods, and neither was able to take advantage of the day and separate themselves from the other.
If I had to pick which QB had the better day, I'd lean Richardson. He had the two best throws of the day by a healthy margin, with him throwing redzone touchdowns to Drew Ogletree and his best throw being a bullet to Adonai Mitchell in tight coverage. The thing that impressed me the most, though, was seeing him fake defenders off their spot multiple times today for completions in the middle of the field. He did this with his eyes at times and even a pump fake to the corner of the endzone once to free up Mitchell on decent gain in the middle of the field. Still, Richardson wasn't good enough today, and his biggest issue was that his throws were often behind the targets, which led to one interception and another that should have been. Today would have been an excellent opportunity for Jones to make up some ground after Richardson's recent strong outings, but he wasn't able to do it. He threw two interceptions during 7-0n-7's and continued to be a tad slow in most of his reads, like we've seen a lot in camp so far.
Zaire Franklin makes his training camp debut
It was a full day of practice for Colts multi-year captain and star LB Zaire Franklin, but he was able to make his debut. The team's LB room is the biggest question mark on their new look defense, so getting Franklin back out there should help to stabilize the position a bit. Today, LBs taking the majority of the starter snaps were Joe Bachie and Cameron McGrone. The team has been rotating between Bachie, McGrone, and Jaylon Carlies to determine who will start opposite Franklin. The standout today was yet again Bachie, who has been fantastic to start training camp. I'd imagine the plan is for Franklin to ease his way back into practice, but I think it was a good sign that they elected to have his debut happen today, even with the team in full pads.
Rookie RB DJ Giddens stands out throughout practice
It was a tough day for the offense as a whole, so it was hard for many players on that side of the ball to shine. But there is just something about rookie RB DJ Giddens that makes you notice him every time he's on the field. Today, he impressed me the most with how patient he is in the backfield, letting a hole develop before he turns on his speed.
Jonathan Taylor is going to be the starter, and he's most likely going to dominate carries. However, the more I watch Giddens, the more I wonder how significant a role he could have as a rookie. This is the most talented backup the Colts have ever had behind Taylor, and it makes me wonder if we will see a product closer to what we saw with Zach Moss in 2024. This would help keep Taylor fresh throughout the year and hopefully allow him to play a complete season. It's too early to guarantee anything, but I'm officially intrigued by the possibility of Giddens having a bigger role as a rookie than we previously thought.
