The Indianapolis Colts spent Saturday indoors for practice No. 4 of training camp, and the biggest takeaway came where it mattered most: the red zone. With their final session of the week wrapped up before Sunday’s day off, the first-team offense found plenty of rhythm, and Daniel Jones was right in the middle of it.
Head coach Shane Steichen was away from practice because of a personal matter, according to the team, but the work went on in Westfield. The Colts will return Monday and put on pads.
Saturday also brought a fuller group back onto the field. Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither returned after missing Thursday and Friday with an illness, while veterans Mo Alie-Cox, Grover Stewart, Jonathan Taylor, and Charvarius Ward Sr. were back after resting Friday. On the other side of the availability sheet, Alec Pierce, Cameron Mitchell, and Derrick Nnadi were out, and safety Hunter Wohler left early without taking part in team drills.
For the first time in camp, the Colts mixed in 1-on-1 coverage work, giving the offense and defense a chance to square off in tighter matchups. The list of results was a long one, with wins for DJ Giddens over CJ Allen, Tyler Warren over Cam Bynum, Laquon Treadwell over Cam Taylor-Britt, Drew Ogletree over Jaylon Carlies, Justin Walley over Josh Downs, and Ashton Dulin over Mekhi Blackmon, among others. The focus after that shifted heavily to 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work in the red zone.
Jones got the first-team reps with Jonathan Taylor behind him and a receiver group of Ashton Dulin, Josh Downs, and Laquon Treadwell, plus Tyler Warren at tight end. Up front, Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, and Jalen Travis formed the line.
Jones responded with a sharp day, going 12-of-15 and connecting with Downs four times, Warren twice, Treadwell twice, Giddens twice, as well as Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Dulin. Three of those completions turned into short touchdown throws to Downs, Treadwell, and Warren, with Warren rising up to high-point the ball in the end zone.
That was a much cleaner outing for Jones after a less precise day on Friday.
The backup quarterback battle also kept moving. Riley Leonard was more active than Anthony Richardson Sr. and finished 5-of-11, with completions to Ogletree twice, Westbrook-Ikhine twice, and Deion Burks.
Leonard’s touchdown came on a short throw to Ogletree on the left edge of the end zone, and his biggest play was a deep strike up the middle to Westbrook-Ikhine on a post for about 50 yards. He looked more composed and accurate as the session went on in the late-game, move-the-ball work.
Richardson, meanwhile, went 1-of-3 with a completion to Burks that reached the 5-yard line. He also found Will Mallory on a corner route for a solid gain down the left sideline during 7-on-7s.
Giddens had a steadier day as a receiver after some early-camp struggles catching the ball. He hauled in two passes during 11-on-11 work and added at least one short touchdown run in the low red zone.
The backs as a group were productive, with what looked like most of them finding the end zone on short red-zone runs. Rookie Seth McGowan also turned in a strong run in the high red zone, cutting back up the middle through an open lane while his offensive line made plenty of noise behind him.
On defense, the first group featured Laiatu Latu, Colby Wooden and DeForest Buckner inside, Arden Key off the edge, CJ Allen and Davis-Gaither at linebacker, Sauce Gardner and Ward at corner, Justin Walley in the slot, Cam Bynum at free safety, and A.J. Haulcy at strong safety.
Walley kept building on an impressive summer, breaking up a Dulin pass in the end zone and showing well on other coverage reps. Gardner also forced a breakup against Downs, while Johnathan Edwards did the same against Westbrook-Ikhine and Jaylon Jones knocked away a ball intended for Westbrook-Ikhine.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau continued to flash as a pass rusher, getting to Leonard for a pair of would-be sacks in 11-on-11 work. That gives him at least three during the first week of camp. Key and Wooden also teamed up to blow up an outside run by Giddens on the left side, stopping him in the backfield.
During punt team drills, the personal protectors were Jonathan Owens, Hunter Wohler, and Daniel Scott.
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