As a rookie, the 2025 first-rounder turned a team-high 112 targets into a 76/817/4 receiving line in 17 regular-season contests. As the coming campaign approaches, Warren, as well as WRs Alec Pierce and Josh Downs could see added pass-catching opportunities, with WR Michael Pittman — who logged 111 targets last season — having been traded to Pittsburgh. To that end, coach Shane Steichen notes that the second-year TE has been "working on his body and just getting into great physical shape, and coming in and out of breaks…he's made some good plays out here in practice in seven-on-seven, some team situations. So, looking for the next steps in his development.'' In terms of current average draft position, Trey McBride and Brock Bowers lead the way among tight ends, but Warren figures to fall into the next tier of quality fantasy options at the position once the top duo is off the board.

Steichen avoided the usual cliches about getting multiple running backs involved, instead telling reporters that he wants to see how Seth McGowan and DJ Giddens "come along" during training camp and then "go from there." In other words, Steichen isn't sure if he has another running back he can trust behind Taylor, who finished second at the position in both snap share (82.5 percent) and total offensive snaps (879) last season. Ameer Abdullah, now in Jacksonville, had a role as a third-down and hurry-up RB for part of the year, catching 16 passes on 85 snaps. The other running backs, including Giddens, barely saw the field unless it was on special teams or in the fourth quarter of a blowout. The Colts added McGowan in the seventh round this spring after taking Giddens in the fifth round last year, and their other depth RBs are all undrafted players with no meaningful NFL experience. Long story short, Taylor is primed for another huge workload, with the bigger concern being general offensive efficiency in Indianapolis as Jones comes back from major surgery to rejoin an offense that no longer has WR Michael Pittman (Steelers) or RT Braden Smith (Texans).

Scott missed most of his 2025 rookie season due to a persistent knee injury. The reserve safety appears to be back to full health, however, and he'll likely slot into a rotational role in the coming season.

Jones remains unavailable for team drills, affording both Leonard and Richardson plenty of reps in their head-to-head competition. Head coach Shane Steichen said there is currently no clear winner, and both quarterbacks will resume their job battle in training camp as Jones works his way back from the Achilles injury that derailed the Colts' 2025 season.

Dulin said his approach has been "attacking [the offseason] as if it's my first year, knowing that, that [No. 3] spot is open." After the Colts traded Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh, Stephen Holder of ESPN concurs Dulin has taken an early lead for the No. 3 role over Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Laquon Treadwell and rookie seventh-round pick Deion Burks and was a standout at minicamp. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Dulin has been moving around the offensive formation at practice and "can be really good for us this year on offense." The 29-year-old totaled a 5-106-0 line across 12 regular-season appearances in 2025 and has topped 200 receiving yards just once in his career.

It's notable that the kicker is participating in practice after tearing his ACL in Week 5 of the 2025 campaign after being run into by a defender. Shrader is on track to compete with Blake Grupe for the Colts' starting kick job during training camp. Grupe made all five of his kicks Thursday, per Bowen.

Jones, who suffered an Achilles' tear Dec. 7 last year, has been been working in the seven-on-seven portions of practice, and per Boyd, the QB asked about about moving on to 11-on-11's during the team's minicamp this week. On that topic, coach Shane Steichen noted, "we want to be super smart with him…I mean, could he potentially do it (11-on-11)? Yeah, probably. He probably could, but we're not going to do that right now." In any case, Jones' recovery remains on track, and assuming no setbacks this summer, he'll continue to work toward being ready to go for the Colts' Sept. 13 regular-season opener against the Ravens, with the signal-caller's eventual participation in team drills representing a major milestone toward that.

Pierce didn't elaborate on the specifics of his injury or surgery, but he at least clarified the general timeline while speaking with reporters. His left ankle has bothered him since the end of the 2024 season, and he dealt with soreness throughout 2025 while recording his first 1,000-yard campaign. He hoped the issue would resolve this winter with a PRP injection and subsequent rehab program (estimated at 6-to-8 weeks), but the ankle didn't get much better, leaving Pierce to choose between surgery or playing through the injury again. He and the Colts agreed on surgery as the solution in late March, only a few weeks after reaching agreement on a four-year, $114 million contract (with $60 million guaranteed at signing). The Colts presumably knew surgery was a possibility when they gave Pierce the huge contract; relations appear amicable between player and team. In any case, Pierce now faces an estimated rehab process of 4-to-6 months, making him uncertain for the start of training camp. He'll be about five and a half months removed from surgery when the Colts host the Ravens in Week 1 (Sept. 13).

The issue is not considered serious, and Ward may return to the practice field as soon as Wednesday. The veteran figures to be a key piece of an Indianapolis defense hoping to rebound in 2026.

Mallory was able to appear in only two games in 2025 in part due to a lung issue, but he's evidently back in shape for football activities with offseason workouts underway. With 2025 first-rounder Tyler Warren, veteran Mo Alie-Cox and in-line specialist Drew Ogletree all returning in 2026, Mallory will have to compete for a spot on Indianapolis' final 53-man roster.

Gould appeared in 11 games in his second season last year, accumulating 647 kick return yards and 57 punt return yards before his campaign was cut short by a foot injury. Indianapolis traded starting receiver Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh back in March and didn't make any major acquisitions at wideout during the offseason, so now that he's healthy again, Gould is positioned well to make the final 53-man roster for 2026.

The quarterback spent the 2025 campaign in Atlanta, rising from the practice squad following Michael Penix's late-season knee injury, though Stick never appeared in a regular-season game. Stick last saw action in 2023 with the Chargers, when he played in five games and finished with 1,129 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. The fifth-round pick of the Chargers in 2019 is likely competing for a backup role again, this time behind Indianapolis' projected starter, Daniel Jones (Achilles).

Walley, a 2025 third-round pick from Minnesota, has now fully recovered from an ACL tear that sidelined him for the entirety of his rookie season. With Kenny Moore's release from the Colts in early May, Walley is expected to compete for a starting secondary role as the offseason progresses.

Castle played 68 total games (three starts) in his collegiate career at Appalachian State and most recently at Duke. In his 2025 season, the undrafted rookie turned 115 total carries into 488 yards and 12 touchdowns while also catching 17 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. The 5-foot-11 running back will look to earn a spot on the active roster as he competes in the Colts' offseason program.

Richardson initially opted against reporting for the start of the team's voluntary offseason workout program after he requested a trade back in February but has since had a change of heart, as he reported to the team earlier this week. Coming off a fractured orbital that ended his 2025 season last October, Richardson is back to 100 percent health. There's still a decent chance he's not part of the Colts' roster later this summer after Indy declined the quarterback's 2027 option. Richardson is competing with Riley Leonard for the QB2 gig behind Daniel Jones and figures to draw interest as a one-time first-round pick with theoretical upside when healthy.

Sharpe spent time with Houston, Missouri State, Fresno State and Arkansas in college before going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft. The wide receiver caught 41 of 64 targets for 592 yards and three touchdowns over 12 contests in his final collegiate season with the Razorbacks, and he'll look to prove that he can hang at the NFL level during the Colts' rookie minicamp beginning Friday.

General manager Chris Ballard indicated a couple weeks ago that Wohler was at the end of his rehab process for the Lisfranc injury he suffered during preseason last year, and Wohler echoed those sentiments to reporters Wednesday. The Colts recently added promising safety prospect A.J. Haulcy in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but they're still otherwise relatively thin at the position behind returning starter Camryn Bynum, so a strong start to training camp could still start Wohler on a trajectory toward earning a depth spot on the 53-man roster for 2026.

No one would have thought anything of it if the Colts had taken Burks in the fourth round rather than the seventh, so this can only be seen as an ideal end-of-draft selection. Burks' lack of production at Purdue and Oklahoma generally indicates a limitation in his wide receiver skill set, but if the weak parts of his game ever improve, he has the athleticism to become quite useful. Small as he is at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Burks' athleticism is loud — his 4.30-second 40-yard dash, 42.5-inch vertical jump and 131-inch broad jump are all well above the 90th percentile for wide receivers.

McGowan had a tumultuous college career, which saw him dismissed from Oklahoma's program after being arrested in April of 2021. He didn't see the field again until 2024 with New Mexico State and ended his college career with Kentucky in 2025, when he turned 165 carries into 725 yards and 12 touchdowns along with 19 catches for 126 yards over 11 games. McGowan has good size with a 6-foot, 223-pound frame, and he has the flexibility and strength to move around defenders, though he's not as explosive as other backfield prospects. There will be questions around his character heading into his NFL rookie season, but he'll have the opportunity to prove himself in Indianapolis, where he'll compete against DJ Giddens and Ulysses Bentley for rotational snaps behind lead back Jonathan Taylor.

If the draft were just a matter of selecting the most productive college football players, then Curry (6-foot-3, 257 pounds) would have gone much earlier than this. It's almost puzzling that Curry could lead the 2025 Buckeyes defense in tackles for loss (16.5) and sacks (11.0) and still fall this far in the draft, especially given all the other star-level talent boasted by the Buckeyes defense. Curry was a backup for his first three years at Ohio State, however, and his short arms (30 and 1/8 inches) might leave him less effective at shedding blocks than he was at the college level. Some great collegiate players just don't really translate to the pro level due to lack of athletic traits, and Curry's grades on that front are poor enough that he likely projects as a backup in the NFL.

Gumbs (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) spent time transitioning between multiple positions early in his career at Northern Illinois, including wide receiver and tight end, before settling in as an edge rusher in 2023 and then transferring to Florida in 2024 and starting one-and-half seasons. As a rookie, the 23-year-old will be a solid candidate to carve out a rotational role in Indianapolis' deep pass rush corps that includes Laiatu Latu, JT Tuimoloau, Micheal Clemons and Arden Key, as well as defensive tackles DeForest Buckner (neck) and Grover Stewart.

Boettcher's athleticism doesn't jump off the page, and he's a little undersized at 6-foot-1, 233 pounds. However, he has the speed to get to ball carriers and proved to have a nose for the football with Oregon, racking up 132 tackles and 1.0 sacks as a senior, adding five pass deflections and an interception to his resume. He'll join a revamped Colts linebacker room that added Akeem Davis-Gaither and John Bullock in the 2026 calendar year via free agency (Davis-Gaither) and waiver claim (Bullock) and CJ Allen as a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Boettcher likely faces an uphill battle to see regular playing time as a rookie and will presumably be asked to contribute on special teams, but he'll get a chance to prove his worth in camp.

After two years at Florida, Farmer transferred to Kentucky and started all 24 games at right guard over his final two seasons. Farmer is a well-rounded lineman who is comfortable serving as a pulling guard and serviceable as a pass blocker. He's an impressive athlete, too, boasting a 4.93 40-yard dash after weighing in at 312 pounds. Still, the 21-year-old would need a fantastic training camp to wrestle the starting right guard role from incumbent Matt Goncalves, a 2024 third-round pick who started all 17 games last year.

This looks like a good pick for the Colts, who could use the likely upgrade at safety. Haulcy (6-feet, 215 pounds) is a throwback safety who's built to both inflict and withstand collisions, yet at no expense to his speed (4.52-second 40-yard dash). Haulcy was a standout true freshman starter at New Mexico in 2022 before transferring to Houston (2023-2024) and finally LSU (2025), defining the defenses he played for at each step. Haulcy should be a quality player both for the Colts and IDP investors.