The first training camp practice for the Indianapolis Colts takes place on Wednesday, but before the players take the field, let's put together our pre-training camp 53-man roster prediction.
Things can certainly change over the next month of practices and preseason games, but given what we know at this time following offseason programs, here is how I see the final roster shaking out.
Quarterbacks (3)
Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson
Trading Anthony Richardson remains a possibility, but as GM Chris Ballard said on Tuesday, the Colts are "not going to give him away."
Running backs (3)
Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens, Seth McGowan
The Colts have to figure out who RB2 is, but Giddens and McGowan figure to round out this position group.
Wide receiver (6)
Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin,
Anthony Gould, Deion Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Laquon Treadwell could push Gould or Burks for a roster spot, but for now, I'll have the Colts rostering the players with more upside as getting Gould or Burks to the practice squad may be a challenge with other teams potentially swooping in.
Tight end (3)
Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
Last season, Will Mallory played minimal snaps on offense and on special teams. He was often inactive as well. The Colts can use practice squad elevations to boost game-day depth.
Offensive line (9)
Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Jalen Travis, Jalen Farmer, Dalton Tucker, Luke Tenuta, Blake Freeland
Perhaps the Colts keep a 10th lineman, but someone will have to emerge to secure that role. Farmer is the backup guard, Tucker the backup center, while Tenuta and Freeland are the backup tackle options. I chose those two over Nolan Rucci -- who could make a push -- because of their experience.
Defensive line (11)
Laiatu Latu, Arden Key, Jaylahn Tuimoloau, Micheal Clemons, George Gumbs, Caden Curry, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Colby Wooden, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Jerry Tillery
I have the Colts going heavy and finding a way to keep six defensive ends. I also roster Tillery over Derrick Nnadi. That decision came down to wanting an additional pass rush presence over another run defender.
Linebacker (5)
CJ Allen, Bryce Boettcher, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Jaylon Carlies, Austin Ajiake
Boettcher, Davis-Gaither, and Carlies all saw snaps with the ones during offseason programs. Ajiake can be a core special teams contributor.
Cornerback (6)
Charvarius Ward, Sauce Gardner, Justin Walley, Johnathan Edwards, Cameron Mitchell, Mekhi Blackmon
Edwards had a strong showing in the spring. Blackmon played over 700 snaps last season and has experience at the nickel. Mitchell performed well last season when needed.
Safety (4)
Cam Bynum, AJ Haulcy, Hunter Wohler, Jonathan Owens
Ideally, the Colts find a way to keep Juanyeh Thomas, but the roster math didn't work out in this scenario. Thomas' main role may end up coming on special teams, where Wohler and Owens can also contribute.
Special teams (3)
Rigoberto Sanchez, Luke Rhodes, Blake Grupe
I'll give Grupe the advantage over Spencer Shrader given his experience, and he's also not coming off a major injury.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts 53-man roster projection on first day of training camp
