Colts Mandatory Minicamp: 15 Things to Watch

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts will commence their three-day mandatory minicamp this week from Tuesday through Thursday before breaking for six weeks until training camp.

The team has questions from top to bottom, from the starting quarterback, all the way down to who will be the kicker.

Here are 15 things ColtsRoundtable will focus on while on-site at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.

Jones is on pace to return for Week 1 of the regular season from last year's Achilles injury, although the Colts are steering clear of declaring anything beyond optimism. In the first week of OTAs two weeks ago, Jones only participated in positional and individual work during practice. Last week, he upgraded to 7-on-7s, which is a team period. Colts head coach Shane Steichen said they won't upgrade Jones to 11-on-11s until training camp, but the fact that he's this far along is encouraging for his Week 1 availability.

Will the Colts give Jones a heavier workload this week?

Richardson requested a trade in February, but with nothing coming to fruition to date, he's with the team and competing with Leonard for Jones' backup role.

Richardson suffered a season-ending eye injury in Week 6 last year. If he performs well this offseason and into training camp and the preseason, and proves the eye issue is behind him, it could spark his trade value.

Meanwhile, the Colts really like what they saw from Leonard as a sixth-round rookie last year. Since they know he'll be around but aren't sure if Richardson will be, should they invest their time in Leonard, or does Steichen make it a legit competition?

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Minicamp is only a quick snapshot of where the team sees a rookie's role, because we still have late July and August to get through, but it is notable nonetheless. Linebacker CJ Allen is a no-doubt starter for the Colts from Day 1 at MIKE linebacker, but he's the only one who's already firmly in the starting lineup. Safety A.J. Haulcy can be the Week 1 starter at one of the safety spots if he wins his competition against Hunter Wohler.

Linebacker Bryce Boettcher, defensive ends George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry, running back Seth McGowan, and wide receiver Deion Burks can all earn notable roles at their respective positions with decent showings this summer. Offensive lineman Jalen Farmer is one of the most interesting cases. The Colts have a starting five offensive line already in place, but they are incredibly high on Farmer. Can they find a role for a reserve offensive lineman?

Some undrafted rookies to watch are offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, center Geno VanDeMark, defensive tackle Cam Ball, linebacker West Weeks, and safety Austin Brown.

Jones is obviously the most important returning player, as he suffered an Achilles injury last season in Week 14. However, he's not the only one. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward Sr. also missed serious time last season.

Buckner may not yet be available for minicamp as he recovers from neck surgery, but he is expected to be back from training camp.

The Colts were high on rookie running back DJ Giddens last year, but he was active for just nine games. If you're a backup, you almost have to play special teams to be active on gamedays, so that held Giddens back. Giddens will attempt to fend off rookie McGowan this offseason, who also lacks much of a special-teams background. If one of the two can make their mark there, it'll go a long way toward being Jonathan Taylor's backup.

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Ashton Dulin is the leader in the clubhouse for the Colts' vacant WR3 role, but players such as Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks, and Laquon Treadwell will challenge for the role. How much competition will Dulin receive?

The starting five is pretty well set, with Bernhard Raimman, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, and Jalen Travis. However, Travis missed OTAs due to a back injury, and Luke Tenuta took his spot. How firmly is Tenuta in the lead for swing tackle, or could Blake Freeland, Rucci, or someone else take it? Likewise, will Dalton Tucker take the backup center role after Danny Pinter's departure as a free agent, and where will Farmer land?

There's a lot riding on Latu taking a big step forward into being a high-end pass-rusher this year. His goal is always to get stronger in the offseason and to become more refined in his pass-rush and counter moves. How he performs against Raimann, Travis (or Tenuta), will be telling.

While there's confidence in Latu being a solid pass-rusher, who will start opposite in place of Kwity Paye is undetermined. Arden Key is a veteran free-agent addition, but typically plays about 50% of the defensive snaps in a season and is more of a rotational piece. Tuimoloau was a second-round pick last year but played in just 215 snaps. The Colts will be taking a leap of faither in whomever they choose.

Neville Gallimore provided some of the best depth behind Stewart at one-technique that we've seen from the Colts in years, but he left in free agency this offseason. Now, it's a mix of two young guys in Tim Smith and Cam Ball and two aged veterans in Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery battling to back up Stewart. The veterans should be viewed more as safety nets than as difference-makers. It's up to the young guys to earn a spot.

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The Colts' second-round pick is all but guaranteed to start at MIKE, but who will line up next to him at WILL? In all likelihood, it'll be veteran addition Akeem Davis-Gaither, but the team is also very high on rookie Boettcher. They also continue to tout the potential of Jaylon Carlies, who has spent most of his two years injured, but is currently healthy.

On paper, this could be a top-10 or even top-5 secondary. Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward Sr. are both considered shutdown cornerbacks, and played very good football last year when they were on the field. Unfortunately, they spent quite a bit of time injured. However, both are healthy now and have talent behind them in safeties Cam Bynum, A.J. Haulcy, and Hunter Wohler. Justin Walley, whom the team was ecstatic about before a season-ending ACL injury last year, now enters the starting lineup at slot corner.

The Colts got outstanding play from two of their three kicker last year. Shrader was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September, making 27-of-28 total kicks before a season-ending knee injury in Week 5. The Colts signed Blake Grupe for the final five weeks after dismissing Michael Badgley for missing three extra points in seven games. Grupe was perfect, nailing all 21 kick attempts, including four from 50-plus yards. Now, a healthy Shrader and Grupe will battle for the kicking job.

Special teams coordinator Brian Mason has to replace some big-time core members, including Tyler Goodson, Rodney Thomas II, Segun Olubi, and Ameer Abdullah. Dulin and Josh Downs may also need to lessen their special teams responsibilities due to increased offensive action. Keeping an eye on Mason's new favorites will be an important sign for who makes the final roster, even if they don't have much of an offensive or defensive role.