Ranking the Colts' Deepest Position Rooms Entering Summer Break

The Indianapolis Colts were quickly reminded during training camp last year that quality depth is more or less a figment of our imagination.

There are usually a couple of rotational pieces on any given team that serve as an unofficial sixth man, but other than that, a truly balanced position room is few and far between.

Offensive linemen are typically the ultimate example of this, and this is due to the nature of the position. The combination of being the most physically demanding and vulnerable position on a per-snap basis, and there not being enough quality starters, let alone reserve options, to divvy up between all 32 NFL teams, makes it almost impossible to field multiple quality depth pieces.

Quarterbacks and skill players (i.e., the positions on either side of the ball that are directly responsible for ball-carriers) are no doubt in the same ballpark when it comes to possible injuries, but these position groups typically have pound-for-pound more depth.

With that being said, the Indianapolis Colts are poised to have a deeper roster than usual entering the 2026-27 regular season. They may not have the strongest group of starters in the NFL, but their depth across the board feels stronger than it has for most of the Chris Ballard era.

The spring training slate gave us an even better look at how the depth chart order will shape up during training camp. Most of the position groups on the roster have at least one viable reserve option to turn to, but these three rooms sport the strongest group of backups.

Honorable Mention: Kicker

Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) lines up a field goal attempt Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, during a game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We won't fully break it down as we did recently, but kickers Spencer Shrader and Blake Grupe are easily the deepest kicking room in the NFL. Summer kicking competitions are by no means rare, but they typically feature a guaranteed starter and a young kicker trying to find his way.

For the Colts, however, Shrader certainly has the inside track to winning the job, but the loser may very well be a winner, as each has proven to be a viable starting option in the NFL.

3. Defensive Tackle

Ade Ad — Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore (95) moves in on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Colts have not had to worry about their starting duo across the defensive interior for the majority of the Ballard era, but their reserve options have failed to meet the challenge of backing them up more often than not.

DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart have been one of the best defensive tackle duos since they joined forces ahead of the 2020 NFL season. Unfortunately for them, the depth behind them has typically not warranted much to write home about. That is until now.

The Colts' backup defensive tackle options going into 2026 are fourth-year pass rusher Adetomiwa Adebawore and newcomer Colby Wooden.

Adebawore has blossomed into a legitimate pass rusher across the defensive line throughout his rookie contract, while Wooden - who was brought in from Green Bay as trade compensation for longtime linebacker Zaire Franklin - serves as the Colts' most underrated move of the offseason thus far.

Wooden's experience as a full-time starter, paired with Adebawore's slow but sure rise to key contributor, alone serves as the strongest depth the Colts have had across the interior in quite some time. The bottom of their room features veterans Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery, as well as rookie contract players UDFA Cam Ball and second-year player Tim Smith, and only strengthens the defensive tackle room's outlook.

2. Quarterback

RL A — Jun 10, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard (15) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. (5) participate in a drill during minicamp at Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Despite starting quarterback Daniel Jones's impressive rehab process thus far, the Colts still enter 2026 with a question mark at the position. Jones appears to be on track to start Week 1, which gives hope that he'll be able to return to his early-season form from 2025, but an Achilles injury remains a difficult challenge to come back from.

Thankfully for the Colts, they have multiple options they can confidently turn to if Jones were to reinjure and/or take a step back performance-wise.

The former 4th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Anthony Richardson Sr., and second-year quarterback Riley Leonard have been battling it out throughout the offseason for the team's immediate backup role.

Head coach Shane Steichen recently explained during veteran minicamp that this position battle is neck and neck, which only strengthens the notion that their quarterback room is deeper than it has been.

Richardson is viewed as one of the best backup quarterbacks in the entire NFL, while Leonard has positioned himself as the eventual Daniel Jones replacement.

You're only as strong as your weakest link, and if any team knows what it's like to lose a starting quarterback mid-season, let alone having a viable starter in the first place, it's the Colts.

Leonard and Richardson may not be starting options at this stage in their respective careers, but at least the Colts have confidence in either one if they need to pivot.

The only negative spin on this points to the legendary John Madden, who once said, "If you have two quarterbacks, you have none," but perhaps the Colts have avoided an inevitable crisis as Madden suggests, given they have not two, but three viable options at their disposal.

1. Cornerback

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (29) reacts to Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) scoring a go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game between Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Nov. 2, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

From top to bottom, cornerback is easily the Colts' deepest room.

As it stands, the Colts' cornerback room is comprised of the following players:

Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward Sr., Justin Walley, Cam Taylor-Britt, Mehki Blackmon, Jaylon Jones, Johnathan Edwards, Cameron Mitchell, Jai'Onte' McMillan

This room excludes slot cornerback Kenny Moore II, who was released earlier this offseason. Before Moore II and the Colts agreed to seek a trade for the franchise's longtime pillar, he was set to reclaim his spot on the defense, which would have only strengthened the outlook.

So long as the injury bug doesn't latch onto this room as it has in recent years, the Colts are looking to have their strongest room of the entire Ballard era, and defensive back specialists on the coaching staff, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and secondary coach Chris Hewitt, are licking their chops at the potential at hand.

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