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Colts Tight End Group is One to Watch in Training Camp

A position group with a ton of uncertainty going into Colts' training camp is tight end. Which players will earn a roster spot in this 7-horse race?

Zach Hicks

The Indianapolis Colts' offense was an abject disaster in 2022, as multiple position groups failed to live up to expectations a year ago. Among those failures was the overall play of the tight end position.

Promising young players Jelani Woods and Kylen Granson flashed at times, but they were far from consistent enough to hold down the fort on their own. Recently paid Mo Alie-Cox had his worst season to date and struggled to live up to his 6.3 million dollar cap hit.

With 2022 firmly in the rear view, the Colts opted to add a plethora of competition to the tight end room in hopes of generating stronger play in 2023 under Shane Steichen. Today, let's dive into Steichen's history with the position and talk about the main challengers to make the roster this offseason.

Shane Steichen's History

Shane Steichen has been an offensive coordinator in the NFL for the past three seasons, which gives him three years of a decent amount of roster control in his coaching career. Obviously he didn't have full control in those seasons, but those are the only years we can definitively say that he had a strong voice in the room.

Those three seasons were the 2020 Los Angeles Chargers, the 2021 Philadelphia Eagles, and the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles. In those three years combined, Steichen's teams kept 11 tight ends on the opening day roster (a little over three per season). Six of the 11 tight ends to make the opening day roster in those seasons would be classified as pure pass catching players with very little blocking ability.

To break it down by season, the 2020 Chargers kept four tight ends on the opening roster. Hunter Henry was the starter that was a pure pass catching option while veteran Virgil Green was the consistent blocking tight end. Stephen Anderson was a bit of a two way player on the depth chart and Donald Parham was a massive pass catcher to round out the group.

The 2021 Eagles also kept four tight ends on the opening day roster with Zach Ertz (pure pass catcher) and Dallas Goedert (all around player) leading the group. Jack Stoll locked up the blocking tight end roll while QB to TE convert Tyree Jackson was the bottom of the depth chart pass catcher.

The 2022 Eagles only kept three tight ends on the roster. Dallas Goedert remained as the workhorse at the top of the depth chart while Jack Stoll remained in his blocking role. Rookie Grant Calcaterra rounded out the group as the bottom of the roster pass catcher.

If we look at the trends in these three rosters, Steichen likes to keep a healthy rotation of pass catching tight ends while electing to roster one tight end for the designated blocking role. This is something that we should keep in mind for the Colts' future roster decisions, as it is unlikely that they will keep more than one guy capable of filling that blocking role.

The 2023 Roster Contenders

While factoring in all the information above, I feel comfortable putting both Jelani Woods and Kylen Granson down as roster locks this offseason. Woods should be the team's starter at the position and Granson is too much of a mismatch to leave off of the roster. With those two down as locks, that leaves five experienced and/or intriguing players fighting for the blocking tight end role (and potentially one more spot being available for another pass catcher).

Mo Alie-Cox

Mo Alie-Cox may have the inside edge in this roster battle, but he has to be on thin ice with the organization at the moment. The veteran tight end was expected to hold down the fort last season and he simply disappointed in every facet. The veteran tight end had his lowest receiving total since 2019 while also underperforming as a blocker. 

Alie-Cox has love from the organization so it is hard to count him out, but his play needs to step up in training camp this year. 

Pharaoh Brown

Veteran journeyman Pharaoh Brown was signed by the Colts this offseason to hopefully compete for the blocking role in Indy. Brown has logged over 1,400 snaps in his NFL career while only coming down with 51 receptions. His blocking numbers have always been solid throughout his career too, always grading out as average to above average in this regard according to Pro Football Focus.

Brown may be the biggest threat on the roster to usurp Alie-Cox's spot this offseason.

Will Mallory

Will Mallory was the 162nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He finished his college career with 1,544 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns at Miami as one of the team's top pass catching targets. While he does offer some ability as a blocker out in space, he is more of a prototypical pass catcher than a do-it-all option.

If the Colts want to stash a fourth tight end pass catcher on the back end of the roster, Mallory seems to be the perfect option for that role.

Drew Ogletree

The biggest wildcard on the Colts' roster this offseason is tight end Drew Ogletree. Ogletree was a star in training camp a year ago, climbing up to second on the depth chart at one point before tearing his ACL in early August. The former sixth round pick out of Youngstown State is finally healthy again, but it remains to be seen if he can regain his form from last year.

If Ogletree can return to what he was doing last year in training camp, he could solidify a spot on the opening day roster in 2023.

Kaden Smith

Kaden Smith is the ultimate shot in the dark for the Indianapolis Colts. A former sixth round pick out of Stanford, Smith had a promising start to his NFL career before injuries limited him to just nine games since the beginning of the 2021 season. Still, if Smith can regain his former form, he could be a solid two way tight end to throw at the bottom of the roster.

Smith, like Ogletree, is a wildcard worth watching this training camp.

The Bottom Line

The Colts' tight end position is wide open in training camp this offseason, While players like Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson, and Mo Alie-Cox all certainly have the inside edge, the team added enough experience and depth to make this and intriguing battle in camp in 2023.

Will the Colts roll out the same trio as last year or will a few wildcards sneak their way onto the roster? I guess we will find out this August.

Need your fill on daily Colts' content? Head over to the Locked On Colts' YouTube channel where Jake Arthur and myself hit on all the major topics surrounding this team. Hit that subscribe button while you are there!

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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