Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: What to Watch For in Preseason Opener vs. New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:01 Can Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson boost his stock in preseason game one? Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked on Colts. I'm Zach King. That's Jake Arthur. And on today's show, we are breaking down, I guess, a preview for this upcoming preseason game.

Starting point is 00:00:34 The first preseason game of 2026 against New England Patriots is airing on Thursday night. And we have some questions, some lingering ideas, some thoughts about this Colts team going into the game. So we're going to break it down like a typical like Colts training camp practice. You're going to do quarterbacks, offense, and defense and just cover every little aspect of this team heading into the first preseason game. So Jake, let's start off with the quarterbacks. We're only expected to see two of them in this game, right? So not all four that are on the roster. So we might see a little bit of Easton Stick at the end of the game if the Colts get enough of a read on Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson.

Starting point is 00:01:10 But no Daniel Jones. Richardson is going to get the first half. So he's going to get the start and play until halftime, presumably. And then Riley Leonard will get the second half and close out the game. So Jake, what do you want to see from these two quarterbacks? We can start with Anthony Richardson, who's facing probably the toughest venture, toughest moment of his NFL career as of right now. Yeah, not to provide a little backhanded optimism. but number one, I want to see him make it all the way through the first half.

Starting point is 00:01:37 So if you remember last year against the Ravens in the preseason, he was supposed to play like into the second quarter or something, and then he got injured with that finger. So I want to see him make it through the first half, first and foremost. You know, I think just starting kind of from the most basic things with him, he said he was figuring out new ways to take shotgun snaps. So make sure you've got that figured out and that you're securing the snap first and foremost, you know, go through your reeds, you know, take the layups, I think.

Starting point is 00:02:09 Boring football is still productive, I think, you know, three, four yards is going to move the ball a little bit. So don't be afraid to take the boring stuff. I want to see him let it rip with his legs a little bit. I mean, what do you, what do you have to lose at this point, honestly? But really just get some consistency and some rhythm. You know, have yourself under control because he sikes himself out mentally, which then kind of throws everything off physically. He throws off platform when it's not necessary. He gets the yips. The ball goes flying. Just, you know, play composed football, I guess, and don't make it bigger than it needs to be. And again, I just, I want to take, see him kind of take some boring opportunities

Starting point is 00:02:58 to move the ball, which will actually create a little rhythm. Yeah, I think the big thing for me is I want to see him have like control of the offense. You know, this is his fourth year with this team, with this system. I know the system has changed a little bit throughout his time with the Colts, but I want to see that comfort level from him. You know, like he's not like he's still a young player in terms of age, but he's not a young player in terms of NFL experience in terms of like he has been in the NFL system for a while now. So I want to see him kind of control things at the line of scrimmage, control things with his checks and his audibles and when to get the ball out. hot when to find certain players. I want to see that growth from him.

Starting point is 00:03:34 I think that will be the most important thing to see. Obviously, the minor things, like you mentioned, like handling the snaps where in the three practices I saw, I only saw one issue with the snap, which was that under center one in the Thursday practice over the weekend. He looked really good handling snaps. So hopefully that's an issue that has been ironed out there for him. But it would be a rough moment to see that happen in a game setting. So let's not have any of that for sure.

Starting point is 00:03:59 But yeah, just having overall control. of the offense, having that consistency that you're looking for, identifying what he can identify in terms of blitzes and not letting a free rusher get in his face, especially if there's, you know, scat protection or you know you don't have the numbers advantage, knowing when to get that football out. I think those are things you want to see from a player going into his fourth year. I know he's been set back from injuries and set back in terms of on-field experience because of certain circumstances, but, you know, you don't get that long in the NFL to keep proving yourself. So I do want to see that kind of control.

Starting point is 00:04:31 It doesn't have to be anything sexy like you mentioned, Jake. Like it can be, you know, I'm taking the first read on every single dropback because that's what most quarterback play is. Because if he's taking this first read on every dropback, that means he's seeing things well. You know, if he's, that means he's finding the hot read. That means he's finding the first option. That means he's, you know, being patient back there. I think that is more important than anything else. So I don't need to see him be perfect.

Starting point is 00:04:55 I just really need to see that control from him. and I think that he can go a long way towards building up what he's kind of lost this offseason. And another minor thing, too, if he gets the opportunity, because his red zone offense and what I saw in the practice is was rough. Like the way that he ran red zone offense, his accuracy in the red zone in particular was really rough. It does seem like he bounced back a little bit against the Patriots. So hopefully that continues. If he gets a red zone opportunity, I'd love to see him punch it in for six, whether it's throwing the ball, running the ball, whatever it is. because that last little impression I got of him playing in the red zone and those practices I saw was pretty rough.

Starting point is 00:05:31 So I do want to see just a cleaner overall showing from Richardson. But yeah, just show some control. That's the biggest thing I want to see from him. I think you make a good point there with, you know, just showing a comfort level in the offense, just in general, because this is the coach you've had throughout your entire tenure in the NFL, including Jim Bob Cooter, like pretty much all the offensive staff is the same. Or you've at least been with a lot of these guys two, three years. But we've always kind of made, we've kind of discounted things for him.

Starting point is 00:06:07 Like, he's a young quarterback. He hasn't played a lot, this and that. I don't know that we can give that to him here. Like, it's the preseason. So you're not going to be facing a lot of exotic stuff. You'll be playing with a lot of guys you're used to playing with. Like, I think Laquan Treadwell probably will play. Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory, like you're used to thrown to those guys already.

Starting point is 00:06:27 So there should be, like it should not look really scattered, like out there. He shouldn't look like he's freaking out. It should look like you said, like there's some level of control. So I think just his demeanor and body language, I think, will be a pretty significant thing to look at as well. But speaking of which, I mean, let's talk about Riley Winter because this is a guy who when he gets into a game looks whole lot different than he does most of the time on a practice field. Yeah, you know what's really funny is I was doing a little bit of Riley Leonard research because he took so many sacks in the practices I saw.

Starting point is 00:07:04 And you noted it all offseason here, Jake, that he holds the ball forever. He takes a ton of these, like, sacks. And I was concerned. So I was like, what was his pressure to sack rate last year? In the games that he played in the regular season, it was like 7%, which is pretty darn good, like one of the better marks in the league. if you extrapolate that over a whole season. And last year in the preseason, it was 4%.

Starting point is 00:07:26 So it's insanely low. So like when the lights turn on, Riley Leonard becomes a very different quarterback. And like there is some chaoticness to his game. Like I think of he had a bad interception against like Texans last year in like the final game where it's like, again, he gives you some. He gives you away some plays as well.

Starting point is 00:07:43 But I think the biggest thing for Leonard is just showing some anticipation, showing that ability to push some windows down the field to continue being aggressive. Avoid those sacks like he's like he's been doing when the, again, when the lights come on rather than in practice and just keeping the offense in rhythm. Because even in his like starts last year, a lot of it was like big play dependent. Like if he got a huge play, then they could convert. But if that didn't happen, you could see a little bit of that just chaoticness of his game. So I want to see like him take some of the easy stuff, get the ball out.

Starting point is 00:08:14 And then when your opportunities are there down the field to push some windows, do that as well. But I think Riley Leonard's had a fine offseason. I like to see him showcase that Leonard that we saw in week 18 last year and in the preseason last year that made us all go, maybe this guy's better than he is in practice. You know, I want to see that Riley Leonard. And he has the inside track to winning QB2 if he does that. Yeah, now that you mention it, he was pretty big play dependent even back in the preseason. Because you look at that Bengals game, hit the big like 50-yard touchdown to Laquan Treadwell.

Starting point is 00:08:46 That really kind of skewed the stat line as well. well. So yeah, I just, he is so, he's so hard to evaluate because I think he enters practice with a different mindset. But yeah, just don't be timid. Trust what you see. If the guy's getting open, believe that he's going to. Like, you might make a mistake at throwing an interception. It's not the end of the world. Like, it's the preseason. They, they know who you are. So don't, don't be afraid to let it go. And he's very creative with his feet. Like, he's done, he's shown some really cool stuff, just avoiding sacks or, you know, short touchdown runs. Like, I just want to see him be Riley Leonard.

Starting point is 00:09:23 I don't want to see him be the like shell of himself that he showed early in training camp. But to his credit, like he, I think both him and Richardson have really kind of improved and stacked a couple days in training camp as of late. I didn't see the Patriots practice, but it sounded like for both guys, he was probably one of their better practices. Now, Leonard ended it on an interception, but like he started out. without any incompletions for a while. So it sounds like he's been on the upward swing. This is kind of what we want to see. We want to see that arrow continuing to point out.

Starting point is 00:09:58 Yeah, exactly. So a lot to prove for these young quarterbacks, but we'll see exactly what they have here on Thursday night. And coming up in a second, we're going to go to the rest of the offense and talk about how our boys, Will Mallory and Coleman Owen, are set to just light the preseason on fire

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Starting point is 00:11:48 against the New England Patriots, please do not forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of the show as well as Zach and myself. Just make sure to tap the link in the show notes or go to lock on colts.com to join today. All right, Zach, so we have discussed the quarterbacks. We know how that's going to go.

Starting point is 00:12:08 We know how they're divvian at the playing time with Anthony Richardson starting and playing the first half. Riley Leonard, relieving in the second half. But what about running back? There is an RB2 back. I think we're only going to see half of that because DJ Giddens has been out for about a week with a hamstring injury. Not great for him because Seth McGowan has been bawling out pretty much all summer. Yeah, I want to see what McGowan looks like with the pads on a live action and just seeing if,

Starting point is 00:12:34 because again, I had some concerns on his college film with his overall vision and just how to identify and set up runs. Do we see that kind of rear its ugly head here in the preseason or does he carry over his strong play where he was one foot in the ground, cut up field and just explode through the hole. Like if he can just fall forward and have a really productive and healthy yards per carry in this game, I'll feel really good about him with that RB2 spot. So I want to see just the preseason hype and the offseason hype really carry over for him because as of right now, he's done everything right. The arrow has been trending up for him.

Starting point is 00:13:06 So just continuing that. But the other running backs on the roster, too, like Ulysses Bentley, in my opinion, has been gaining some ground on DJ get-ins. I don't know if the Colts are going to share that opinion. but I know from talking to a bunch of the beat guys while I was out there, and I think you include him this too, Jake, I think we're all way more impressed with Bentley than Giddens right now, you know, just in terms of what he could bring this team.

Starting point is 00:13:27 So if he continues that here in the preseason while Giddens is still not playing, does that make a difference? I'm curious to see that. And then Anderson Castle, just seeing him in the preseason will be fun. Like big, bruising running back. I don't know how many snaps he's going to get in this one, but I assume he's going to get out there a little bit because, like, they're going to have second and third team he'll rotate in with bentley um i want to see like a short

Starting point is 00:13:49 touchdown from anderson castle in this game too don't we all yeah so i'm going to start it now here whenever he gets on the field we're going to call out storm the castle that's what he does when he's on the goal line he's going to storm the castle get tuddies that's what we're looking for uh but no so starting with set mcgown for me just the the running style has been great i think um just there's there's no wasted there's a lot of motion but none of it's wasted He's a violent runner who just gets to the point, you know, and as soon as a hole opens up, he's gone and through it. But I kind of want to see the other stuff, you know, the X factors. That's really going to determine whether he wins the RB2 battle and gets on the field and active on game days.

Starting point is 00:14:34 So what does it look like in past pro? Because we've seen so little of that lately in training camp. Like they haven't really gotten to that yet as far as we've seen. So what's it look like in pass pro? Does he get any opportunities like late in these games for kickoff returns? Because he's in the rotation and practice. I know it's mostly Gould and Coleman Owen right now, but at some point they're probably going to let him return a kick in the preseason.

Starting point is 00:15:00 So what does that look like? And then just making sure he continues to catch the ball seamlessly because it looks very natural for him. With Bentley, I'm holding out hope that he could find a way on the roster just because like I think he's very solid. Like he's a good runner. I think he has decent vision and patience inside with adequate speed outside to kind of turn the corner. He's not going to win a big foot race and get an ADR touchdown.

Starting point is 00:15:25 But I think he's just a very solid overall runner. He catches the ball well. Yeah, really good hands. Really good hands. He could play special teams. So like there's not a lot not to like with him. Yeah. And then Anderson Castle, he is our modern Mike Allstate here in Indy.

Starting point is 00:15:42 We need this. It's funny because Joel Erickson wants him to wear a neck roll so bad. And he's just that type of runner. He's rugged. He's tough. I want to see him lower the shoulder and just bowl a linebacker backwards into the end zone. Yeah, our very own Matt Asiata, fantasy football darling, coming here to Indy in the preseason. Let's go to wide receiver and tight end.

Starting point is 00:16:03 We'll group them together. And I think you and I are both in agreement, Jake, that gunned to our heads, the three leading receivers for the Colts this preseason will be Laquan Treadwell, Coleman Owen, and Will Malar. those are three guys who are just probably better than their counterparts on the team and who they're going to be planning against. Those guys are kind of made for the preseason and they're made to produce. So I'm expecting big things from those three guys. And, you know, I think Treadwell and Mallory are probably pretty close to roster locks at this point. Owen, it's more, you know, fighting uphill over an Anthony Gould type to make it.

Starting point is 00:16:36 But just three really solid players. So I don't really have any concerns about those guys. I'm just excited to see them. I think the big question marks come with Dionne Burks because he's had some lining up issues in the offseason here. He's had some mental issues. But when he's been lined up and when he's been exploding down the field, we've seen some really good things. I hope he gets some run with Anthony Richardson because that connection's been really good. And then Carson Tout, you have in here too, Jake.

Starting point is 00:17:02 Like, just seeing what he can do. Like, just see it. Like, I don't expect it to be anything great. Maybe he finishes the preceives like one target, you know, just because that's how it is. but I want to see what they have there with him and what the progress is as of right now on that developmental track that they have him on. Yeah, I think receiver will be interesting. Coleman Owen, of course, like, I don't want to say he's like an NFL roster caliber slot receiver, but like he's certainly productive and looks like he knows what he's doing every time he's on the field in practice.

Starting point is 00:17:33 So he's interesting was one of the leading receivers in the entire NFL last preseason. And so he should at least provide some digestible football for us to watch in the preseason. Creadwell, I don't know how much they're going to hold him back in the preseason. But if they don't, then I think he'll look really good because he always just bullies these guys who are like future insurance adjusters and stuff. Let's see, I would throw Higgins in there. That's a good one. Samir Higgins like you mentioned, Dark Horse, the newest cult actually. one of them. DJ Montgomery, he could do a thing or two in the preseason. He's an older vet.

Starting point is 00:18:15 He's got plenty of experience in the NFL. Set out last year with an injury. He's not as good as Lequine Treadwell, but like, if you line him up against a rookie UDFA corner, he's going to know what to do. You know, so he's interesting. Carson Tout for me, I don't care if he's the best past catching tied in that we've seen in the preseason. What's it look like blocking in special teams? Because we know Will Mallory can catch, and that hasn't got him on the field in three, four years. You know, what does it look like blocking for tout?

Starting point is 00:18:48 And is he playing on special teams? So I don't expect any role for him in year one. Like he'll probably just sit there and chill out on the practice squad. But does it look like he has promised to grow into being a good blocker? Are they willing to use him on special teams? Like those are the things that will have me encouraged that he's part of things moving forward. Yeah, for sure. And then real quick, just talking offensive line, I think the goals for me are just having a clean game,

Starting point is 00:19:15 limit the penalties, nothing to agree, just like free open sacks on the quarterbacks or anything like that. And I'll be happy with the O line. I want to see some separation in the reserve offensive tackles. We have seemingly three guys battling for one to two spots with Luke Tanuda, Blake Freeland, and Nolan Rucci. We'll see which guys can really fight through there. And I'm also excited for the Dalton Tucker Center experience

Starting point is 00:19:37 because I thought it looked good last preseason with him at Center. He started off this off season with some snapping issues, but it certainly cleaned up a little bit as of late and not many, like to really make note of. So does he carry over that strong play at Center that he had last preseason? I'm really curious to see that for sure. Yeah, I think the backup lineman I'm really looking forward to seeing other than Tucker, of course, Jimmy Morrissey, because I've been.

Starting point is 00:20:02 skeptical. He's a real small guy, and I think he very much is in the mix to make the roster. I think it could be a stretch, but I don't think it's unrealistic. Gino Vandemark, I would put right there with him neck and neck. I think they really like him. And then Josh Kruits, Olin Kruits, his son. He's probably more of a practice squad guy, but I'm interested to see. And I also want to forewarn everybody, Byron Matos has looked rough in camp. So he's out there, and he's given up a bunch of sacks on Riley Leonard, I've tried to prepare you. Okay, we'll have Carson Tout standing over on that side.

Starting point is 00:20:39 Yeah, you need a chip, yeah. Right. Or Farrow Brown. That's why they brought Farrow Brown back, right? Just to be that chip help on that side of the field. Coming up, guys, we're going to talk about the defense and special teams, what we're looking to see on that side of the ball. And again, some young players that really have a lot to prove and see if they can be

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Starting point is 00:22:28 of the MLB. All right, welcome back, everybody. We are talking Colts preseason Colts Patriots Thursday night, Gillette Stadium, 7.30 p.m. Eastern. If you're going to watch locally in the Central Indiana area, it will be on Fox 59. So let's talk defense, sack. First and foremost, stay healthy. End of discussion.

Starting point is 00:22:53 Yeah. No, I think the Colts are pretty, like they kind of have their six guys. Honestly, I could say they almost certainly have 10 guys that are, locks for the roster in the secondary. But that could change if we start seeing some injuries, right? I don't want to see injuries too. Hunter Woller, Jonathan Owens, Jonathan Edwards, Mackay Blackman. Those guys will get run here in the preseason just to get their legs going and kind to get some experience under their belt. The last thing we want to see is injuries to those guys. Or even like the edge room, right? The edge room is pretty light. Once a guy goes down,

Starting point is 00:23:24 you're looking at George Gumbs being a second wave pass rush for this year. So I certainly want to see some health on this defense. We lost a couple guys in the preseason last year. Let's get out of this preseason pretty clean overall. But outside of that, getting to the pass rush up front, just what the twos look like out there, especially at the edge, like Jalen Tuam, Lowell, George Gumbs, Cady and Curry, can those guys build off of strong camps or were they just kind of feasting on Blake Freeland and Byron Motos? That'll be the big question for those players. But Jalen Toomelowelow, I'm very curious to watch. because I thought he had a really good run the three days I watched.

Starting point is 00:24:03 But again, he was pretty much only going against Blake Freeland every single rep. So was it more because Freeland's just bad, which very much could be the case? Or was to him a low out looking the like skinnier and faster like I thought he looked out there? So I think that'll be the big thing to watch with the defensive line. Because even though we think all these guys are almost certainly going to make the team, Jake, we want to see what kind of player they are going into the regular season. Yeah, without a doubt with with two of them a low, I want to see the productivity, but I want to see like, I want to see clearly why he won. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:24:38 Like some guys just win because they have the effort and they play to the whistle and then they're there when the quarterback like runs into their area, you know, the quity pay of it all. I want to see him like legit win some matchups so that we can say like, okay, he's going to be pretty decent. And then when you kick it inside, will someone step up behind Grover Stewart? Like I think you and I really would love to see someone, one of the younger guys like Cam Ball or Tim Smith really step up. But in all reality, the guys like Jerry Tilleri and Derek Nottie are going to get most of the opportunities. But you and I, I think, just kind of expect them to play like a couple of unks out there, you know? I hope Tilly has an incredible preseason. It makes me have some confidence about him going into year because I did a roster kind of projection type thing.

Starting point is 00:25:32 And I had Tilleri as like I leaned towards him making it. That's the status I put on him. And that's not my choice. That's what just what I think the Colts are going to do with it. So I hope he proves me wrong this preseason and he's just awesome. But I don't know. I didn't see anything from him in the camp practices. Did you see on the Colts unoffians?

Starting point is 00:25:51 official death chart they released. Tim Smith is behind Cam Ball. I know like those don't all mean a lot of things because like they have Bryce Betcher buried on the depth chart. But like I just thought that was interesting. I was like the guy who was the draft pick last year and actually was on the practice score the whole time is behind the rookie UDFA who has been running with just the third team and the the developmental team. So that was kind of interesting to me. Yeah. No, we'll see. I'm going to go through a couple players who I think are going to make the team Jake, but I want to see them in the live action here. And then after that we'll go on to roster bubble guys that I want to see stand out. Bryce Betcher and Austin, a GK, I think both those guys are locks for the roster. They will be on the

Starting point is 00:26:31 team as long as they stay healthy. But just seeing Betcher's first action and seeing a GK carry over that strong camp that he had into a game, I think will be key for those guys. Let's see what else we have here. Just seeing the corners again, Edwards and Blackman, safetys, Jonathan Owens, just showing what we've been talking about all offseason. I think will be key for those guys. But, But then roster bubble guys, Jake, that I'm really curious. Like Jalen Carlis, I think is the big one because he kind of looked like just a guy in the practices I saw. Like, just kind of eating up space. Like, can he flash here in the preseason and give me a reason to believe again in him as a player?

Starting point is 00:27:09 You have your boy, Taj Chambers here at linebacker as well. I don't think he's going to make the team, but violent, violent player who gives me that Shagu-a-Lubi type of vibe. Jaylon Jones at corner too Jake He's been running with the dev team all offseason Can he do anything? And I do think he's one injury away From being in that top six. So can he take a baseball bat

Starting point is 00:27:30 To one of those guys on the sideline And get his way on the team? But another huge one here though is Trey Washington. Like all joking aside, Trey Washington at safety. I have him anywhere from the 53rd player on the roster to the 55th player When I do my projections.

Starting point is 00:27:45 I think he's the most bubble play on the team right now. So can he do something in the preseason that makes the cold say, you know what? We have to keep 11 guys in the secondary. Maybe we go light at linebacker because we have to keep this 11th guy because he's just going to be so good on teams or so good as a reserve safety. So I know I just threw a lot of information at you, Jake, so you can react away here. No, I just did a 53 man that I published this morning.

Starting point is 00:28:11 And I unfortunately had Washington off only because of a numbers game. I just couldn't keep a fifth safety. But yeah, I think they really believe in him. If I'm not mistaken, I feel like I've seen him, maybe not this year, but last year, do personal protector a time or two, or at least one of the up blockers, like one of the more important roles on the punt team. So he's a guy, yeah, like special teams. I think he's shown quite a bit of growth on defense.

Starting point is 00:28:40 He's like one of the only backup free safeties on the roster. he's had an interception on the first day of camp. He's had multiple past breakups. So I like what I've seen from him, a hard hitter as well. Yeah, Taj Chambers was one. I'm just, I think he'll be a fun preseason player. Because he's been fun to watch like third team and developmental team. Hard hitter will go for like the big like he'll upend you.

Starting point is 00:29:08 Like he'll go for like the highlight real tackle. Had a really like seamless interception. off of a tip ball on one day as well. So he seems to be just kind of has that like natural playmaker to him. So yeah, he's he's going to be really interesting. A GK2, like you mentioned, like he had that real like he just knifed through coverage and got that interception one day, just was laser focused through a bunch of garbage and got to the ball.

Starting point is 00:29:36 And then Becher. Yeah, I think just him putting a stamp on the offseason he's had because he's been one of the else talked about like non high end players one of the like biggest kind of backup guys we've talked about and for my money like we'll could perhaps start week one next to cj allen if if he performs well enough he's been a little polarizing because like he's done really well at blitzing and getting after the quarterback uh he had a pass breakup against new england on tuesday but it also sounds like they picked on them a little bit in coverage after that uh so I want to see how he kind of rebounds and what he looks like overall because like he was good at Oregon,

Starting point is 00:30:20 but like I think I think he started to catch some, you know, catch some momentum and like get a lot of hype before we expected this off. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. I think we need to do a superlative's video on these linebackers because if we're only going off what we saw in camp, like a G-Gay is probably the guy you're throwing out there on passing down. downs like yeah because he had a really great camping coverage and overall just what he was able to do in those dime situations so that'll be a future video for sure here on this channel but real quick jake we have to talk a little bit about special teams that we want to see uh blake groupie we expect to be the kicker this season so we'll see what he can do in the preseason but i think the big battle is going to be coleman owin versus anthony gould as punt returner and kick returner i am really pulling from my boy coleman owen that just outperformed gould like look i i want the best for the colts so competition whoever wins it like i'm fine but i don't want it to be a situation where like if owen is so much better they just give it to gould because he was drafted a couple years ago like let this be a true competition because coleman owen last year in the preseason as a pump returner did some really good things and a couple really long returns i like if he shows that again this year there's no reason not to have him as your as your six wide receivers so i hope this is a true competition for these two

Starting point is 00:31:40 because they're going to get a lot of run at punt returner and kick returner and i want to see some good things from both those guys. And then who makes plays in kick coverage as well is a big question. We know some of the big guys that they're going to throw out there, like Drew Ogletree, Tommy's going to be a big part of it, Jonathan Edwards, Jonathan Owens, like those guys are going to be big special teamers. But can a guy really show out at linebacker? Like, can a West Weeks come in here and be an outstanding special teamer and make

Starting point is 00:32:05 it so the Colts have to keep him? Can Taj Chambers do that? Can, you know, any of these other Carson Tout, you know, making some play? I don't know. He's not going to make this team. But you know what I mean? Yeah, Caden Curry, George Gumbs. I think those guys are like bread for special teams.

Starting point is 00:32:18 So who can show out? You know, Brian Mason said he's going to rotate like 50 different guys on kick coverage units. So who can show out in those limited snaps and really make a name for themselves. Yeah, and I think Owen's going to be really interesting because I don't think we really have it making the roster now. But if he wins the return role, surely he boots Gould off the roster altogether, right? Because you're not keeping seven receivers. He probably boots Gould and. and Birx potential off the roster as well.

Starting point is 00:32:45 I had Burks off my roster when I did the 53 because I was like, I can't do it. Like they don't have time to wait for that. Like, if he's, if he doesn't, if he's still got this big learning curve of where to go and where to line up, they don't have time for that. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:33:00 So I left him off mine. Yeah, according to Ryan Mason, he's not going to be getting punt return snaps in this upcoming game. And I think he will get some kick return. So we'll see if Burks can can fight. Burks, I'll include in here. I want the best guy in this competition to win the job.

Starting point is 00:33:15 I just don't want it to be handed to anybody. So if Coleman Owen, Anthony Gould, Dionne Berks, whoever it is, right, shows to be the best returner, reward that player, you know? So I'm pulling, obviously, for Coleman Owen. I'm sure a lot of Colts fans are pulling for Deon Burks and maybe Anthony Gould is pulling for himself. But we'll see what can really happen here in the preseason. But I want the best man to win when it comes to returner.

Starting point is 00:33:37 But let us know in the comment section what you're excited to see on Thursday against New England Patriots. and thank you all for making Lockdown Colt your first listen today and every day. Now for your second listen, check out Locked on NFL scouting as training camps are finishing up and the season. And the season is about ready and Moos are still being made. Host Kyle Crabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. Find Locked on NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you list to your podcast. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur,

Starting point is 00:34:05 NFL and at Zach Hicks to all on socials. If you never met if you've if you never miss an episode, the Everdair Club is I'm glad that's in the end of the episode. If you never miss an episode, the everydayer club is built for you. Get us ad free plus members only Discord access and much more. Had to lockdowncults.com to join the club. Thank you all for tuning in. And we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow after the game.

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