Colts Camp Diary, Day 4: Alec Pierce the Bright Spot in Passing Game

The Indianapolis Colts' passing game was completely boom or bust during Saturday's practice.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (14) pulls in a catch Wednesday, July 23, 2025, during the first day of training camp held at Grand Park in Westfield. | Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's a good thing the Indianapolis Colts' offense worked in the red zone on Saturday because the positives were wholly reliant on getting into the end zone.

After a promising passing performance the day prior, the quarterbacks came back to earth with arguably their ugliest performance of the first week of camp.

This was also the first day when we saw the Colts' coaches intentionally throwing sudden-change situations at the players to gauge their readiness. Among the main observations, they mixed up first and second-team players together, and simulated an interception to see how the offense would respond.

Here's how practice No. 4 went.

TEAM

--Starting linebacker Zaire Franklin remained out as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery. Starting slot corner Kenny Moore II sat out with a sore knee. Offensive tackle Jack Wilson missed his second consecutive practice with a pectoral injury suffered on Thursday.

OFFENSE

--The focus of the offense was red zone work on Saturday, which allowed for more scoring opportunities, as there had yet to be any touchdowns scored through the previous three practices.

---If it weren't for the touchdowns, there would've been very little positive to take away for the quarterbacks. During 11-on-11s, Anthony Richardson was 4-of-14 (28.6%) and Daniel Jones was 5-of-14 (35.7%). With it being red zone day, each did put the ball in the end zone. Richardson had a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce, a short touchdown pass to DJ Giddens, and a short rushing touchdown. He also had a touchdown pass from about 10 yards to Ashton Dulin during 7-on-7s. Richardson threw an interception when JuJu Brents and Anthony Gould popped the ball into the air at the goal line, and Rodney Thomas II picked it out of the air in the end zone. Jones also had a short touchdown to Pierce and a touchdown run from about 10 yards out. He had an interception on the first drive of 11-on-11s, as Samuel Womack III muscled his way in front of Dulin.

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--Pierce is easily the standout on offense so far for the Colts through the first week. He's made plays each day, doesn't appear to have dropped any passes, and scored multiple times on Saturday.

--The pads aren't on yet, but there were some legitimately positive run plays in the red zone, as Jonathan Taylor had a touchdown from about 15 yards out. Tyler Goodson did as well from about 10 yards.

--Riley Leonard had a nice touchdown throw from about 15 yards out, finding Laquon Treadwell in the back of the end zone over Johnathan Edwards.

--This has not been the smoothest camp for either Josh Downs or AD Mitchell. Over the last couple of days, drops have plagued Downs, which is completely uncharacteristic. His track record provides little to no worry about this slump. Mitchell, meanwhile, has yet to get going this summer. After questioning the ball placement of a Jones throw during 1-on-1s, Mitchell would later drop consecutive passes from Jones during 11-on-11s.

DEFENSE

--This is yet another day where the defense stood firm, particularly in the passing game. Linebackers Cam McGrone and Joe Bachie both stood out with pass breakups. Bachie had a couple, with his best coming in the back of the end zone where he had to leap up in front of Tyler Warren to knock the ball away. For the second consecutive day, safety Camryn Bynum was able to slice in at the last moment and dislodge the ball from the receiver. And then, there was the Womack interception and Thomas interception (with the Brents assist).

SPECIAL TEAMS

--The punt team continued to get work, with Daniel Scott once again serving as the primary punt protector, Dulin and Goodson as the gunners, and Gould and Coleman Owen as the returners. Gould and Own also served as the primary kickoff returners when the team briefly worked on kickoffs.