3 Colts' Position Battles to Watch in Preseason Opener vs. Patriots

The Indianapolis Colts finally face off against someone other than their teammates as they begin their preseason slate against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

The Colts and Patriots participated in a joint practice on Tuesday against the reigning AFC Champions. Head coach Shane Steichen was pleased with his team's performance, which saw the Colts end practice on a high note on both sides of the ball.

"It was great. Obviously, competitive," Steichen said. "Obviously, they played in the Super Bowl last year, so it was good to get that competition. ... A lot of back and forth. Ended it with the two-minute drive there at the end. Ones got some reps, Twos got some reps. Really pleased with the first offense going there, and same thing with the defense, Cam Bynum getting a pick there to end it. So, it was awesome.”

While Steichen admitted that most of the starters will not play in the preseason opener, the competition at multiple spots across the roster will be in full swing. Here are the top position battles to keep an eye on for the Colts in Foxborough.

Backup Quarterback

Indianapolis Colts quarterbacks Riley Leonard (15) and Anthony Richardson Sr. (5) participate in a drill. — 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. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Steichen revealed on Tuesday that Daniel Jones will not play in the preseason as the Colts focus on keeping him healthy and ready for the regular season. That means there will be ample snaps available for Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard over the next few weeks.

Steichen announced that Richardson will start against the Patriots on Thursday and play the entire first half. Leonard will get his crack at it in the second half. The two will flip roles next week against the Atlanta Falcons, with Leonard getting the start.

The competition between Richardson and Leonard has been tight through the first two weeks of camp, with both quarterbacks experiencing ups and downs. While Leonard has started to gain a slight advantage, a strong performance from Richardson, in which he shows consistency and command of the offense, could tighten things up quickly.

Wide Receiver

The battle for WR3 behind Alec Pierce and Josh Downs has been an intriguing competition. Ashton Dulin started training camp as the overwhelming favorite to win the job. He has developed a rapport with Jones and has been on the receiving end of multiple touchdowns.

While Dulin is still the favorite – the veteran is only taking reps with the starters and none on special teams – Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has made the battle a little more interesting over the past week. Westbrook-Ikhine has the size to be a red zone target for Jones and the speed to take the top off any defense. The former Indiana Hoosier has made highlight plays on multiple occasions.

The wide receiver spot could be one of the only positions we see potential starters playing on Thursday. If Dulin does not play, the battle could be all but decided. However, if Dulin and Westbrook-Ikhine are both out there, it likely signals the competition is closer than we thought.

Kicker

The kicking competition is one of the most important battles across the roster. Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader will each get a chance to kick on Thursday as special teams coordinator Brian Mason wants to ensure both kickers have as many opportunities as possible.

"All the kicks that we've charted or filmed, there's highs and lows to both guys," Mason explained. "I think it's been overall a solid work. Grupe overall is kicking 85 percent and Shrader's kicking 83 percent. The bigger differentiation is going to be when they go live. Shrader hasn't been kicking as consistently as Grupe when we've been going live. Obviously, everybody has seen those live kicks and kind of discussed or known that, and Grupe’s kicking 91 percent before (Saturday) when we've gone live. But we kind of look at the big picture overall.

"We're not judging who's the best kicker in the first two weeks. We're judging who is the best kicker to make us through the regular season that gives us the best chance to score points and win games."

Expect Grupe and Shrader to get close to the same number of attempts on Thursday night. Grupe holds the lead in the competition for now, but all it takes is a slight slump by either kicker to really impact the outcome of the battle.

Sign Up For the Colts Daily Digest - OnSI’s Indianapolis Colts Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google