Biggest Takeaways From Final Day of Colts Training Camp: Keenan Allen Makes Debut

WESTFIELD, IN -- Training camp at Grand Park in Westfield, IN has officially wrapped up... for good.

The Indianapolis Colts are moving their annual summer camp to their practice facility downtown at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis after spending each preseason at Grand Park since 2018.

It's a bittersweet ending, as this venue was a godsend for many families who could only afford to catch the Colts in action, and the facility downtown will inevitably have less overall access and availability.

While the Colts have officially parted ways with their summer home for the last several years, I'm breaking down my biggest takeaways from the team's final practice of training camp, the second of two scrimmages with the Atlanta Falcons.

Yesterday's focus was on the Colts' defense, whereas today's was all about their offense.

Run Game Needs Cleaned Up

The Colts' rushing attack struggled against the Atlanta Falcons during their two-day joint practice, and Thursday was arguably worse than it was yesterday.

Star running back Jonathan Taylor could not get anything going against Atlanta's front seven during 11-on-11 play in the red zone. The Colts' offense ran to the left side most of the time, but they failed to net any positive results despite running behind Quenton Nelson and Co. But it was still the same when they rushed up the middle and/or the outside.

This permeated throughout the Colts' reserve units as well, with running backs Seth McGowan and Ulysses Bentley IV being met at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield more often than not.

This could very well be a blip, especially since the practice setting makes it difficult to gauge overall effectiveness given there is no tackling, but it's still concerning. The Colts have a lot to clean up before the regular season arrives on September 13.

Colts Finish Strong

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen makes his way across the field Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, during a joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons at Grand Park in Westfield. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Colts bested the Falcons in each of the practice's two-minute (down by 1) drills.

Daniel Jones and Co. slowly but surely drove down the field, with a deep ball to Josh Downs that netted a defensive pass interference serving as the headliner. Kicker Spencer Shrader would nail the field goal attempt after Jonathan Taylor made life a little easier on him on the prior play.

Lou Anarumo's starting Colts defense was getting dinked and dunked on by Tua Tagovailoa and Co. to kick off their session, but the veteran defensive coordinator locked in with a stretch of play calls that had the Falcons quarterback in hell. The Falcons were at midfield with 1st and down to work with, but Anarumo's exotic pre-snap looks and post-snap play calls forced three consecutive incompletions before third-year pass rusher Laiatu Latu sealed the deal with a would-be sack.

Anthony Richardson led the Colts' second-team offense down the field for a field goal score as time expired, and then the second-team defense followed suit with an impressive tip drill interception to wrap up training camp festivities at Grand Park once and for all.

Unc's Still Got It

Wide receiver Keenan Allen made his Indianapolis Colts debut on Thursday.

He wasn't expected to do anything other than individual drills, but he wound up taking two 1-on-1 reps and four team (11-on-11) reps against the Atlanta Falcons.

#Colts WR Keenan Allen during 1-on-1s.

🎥: @TBGofficial_ https://t.co/C6rrEBeYTm pic.twitter.com/cfw2uh6ABJ
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) August 20, 2026

Allen didn't do anything to suggest he'll be a Pro Bowler in 2026, but his veteran savviness was on full display in the little amount of work he did. Even his individual drills showcased a player who is undoubtedly more talented than the WR3 options Indianapolis had been trotting out throughout training camp.

“Well, the veteran presence one, and his production. He's been productive every single year he's been in the league. So obviously, we want him to be productive again this year," Colts' head coach Shane Steichen said about Allen's addition after practice on Wednesday.

"He'll come in – obviously, he's been in this system. He'll pick it up quickly, but he'll play outside. He'll play inside. We'll move all our guys around.”

This was Allen's first NFL practice since the 2025 season concluded, so expect his workload to ramp up next week when the Colts return to practice on Tuesday.

LB Room Taking Shape?

Veteran linebackers Akeem Davis-Gaither and Jaylon Carlies conclude Colts training camp as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's starting duo in the middle of the field.

This makes back-to-back-to-back practices with them as the starters, and although Anarumo has been regularly rotating the room throughout training camp, their consistent placement on top of their strong play suggests this could be the Week 1 pair come September 13.

Carlies has really come on as of late, especially in pass coverage, with a strong day on Sunday trickling into the team's final practice, where he picked off Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. Davis-Gaither had been a steady hand throughout camp, with his familiarity within Anaurmo's defense from their days together in Cincinnati showing up on the field.

Backup QBs Rebound

Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson Sr. each had solid showings during their final training camp practice.

Leonard shined in red zone play with the reserve unit, tossing four touchdowns to the left side. Each touchdown was to a different passcatcher, with the receivers in question being WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR Deion Burks, TE Will Mallory, and TE Tyler Moore.

Richardson was the second-team quarterback on Thursday after Leonard had his opportunity on Wednesday. Even though Richardson didn't connect with any of his receivers for touchdowns, he was an efficient 5-for-7 on the day and led the second-team offense on a field-goal-scoring drive during the practice's final simulated drive period, which had them start with 2-minute from their own 25-yard line down by one point.

This position battle has gone back and forth throughout training camp, and now the team's final two preseason games will ultimately determine who earns the QB2 role directly under starting quarterback Daniel Jones.

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