Biggest Winners and Losers From the First Week of Colts Training Camp

The Indianapolis Colts enter week two of training camp with a better idea of what their roster consists of after four practices.

There's been minimal, if any, change to their overall depth chart after just one week of pad-less practices, but there's no doubt been some intriguing individual peformances that paints a better picture of what's to come.

With the being said, follow along as I break down who I feel is the Colts' biggest winners and losers of training camp before the team puts the pads on this week.

Winners

Daniel Jones

It's not surprising that Daniel Jones is deemed a winner of Colts training camp through one week of practice. However, it surprising to see just how fresh and dialed in he's looked thus far.

It truly seems as though Jones never tore his Achilles late in the 2025 season, and their efficient early-season offense from a season ago appears to be back on the menu. Jones has consistently shown the same amount of command of the offense and physical ability that he did a season ago, and now the Colts look like geniuses for betting on his return to form after it seemed like they were throwing in the towel by counting on their most important player to come back from an Achilles tear.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

I'm on record as deeming the Colts' current-look receiver room to be nothing to write home about, and while I stand by that overall outlook, I'd be remiss not to shout out veteran wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine's under-the-radar performance thus far.

Westbrook-Ikhine has slowly but surely been acclimated to head coach Shane Steichen's complex offense, and has only produced and flashed reliable hands with each practice. After a quiet first two days at training camp, the veteran has come onto the scene as a solid free agent addition with multiple strong grabs in 11-on-11 play.

Colby Wooden

Trading away starting linebacker Zaire Franklin was seen as nothing more than getting him off the Colts' books as he entered a contract year, but I begged to differ once I saw the return package.

The Colts gained one season of defensive tackle Colby Wooden, and I immediately viewed this modest haul as their most underrated move of the offseason. And through four practices so far, Wooden has proved to be a much-needed depth piece across the interior.

Chris Hewitt

The Colts' secondary has been hyped up to have intriguing potential entering the 2026 regular season, and so far they've proven that they have what it takes to become a top-tier unit.

Veteran secondary coach Chris Hewitt enters second week of training camp as one of the Colts' biggest winners thanks to his defensive backfield's impressive showing in week one. In particular, their starting cornerback group of Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward Sr., and Justin Walley has played as if they'll be one of the best starting units in the NFL, with their impressive depth suggesting that they could have one of the best rooms altogether.

Cam Bynum remains the reliable free safety back deep, while second-year safety Hunter Wohler and rookie A.J. Haulcy have had a quiet but promising battle at strong safety so far. We'll see who stands out once the pads come on next week, but at least they've both proven to be solid options.

Losers

Jonathan Taylor

To be fair to Jonathan Taylor, nothing he's done through four training camp practices makes him part of the losing group.

In fact, his decision to not replicate his 2023 offseason antics and hold-in from camp as he looks to strike an extension is fantastic news for the Colts as they enter a make-or-break season for its regime.

Taylor's greatness that deserves a breather, and so far his projected depth hasn't prove that he'll be getting the extra help that the Colts are aiming to give him.

DJ Giddens and Seth McGowan have slowly but surely found success on the ground throughout training camp thus far, but it's their third-down potential (or lack thereof) that is keeping either back from separating to earn the offense's opening as the primary running back.

Anthony Richardson

Richardson is fresh off a solid spring showing that suggested he'd be worth keeping around for the upcoming regular season, and general manager Chris Ballard kicked off training camp by sharing that he anticipates the fourth-year quarterback will stick out his rookie contract with the team that drafted him fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

However, Richardson's camp thus far has proven that he's still the same hot-and-cold quarterback that's ultimately kept him from becoming the franchise guy that the Colts hoped he'd become.

That's not to say Richardson has been downright awful by any means, as he arguably had the team's best overall play of camp thus far when he climbed the pocket after sensing pressure and subsequently found paydirt on a 50-yard bomb to wide receiver Sahmir Hagans in the Colts' third practice on Friday. But it's his overall inconsistency both pre and post-snap that's holding him back.

He'll continue to rotate with second-year quarterback Riley Leonard on the second team offense as the two battle it out for the backup role behind Daniel Jones, but so far, there's little reason to believe that he's destined for a resurgence entering 2026.

Spencer Shrader

The Colts have only had one true kicking competition in training camp so far, and although Shrader missed just one field goal during said session, he's looking like the second option moving forward.

We got our first round of kicking:

Blake Grupe was 6-of-6, with makes from about 32, 37, 40, 45, 50, and 55.

Spencer Shrader was 5-of-6, pushing the 50-yard attempt left.
— Jake Arthur (@JakeArthurNFL) July 31, 2026

Shrader quickly established himself as a reliable option during the Colts' first five games of the 2025 season, but it's Blake Grupe's continued resurgence, particularly from beyond 50 yards, that makes him the favorite entering the second week of training camp.

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