WESTFIELD, Ind. — Anthony Richardson turned in his most efficient day of Colts training camp so far on Thursday, and Daniel Jones continued to complete passes.
But the big play was also missing from the passing game, and there were a lot of contested throws.
Richardson completed 8 of 11 passes in 11-on-11 work and 3 of 4 in 7-on-7, focusing primarily on the kinds of short, chain-moving throws that have sometimes been trouble for him. The young passer opened with a completion in the flat to tight end Will Mallory, then two quick throws to Anthony Gould before finding Adonai Mitchell on an out, Tyler Warren in the flat and Khalil Herbert on a checkdown in 7-on-7.
Working with the starters in the back half of practice, Richardson completed a dig route to rookie tight end Tyler Warren, then waited a little too long on his next throw to Josh Downs, allowing free safety Camryn Bynum to drive down on the play, breaking it up. Warren bailed out Richardson on the next throw, reaching behind himself with his left hand to snag a short throw and get upfield.
Richardson found Warren again on a short throw with Jaylon Carlies in coverage on his next play, hit D.J. Montgomery over the middle after buying time in the pocket, and got Michael Pittman Jr. on a crossing route with rookie cornerback Justin Walley in pursuit. Before the throws to Montgomery and Pittman, Richardson had a chance for a big play to Alec Pierce on a deep slant, but he overthrew Pierce badly, missing enough that Pierce didn’t have a chance to make the catch. He also missed Pittman on a short throw by firing too low and driving it into the dirt, below Pittman’s hands.
Jones completed 6 of 10 passes in 11-on-11 and 3 of 5 in 7-on-7.
His biggest issue was firing into coverage. Five of the veteran quarterback’s six incompletions on the day were pass breakups, including two by cornerback Jaylon Jones, one by rookie safety Hunter Wohler, one by linebacker Joe Bachie and one by veteran cornerback Samuel Womack III, who celebrated by pantomiming putting a sword back into its sheath.
Like Richardson, Jones had trouble finding receivers down the field. Jones completed quick throws to Pittman and tight end Drew Ogletree, an out to Gould, a crosser to Mallory and a dig route to Gould. On his best throw of the day in 11-on-11, a deep over to Josh Downs that Downs hauled in and turned up the field ahead of Kenny Moore II, it was possible that Jones would have been sacked in a real game — defensive end Laiatu Latu was bearing down on the quarterback as he released it.
Even in 7-on-7, the only downfield throw Jones completed was a deep out to Pierce in front of JuJu Brents. The other two completions were shorter: a comeback route to Pierce in the middle of the field where Pierce did a nice job of working back towards Jones to create separation and a hitch to Ogletree.
All gas, no brakes
Delivering a big blow isn’t easy in the NFL-mandated days before the Colts put on full pads.
Rookie safety Hunter Wohler found a way Friday.
Roaming the flat on his first day of 11-on-11 work, Wohler broke hard on a short throw from Richardson to Mallory, bearing down and slamming into the tight end near the line of scrimmage, drawing a gasp from the crowd.
Wohler’s an aggressive player, lining up mostly at strong safety and playing near the line of scrimmage. A little later in the practice, he broke hard on another offering from Jones to break up a short throw, again to Mallory.
The seventh-round pick has appeared to have a couple mistakes in coverage through the first three days, but he also brings a physical nature that fits the role he’ll likely play, lining up as a safety and a dime linebacker.
Sophomore stops and starts
Indianapolis picked two receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft, plucking Mitchell and Gould for two different purposes.
Gould made his impact almost entirely on special teams as a rookie, returning 10 punts and seven kicks while making a single catch on offense.
Three days into his second training camp, Gould looks like he might be a much more capable backup for Josh Downs in the slot. Gould has the longest catch of camp so far, a deep ball from Jones on the first day, and he’s had plenty of volume. Working with the second team, Gould made four catches in 11-on-11 during Friday’s practice — although he did have a drop on a throw from Richardson in 7-on-7 — and he got another touch on a swing pass thrown behind Jones, making it a run instead of a pass.
Mitchell, the other second-year receiver, has found tough sledding in practice so far. He had a drop — his second of camp so far — on a throw from Jones in 7-on-7, and although he’s made a few catches, he’s also had some trouble separating on routes, leading to a breakup by Bachie on Friday.
Colts kicking competition
Indianapolis is holding an open kicking competition, and not all of the kicks will happen in front of the crowds at Grand Park.
But Spencer Shrader and Maddux Trujillo kicked in front of the fans for the first time on Friday.
Shrader made kicks from 33, 37, 41 and 45 yards, then missed two attempts from 53 yards, hooking the first one left and pushing the other to the right. Trujillo made it from 33 and 37, pushed a field goal right from 41 yards, knocked it through at 45 yards and then missed again, pushing it right from 53 yards.
Colts QB camp counter
Richardson: 15 of 29, INT in 11-on-11; 7 of 12 in 7-on-7
Jones: 18 of 27 in 11-on-11; 8 of 13, INT in 7-on-7
Injury report
Veteran middle linebacker Zaire Franklin did not practice as he continues to recover from offseason surgery to clean up his left ankle. Developmental offensive tackle Jack Wilson also did not practice.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward, nose tackle Grover Stewart and defensive end Samson Ebukam were given veteran’s rest days. Ebukam is coming off an Achilles tear.
Quick hitters
Warren was active again, making three catches in 11-on-11 and another in 7-on-7. … Laquon Treadwell has made a couple of highlight-reel catches in the first couple of practices, but he dropped a strike from Riley Leonard at the start of practice. … Undrafted free safety Ladarius Tennison broke up a Jason Bean pass. … Gould and Coleman Owen were the only players returning punts.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts camp observations: Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson struggle vs Colts aggressive DBs
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
