WESTFIELD — Alec Pierce’s absence has put a spotlight on the veterans competing for playing time at outside receiver for the Colts.
Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and even Pendleton native Eli Pancol have gotten chances in that role with Pierce out.
It is far too early to tell if any of those players can make the jump to be a true No. 3 receiver. Treadwell and Westbrook-Ikhine made two plays apiece in 11-on-11 drills Thursday, mostly by working over the middle on slants and drags. Each receiver was able to find a hole between two levels of coverage for a gain of 15 to 20 yards.
How the receivers handle their chances with the starters will likely carry a lot of weight. Each of Westbrook-Ikhine’s grabs came while working with the No. 2 offense; Treadwell made a catch on a play over the middle. If a receiver can hold his own against Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward consistently, he can win the job, but it’s been hard to see on the first two days, outside of a Treadwell slant past Gardner.
Daniel Jones finished 7 of 9 on Thursday, tossing his first interception while trying to improvise, but most of his completions so far have gone to tight ends and running backs.
Underrated defender
Austin Ajiake isn’t often mentioned as a presence in the Colts’ linebacker room.
Ajiake, an undrafted free agent who fought his way onto the roster as a sleeper in training camp, ended up playing 157 defensive snaps as the team’s primary strong-side linebacker, producing 32 tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits in 2025.
With rookie middle linebacker CJ Allen out due to a calf injury and veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither also sitting out on Thursday, Ajiake stepped into the starting lineup with rookie Bryce Boettcher and made plays, just like he did in training camp a year ago.
Ajiake made a good run stop up the middle, read a bootleg to Tyler Warren perfectly to limit the toss to a short gain.
He also made the biggest play of practice on Thursday, roaming across the middle to pick off an errant throw from Jones. Jones was trying to improvise, throwing off his back foot — his two worst throws in the first two days have come in that situation — but Ajiake still had to make an athletic, lunging play over the middle.
“Austin’s in that line of guys trying to earn himself a spot,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “He’s a tireless worker, a smart football player. Looking for him to continue to improve.”
Backup QB battle
Jones is getting the lion’s share of the snaps, leaving precious little time for Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard to make an impression in the shorter practices that open training camp.
Indianapolis continues to rotate the two players with the No. 2 unit. Richardson completed 4 of 5 passes in 11-on-11, but he also threw a tipped-ball interception to Cameron Mitchell in 7-on-7 drills and appeared to be firing a bit high on most of his throws, although his receivers made plays.
Leonard completed 3 of 4 throws, playing much faster in the pocket than he did on the first day. His best throw was a laser over the middle to Will Mallory on a play that appeared to be an RPO.
Rookie moments
Deion Burks is an intriguing rookie, a seventh-round pick that a lot of analysts graded much higher.
Burks isn’t getting a chance to work with Jones in 11-on-11 work yet.
But both the upside and the inconsistency of youth were on display today. Burks made a nice catch downfield from Leonard in 7-on-7 work, but a play later, he popped a high fastball from Richardson into the air, allowing Mitchell to intercept it. Burks bounced back later to catch a slant from Richardson and another short throw from Leonard in 11-on-11 work to end practice.
There is opportunity at wide receiver. With Pierce out of action for a week or two, there are a bunch of different receivers competing for the No. 3 role behind Pierce and Josh Downs. If Burks is going to fight his way into that mix, he needs to turn some heads.
Roll call
Davis-Gaither did not practice for undisclosed reasons. Allen (calf) and wide receiver Pierce (ankle) remain on the physically unable to perform list. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has only participated in individual drills so far.
Quick hitters
Justin Walley broke up the first deep ball of camp. Josh Downs initially beat the young slot corner down the sideline, and Jones gave him a good ball that might have been a half-step underthrown. That half step was all Walley needed to get his hands on it, breaking up the throw for a big incompletion. … Jones is 10 of 10 in 7-on-7 drills through the first two days. … The two young backs battling for the No. 2 job behind Jonathan Taylor have each had their moments. Second-year back DJ Giddens has impressive burst and quickness through the hole. Rookie Seth McGowan isn’t as quick, but he finds the hole and attacks with power. … Rookie strong safety A.J. Haulcy pulled up instead of hitting wide receiver Anthony Gould on a deep dig over the middle because Indianapolis isn’t in pads; in a game, Haulcy could have blown up the diminutive receiver. … Robert Carter Jr., a cornerback the Colts picked up from the CFL, broke up a throw from Leonard to Raylen Sharpe.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts training camp observations: Battle for No. 3 WR job takes center stage
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
