2023 Rookie Review (The Indianapolis Star)

[Colts And Orioles]

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Colts Rookie Report: How JuJu Brents, Anthony Richardson, Josh Downs Handled 1st Season

(By Nate Atkins)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...d/72413587007/



The Colts always planned to go young at outside cornerback in 2023.

They had no idea it would look quite like this.

When the 2022 season ended with a 4-12-1 thud and five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore asked for a trade, general manager Chris Ballard was left with a choice to make. He had a rookie quarterback and first-time coach incoming. His franchise timeline needed a reset. And with cupboards bare at a premium position, he went for the hardest reset imaginable.

"There was a reason we drafted three of them," Ballard said in training camp.

The plan all along was to start JuJu Brents at one outside spot. The local product from Warren Central High School was always an easy NFL Draft projection given his length and background, and the Colts made him their first pick after Anthony Richardson, selecting the Kansas State product in the second round.

The Colts had no idea they'd be invested in their seventh-round pick, a cornerback from Texas A&M named Jaylon Jones. He was the Colts' 11th of 12 picks in the draft, a dart throw at a former consensus five-star high school recruit who had the size and length to possibly factor in on special teams.

As it turned out, Jones not only made the roster over fifth-round South Carolina product Darius Rush, but rose to start 10 games and play 787 defensive snaps, or nearly 300 more than Brents.

“Even when I was drafted in the seventh round, I said that an opportunity is an opportunity. What are you going to do with it?" Jones said. “Coming into the year, it was straight-up: Special teams, go out there and make your name on special teams and put the team in position to win. Then it’s having a next-man-up mentality."

That mentality proved crucial to a Colts season that surprised in so many ways.

Carnage hit the plan Ballard took at the cornerback position. His other starting outside cornerback, Isaiah Rodgers Sr., was suspended for all of his final contract year for gambling, and the Colts released him. That position was then up for grabs between second-year undrafted players Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker Jr., and both impressed enough to start the season opener ahead of Brents, who was slowed by offseason wrist surgery as well as two hamstring issues in training camp.

Jones broke through as a gunner on special teams but was buried behind all of these names.

But then Baker struggled, and Brents grabbed a starting spot by Week 3. The very next week, Flowers tore his Achilles, and the Colts turned to Jones above Baker.

Three weeks after that, Brents suffered a major quad injury and would not see the field for six more games.

Suddenly, Jones was the last player standing that Indianapolis was investing in at the position. It isn't how he got here, but it's where he rose to after carrying his physical press-man coverage skills from training camp into real games.

Jones played in all 17 games, creating growing pains and learning lessons for a late draft pick learning to tap into his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame. He broke up six passes but allowed four touchdowns. He gave up completions on 55.6% of passes his way, according to Sports Info Solutions, in addition to two tackles for loss and eight missed tackles.

“I’ve been playing ball ever since I can remember, but every day you learn something new," Jones said. "That’s the greatest part about this game, especially playing our position.”

The lessons for Brents were of a much different type. He saw some on the field, growing from the coverage he busted against Puka Nacua and the Rams in an overtime loss to the touchdown he saved against DeAndre Hopkins and the Titans a week later. He made some signature plays, such as the forced fumble and recovery against Kenyan Drake and the Ravens and an interception of Trevor Lawrence.

But health was his biggest challenger all season. It started with the wrist surgery before the draft, but it lingered through hamstring and quad issues that took a toll on a lengthy body still trying to grow into itself amid the wear and tear of an NFL season.

"At the end of the day with JuJu, he’s very talented. He cares deeply," Ballard said. "We think he’s going to really be an excellent player, but he’s got to be healthy, and he’s got to practice. That’s how you get better."

For the hometown rookie dwarfed with ticket requests from friends and family, that toll grew heavy.

"I've busted my ass to make sure I can stay on the field. Sometimes things happen," Brents said. "This offseason will be a good opportunity to figure it out and nip it in the bud.

"... But the confidence? I've had that my whole life."

Brents allowed more plays than Jones did on the whole, giving up a 65.9% completion rate and 9.0 yards per target, per SIS. But he also made plays, with six passes defended, an interception and a forced fumble in just half season of work.

The two have given Ballard what he hoped to find, two possible starting options on rookie contracts.

For Brents, this was hopefully the beginning of a career of working past those injuries to make splash plays for his hometown team. For Jones, this was experience he never expected and an opportunity to show he's more than just a seventh-round player.

“It’s going to be exciting to see next year, man," Jones said. "To see this group prevail.”

Here's how the rest of Indianapolis' draft picks handled their rookie seasons:


QB Anthony Richardson (Round 1)


This season was supposed to be all about Anthony Richardson -- his arrival, his growth, his maturity, his mistakes, his lessons learned and his initiation in a franchise and a locker room and a city. The Colts saw snippets of all of that, but like his college career, it was only flashes.

Richardson's season ended four games after it started, on a routine designed run against the Titans in which a defender landed on his shoulder and sprained the AC joint. It cut short what was certainly going to be a learning year for him and what also could have been electric, based on what he was showing.

"I kind of expected that from myself, but I kind of shocked myself a little bit when I was doing the things I was doing," Richardson said.

There are two ways to look at Richardson after a four-game rookie season. The glass half-empty approach is to focus on the injuries, from the sprained throwing shoulder to the brain injury that cost him a game and a half. Dating back to his senior year of high school, Richardson has durability questions to answer, and those questions seep into his playing style as the most athletic quarterback prospect in NFL history, now tasked with surviving 17-game seasons.

The glass half-full approach is to see the main injury as a fluke -- it's his only long-term injury since high school, the first time he's missed games since his sophomore year at Florida -- and to focus instead on the play before that setback.

The Colts are living in the latter space, and it's what has them so excited about the future.

"I’m going to tell you one of the things that really surprised me with Anthony because I was concerned about it: This guy is a passer," Ballard said. "Here’s this big, talented athlete. I mean, this guy is a legitimate passer, and I believe that. I think he’s going to continue to get better and improve the more he plays. But Anthony can play from the pocket and throw the ball accurately."

The plays are still fresh in their minds. There was the one against the Rams, with Aaron Donald crashing down from the edge, when he stood straight and flicked his wrist and the ball flew 38 yards on a rope to Alec Pierce down the sideline.

There was another in that same game, when he rolled right out of pressure and side-armed a ball in stride to Mo Alie-Cox to create a 35-yard touchdown.

There were those touchdown runs against the Texans, including a draw that had such an explosive burst no player could close on him until he reached the end zone.

Richardson's talent is undeniable now, between the historic combine performance with the 4.43-second 40-yard dash and the 129-inch broad jump and between his play on the field, when he became the first quarterback ever to run for four touchdowns in his first three games.

None of it will matter if he can't stay healthy, but Richardson's plan isn't to go into a shell now. He plans to make the tweaks he was starting to against the Rams and Titans, by sliding and stepping out of bounds and running hard through the end zone. But he knows his ceiling lives in his ability to do it all.

He'll get back to throwing in February. He'll return to Jacksonville to train with Gardner Minshew and Six Points again. He'll be ready by organized training activities to step back in as the starter and to build a connection with Pierce, Josh Downs, Jelani Woods and -- he hopes -- Michael Pittman Jr.

In his world, last season was just a taste of what's to come.


WR Josh Downs (Round 3)


No player was more emotional, more hungry and more ready to be drafted by the Colts last spring than Josh Downs, a prolific college receiver who had to wait and wait because of his lack of size.

As the North Carolina All-American receiver spoke through his tears on the draft call while his father poured champagne on his head, he made a promise to his new coach and general manager.

“You’ve got a real competitor and a great player," Downs said. "I’m coming.”

Downs did more than that as a rookie. He was one of two draft picks to play in all 17 games. And he caught 66 passes, the most by any rookie receiver in Colts history, passing Bill Brooks and Marvin Harrison Jr.

It became his middle finger to the questions about his 5-foot-9, 171-pound size. And in working interchangeably with Richardson and Gardner Minshew to produce 771 yards and 30 first downs, he showed that his hands, route running and football IQ can translate regardless of the level.

Downs did slow down in the second half, going from 59 yards per game in the first eight to 33 in the final nine. The change happened as he re-injured his knee against the Panthers and barely played against the Patriots and also as defenses began to key in on a breakout rookie.

"It was definitely a long season," Downs said. "Being able to push through it was the only thing on my mind, really."

Playing a high-volume role every week is going to remain a challenge for a player his size, but that's where Richardson's ability to add a rushing threat can pay dividends. Downs also stepped up in the absence of targets to Pierce, which is another area the Colts believe Richardson can correct.

Downs is here to bring out the in-structure, timing- and accuracy-based throws in Richardson's development.

"Before the (last) game, I was like, 'Next year, this is going to be us here,'" Downs said of Richardson. "We've got a lot more of this to look forward to."


OT Blake Freeland (Round 4)


Rookie seasons bring challenges players have never seen on a football field before, and perhaps nobody lived that reality this year more than Blake Freeland.

He was the team's fourth-round pick slotted in as the swing tackle behind Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith thanks to his experience playing both at BYU. He'd need all that experience and then some when he was sent out to block against the likes of Aaron Donald, Josh Allen and Myles Garrett in some of his first pro games.

"I don’t care who the tackle is when you are lining up against Myles Garrett – that’s not easy," Ballard said. "There never was the look of doubt or despair in his eye, and that’s an encouraging thing. He will get better, and he will continue to grow."

Freeland predictably had some tough moments, such as the strip-sack touchdown he allowed to Garrett in a one-point loss to the Browns. He committed four false starts and allowed six sacks, according to Sports Info Solutions.

But he also became important glue in Smith's most difficult season yet, which pulled the right tackle off the field for seven games amid a number of injuries. He gave the Colts just enough at a premium position to be able to put up the 11th-best scoring offense and come within a game of the playoffs.

Between those seven starts on the right side and two more on the left, Freeland saw far more playing time than anyone planned during a rookie season that was supposed to be about building technique and strength. The performance wasn't great, but like Raimann the year before, the hope is that those early trials can build a fearlessness and football IQ that can make his sophomore season all the easier.

He'll be back in a swing role then, now with 702 offensive snaps under his belt.


TE Will Mallory (Round 5)


Like Freeland to a lesser extent, Will Mallory slipped into a utility role he didn't know was coming his rookie year.

After just four catches and playing time in five games in the first 10 of the season, Mallory caught on to a real role for the final seven. He was active in every game and caught 14 passes for a team that was suddenly making a push for the playoffs.

The Miami product was buried on the depth chart until Drew Ogletree hurt his foot against the Panthers and didn't make the trip to Germany. The Colts began scheming a few plays up for this athletic player from a family of football coaches who measures 6-foot-4 and 239 pounds. If he was in the game, they were often going his way.

"You sort of look up and he’s making some plays, he’s making some catches," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "Sometimes it’s within the pass route that’s called or the pass concept that’s called. Sometimes it’s moving with the quarterback or hanging in there with the quarterback as the quarterback moves."

Mallory delivered in a way that wasn't explosive but was reliable and efficient nonetheless, as he averaged 8.0 yards per target on the way to a 207-yard season. Of his 18 catches, 11 went for first downs.

Like all rookie tight ends, Mallory faced a learning curve and a need to add strength. His first full offseason should accelerate both areas. And with Ogletree's future in doubt after an arrest on a domestic battery charge, Kylen Granson entering a contract year and Jelani Woods needing to prove he can get back on the field, a path exists for Mallory to take a major role in an offense that needs consistency at tight end.


The Rest


4th-round Northwestern defensive lineman l Adetomiwa Adebawore l found himself buried at the strongest and healthiest position on the Colts roster, in a year when they set the Indianapolis record with 51 sacks. Training as an inside-outside option behind Dayo Odeyingbo and Tyquan Lewis, Adebawore saw time in 10 games, with more time on special teams (25% of snaps) than defense (19%). He was able to notch 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hits, though he missed three tackles, as many as he made in solo form. He will compete for a depth spot again next season, this time under a new position coach.

5th-round California Safety l Daniel Scott l suffered a torn ACL in June, cutting his rookie season short before training camp arrived. That cost the Colts a player they hoped could be a force on special teams, but he still found a way to impress. Said Ballard, "I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a kid that just every day in the same spot paying attention, dialing in mentally – every single day from training camp to the end of the year. The kid didn’t miss a day." Scott will rehab and compete for a backup safety spot, and he could be one of Indianapolis' core four special teamers.

6th-round Northwestern running back l Evan Hull l had a chance to create a sizable role for himself this season when Jonathan Taylor entered a contract dispute with the team and missed the first four games and Zack Moss suffered a broken forearm in training camp, which would cost him the first game. Hull impressed in the preseason with his pass protection skills, which the Colts were searching for after trading Nyheim Hines the previous fall. But he tore a meniscus in the season opener and never made it back in his rookie season. He will rehab and get the equivalent of his rookie year next season, where he'll compete for special teams and third-down work.

7th-round Wagner defensive end l Titus Leo l spent this season on the Colts practice squad, where he imitated opposing defensive linemen while developing some of his own skills in the team's "competition" portion of practice, where practice squad players get to run the Colts' plays. He'll compete to make the team next year, likely as a situational edge rusher.

7th-round Northern Michigan offensive tackle l Jake Witt l suffered a season-ending hip injury in training camp, which stole a season of development from one of the most athletic prospects around. After just parts of two seasons as an offensive tackle in high school or college, he'll need that seasoning and work in the strength program this season.

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