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As Frank Reich gets ready to break Indianapolis Colts training camp for the first time in 2022 and head to the team’s opening preseason game vs. the Buffalo Bills, the franchise released its first unofficial depth chart. While the Colts depth chart doesn’t have a ton of surprises, there are a few players in interesting slots that are worth noting.
Here are the three biggest head-turners from the inaugural Colts 2022 depth chart.
3 biggest surprises from Frank Reich's first depth chart for 2022
3. Keke Coutee at punt returner
On Frank Reich’s first Colts depth chart of the 2022 season, it’s no surprise that Nyheim Hines is the No. 1 punt returner. The backup RB was the only Colts player to record a punt return in 2021, running back 23 punts for 170 yards.
Hines will again be the primary PR man in 2022, but the player listed behind him is a bit head-scratching.
Keke Coutee is a five-year NFL veteran wide receiver with sure hands, but he hasn’t been much of a return man. In fact, he only has seven punt returns for 48 yards and five kick returns for 97 yards in his career. These all came back in 2020 with the Houston Texans.
Coutee’s lack of experience fielding punts isn’t the biggest issue, though. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound wideout has been incredibly fragile in his career. In his first four NFL seasons, Coutee has played just 25 games and has never made more than nine appearances in a single season.
If Coutee is just a placeholder and periodic fair-catcher for Reich and the Colts, that’s fine. But they shouldn’t count on him as an actual returner, especially if they are counting on him as a wide receiver.
2. Kylen Granson as TE2
Kylen Granson is a second-year player who appeared in all 17 games for the Colts last season and made 11 catches for 106 yards at the tight end position.
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Frank Reich currently lists Granson on the Colts depth chart as the second starting TE behind Mo Alie-Cox. The reason this is surprising is that he has two rookies breathing down his neck at Colts training camp.
In a show of what the organization thinks about Granson’s potential, the Colts drafted not one, but two tight ends in the 2022 draft. The team took Virginia’s Jelani Woods in the third round and Youngstown State’s Drew Ogletree in the sixth.
Ogletree is one of the breakout stars of Colts training camp so far, and Reich recently said of Woods, per Colts.com, “I see more and more of him every day. You can just tell he is getting more and more comfortable with the offense. He's playing faster and faster.”
Granson has earned a shot as the more tenured vet to get the start at TE2 against the Bills, but the bigger surprise would be if he still holds that spot in Week 2 of the preseason.
1. Nick Cross as the starting safety
This is a Colts depth chart surprise that Indianapolis fans, coaches, and front office should all get excited about. Rookie third-round safety out of Maryland Nick Cross is SS1 on Frank Reich’s list right now.
So far in Colts training camp, the 20-year-old rookie is outplaying Rodney McLeod, a 32-year-old veteran with 123 career NFL starts. Cross is young for an NFL draft pick and only played in 27 games in three seasons with the Terps. However, he is also an explosive athlete, a play-maker, and a big-hitter.
After Colts safety Khari Willis shockingly retired this offseason, it seemed as if the franchise could be in trouble at strong safety. If Nick Cross emerges as a rookie starter, though, the team could actually now be set for a long time.
