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Only a few days remain until the start of the 2023 NFL preseason for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts will start their preseason with a Saturday matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Indianapolis took on the Bills during the 2022 preseason, falling in a 27-24 loss at Highmark Stadium. The game saw quarterbacks Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles and Matt Ryan combine for 187 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. Indianapolis will round out its preseason run with games against the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Colts will have plenty of questions to answer before the start of the 2023 NFL Season. How will quarterback Gardner Minshew and receiver Isaiah McKenzie fit in their new roles with the Colts? Who will win some of the team's biggest position battles? Who will have the most to prove before the 2023 season?
The Colts released their first unofficial depth chart on Tuesday. Both Minshew and McKenzie took starting spots on the roster. Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will take the start under center when Indy kicks off against the Bills at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday in Highmark Stadium, according to a Thursday tweet from NFL Network National Insider Ian Rapoport. Defensive end Samson Ebukam, who signed with Indianapolis in March after spending his last two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, earned a starting spot on the team's defensive line.
Who are some players on the Indianapolis Colts roster bubble who need to shine in the 2023 NFL preseason?
Mike Strachan
Strachan, a former seventh-round pick for the Colts in 2021, played in 19 games over his two-year NFL career. He gained five receptions and 85 receiving yards during his two years in Indy, earning as many as 36 receiving yards on two receptions during a 20-20 tie against the Houston Texans in 2022.
The 6-foot-5 receiver is behind wideout Alec Pierce on the team's depth chart. He took spots in front of receivers Juwann Winfree and Vyncint Smith. McKenzie and North Carolina receiver Josh Downs, who was selected with the 79th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, highlight some of the newcomers in the Colts' wide receiver room.
Strachan will have to prove himself in the preseason and beyond to keep pace with some of the team's newer receiver additions.
Drew Ogletree
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Ogletree did not play in the 2022 season after he tore his ACL during a joint practice with the Detroit Lions.
“It was a long journey,” Ogletree said in July, via Colts.com Contributing Writer Raven Moore. “I never thought my rookie year I'd be sitting out. But, you know, being back on the field with the guys,- even our first day just going through warmup lines, I was lowkey getting a little emotional. It kind of hit me that I was really back and that I get to play with the guys. So, I felt amazing.”
Ogletree took a spot behind five-year Colts veteran tight end Mo Alie-Cox in the team's depth chart. Tight ends Will Mallory, Pharaoh Brown and Michael Jacobson rounded out the spots behind him. The Colts signed Brown in April after he split time with the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans last season.
Jaylon Jones
Jones, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, had an impressive few seasons with Texas A&M before he declared for the NFL Draft in December. He finished his three-year Aggie career with a total of 98 tackles, 17 pass deflections, three interceptions, one fumble recovery and two tackles for loss.
Jones took spots behind cornerbacks Dallis Flowers and Darius Rush. Rush was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Flowers and cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. took starting spots in the team's secondary alongside safeties Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas II.
If Jones can shine during the preseason, he can provide some extra depth for a Colts defense that ended the 2022 season with a total of 3,569 passing yards allowed, putting them in 12th place in the league in 2022.
