Top 5 Colts Positional Battles to Watch: Post-Draft

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5. Battle of the Bulldog Backs

Incumbent: Vick Ballard

Challenger: Josh Robinson

Having had prior success with former Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard, the Colts elected to select another Bulldog running back in this year’s draft with Josh Robinson in the 6th round.

With Dan “Boom” Herron as the early favorite to handle the carries directly behind Frank Gore, it could be a battle between Ballard and Robinson to see who assumes the 3rd spot on the depth chart. If injuries weren’t an issue with Ballard, who has missed the last two years with season-ending injuries, the Colts probably never even select Robinson.

However, it’ll be interesting to see if Ballard can regain his rookie form in 2012, in which he rushed for 814 yards and 2 touchdowns, or whether the injuries have robbed him of his previous ability. The 24 year old still has youth on his side, even if he doesn’t have the proven track record of durability.

Either way, Robinson is an intriguing option out of the Colts backfield. The 5’8″, 217 pound back runs low to the ground and with pure power and could be a nice change-of-pace back for the team in the future. He’s coming off a season for Mississippi State, in which he rushed for 1,203 rushing yards on 190 carries (6.3 ypc) and 11 touchdowns. He’ll hopefully have a healthy competition with his Bulldog predecessor to see who’s higher on the running back depth chart for the Colts.