What To Watch For: Preseason Week 1

The Colts take on the Lions at home in their preseason opener on Sunday. Here are four things you should keep your eye on against Detroit.

Quarterback

This one is fairly obvious. The Colts’ quarterback situation has dominated headlines across the NFL this offseason as Andrew Luck‘s recovery from offseason shoulder surgery has become complicated.

Scott Tolzien and Stephen Morris were expected to battle for the backup QB position heading into training camp. However, undrafted rookie QB Phillip Walker has stolen some second-team reps from Morris, and he could insert himself into the conversation with a strong preseason performance.

Backup Running Back

The backup running back position is another heated training camp position battle.

There have been multiple reports of Robert Turbin looking good this offseason, but Marlon Mack has also received some rave reviews from Chuck Pagano.

Josh Ferguson also has an outside chance to win the second-string job.

Turbin, Mack, and Ferguson will all get meaningful reps on Sunday, and their performance will go a long way in determining the depth chart at RB.

Third Wide Receiver

We’ve discussed the battle for the third spot on the WR depth chart at length this offseason.

Chester Rogers is reportedly outperforming Kamar Aiken and Phillip Dorsett thus far in training camp. Kamar Aiken has been disappointing in practice, and Phillip Dorsett has been sitting out with an injury.

While Dorsett might not play, Aiken and Rogers have an opportunity to put some good plays on film this weekend.

Rookie Defensive Backs

The Colts spent their first two draft picks on defensive backs in an attempt to improve the league’s 26th-ranked pass defense from last season.

Indianapolis is expecting Malik Hooker to be a game-changer at safety, and they would like Quincy Wilson to become the number two corner opposite of Vontae Davis this season.

This will be their first action in a Colts uniform, and it will be exciting for fans to see the future of this Indianapolis secondary.