The Colts have a well-rounded roster, but these position battles will be key to watch.
Heading into the 2020 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts figure to be even more competitive than they were last year. Perhaps the division crown is even more achievable, with the Houston Texans getting worse, and the Tennessee Titans facing pressure to repeat their 2019 success.
When you look at the Colts on paper, honestly, they have an extremely well-balanced roster. However, there are a few starting positions that will be up for grabs when training camp rolls around next week.
Here are the battles fans should be keeping their eyes on over the next month or so.
3. Kicker
Adam Vinatieri is all but officially gone, and the Colts need a new kicker.
For some reason, the door has not been fully closed on Adam Vinatieri, but many Colts fans would agree that should have been the case last year. The 48-year-old suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2019 after putting together a career-worst campaign. Perhaps the injury played a significant role, but it’s clear the page is turning.
Indy re-signed Chase McLaughlin and then brought in undrafted free agent Rodrigo Blankenship, who was the best kicker in the nation, out of Georgia. That smells like a fierce kicking competition to us.
McLaughlin went 5-for-6 on field goal attempts and 11-for-11 on XPs with the Colts in four games last year, hitting two 50+ yarders in the process. As for Blankenship, he didn’t miss a single XP throughout his college career and converted field goals at an 82.5% clip (don’t forget the wide hash marks in the NCAA make it harder).
We don’t know who will be kicking for the Colts in 2020, but it probably won’t be Vinatieri.