3 Colts who’ve made biggest impressions at training camp so far
By Jerry Trotta
Indianapolis Colts football is finally back, as the team hit the field at Grand Park in Westfield for their first practice of training camp on Wednesday.
Since players aren’t cleared to wear pads, it’s difficult to take anything we see during the early stages of camp and project how it could translate into regular season play.
With that being said, however, there are always a couple players who stick out among the rest, whether it be for positive or negative reasons. For instance, Carson Wentz and Jacob Eason, the projected first- and second-string quarterbacks, looked off the pace on Day 1.
But enough about the negatives. Colts football has returned, and it’s here to stay for the next several months. To celebrate training camp’s long-awaited arrival, let’s highlight the players who’ve made the biggest impressions in the early going.
These three Colts have impressed at training camp so far.
3. Marlon Mack
The Colts will finally deliver fans the three-headed backfield that was promised in 2020. Of course, those plans were halted after Marlon Mack’s season-ending Achilles injury.
The list of running backs who’ve attempted comebacks from torn Achilles’ suggests Mack has minimal odds to return to the three-down stud he was before the injury. However, the early returns at training camp indicate the 25-year-old is positioned to shock the world.
Marlon Mack is making his presence felt at training camp.
The fact Mack has no restrictions at camp just nine months removed from the injury is a tremendous accomplishment in and of itself, but he was all the rage at Wednesday’s practice, reminding everybody why the Jonathan Taylor pick surprised some fans.
We obviously don’t mean that as a slight to Taylor, who cemented himself as the Colts’ RB of the future after finishing third in the NFL in rushing as a rookie. However, Mack looking elusive and agile with nary a gimp to be seen suggests he could play a bigger role than expected in 2021.
We certainly don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but Mack returning to a semblance of the powerful and shifty running back he was pre-injury would be massive for the Colts. This is definitely something fans should monitor as we get deeper into training camp.