3 best plays from the first week of Colts training camp

A week into training camp, the Indianapolis Colts have already had several plays that are getting fans excited for the upcoming season.

The time of the year that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived. Well, everyone is really waiting for the start of the season but training camp is always a nice appetizer. The Indianapolis Colts started training camp on July 27 and things have already been eventful for Indy.

The team has given some quality quotes, some interesting storylines to follow, and most importantly, the Colts have been putting on great practices open to the public. Every day, tons of fans are showing up to watch this promising team put in the work.

What everyone loves to see are exciting plays. Following each practice, everyone scrambles to social media to see the most exciting plays from the day. In case you missed any, here are the three most exciting plays from Indy’s first week of training camp.

3. Alec Pierce makes his first big catch

Indianapolis’ top draft pick in this year’s draft was wide receiver Alec Pierce and it didn’t take long for him to get his first roar from the training camp crowd. On day one of practice, the Colts were forced inside due to weather, but several fans were still allowed inside to observe the practice.

During the 11-on-11 period, Matt Ryan connected with the rookie Pierce on a deep-in route. While this is ultimately a routine pass play, the excitement comes from what it represents. Pierce is a talented receiver and is expected to bring a lot of explosion to this offense.

In the first practice, Pierce was already running with the ones and this chunk-play completion was just a promising foreshadowing of what fans can look forward to during the season. With enough of these connections, Pierce could be Offensive Rookie of the Year.

2. Nick Cross gets started early

Alec Pierce wasn’t the only rookie to step up, in fact, Pierce was beaten to the punch by his defensive counterpart Nick Cross. Drafted in the third round to play safety, Nick Cross quickly showed why Indy traded up to select him.

In Wednesday’s practice, the first practice of training camp, during the 7-on-7 period, Cross only needed until the second play before he made his first splash play. He was able to jump a route on a Matt Ryan-thrown ball and tip the ball in the air and then dive and catch it for an interception.

This display of athleticism is promising for the Colts for multiple reasons. For starters, you always want to see your rookies immediately do well, especially the ones you trade up to select on the first two days of the draft weekend. Additionally, Indy’s defense loves turnovers.

Indianapolis also has to be excited to see across doing well early because he will likely be the starter at strong safety for the Colts. Khari Willis was the starting strong safety for Indy but he retired this offseason to pursue ministry. His departure forced Cross into the spotlight maybe earlier than Indianapolis had planned but it appears as if he’s responding well.

If Nick Cross can keep making plays like this throughout training camp, the Colts will enter the season feeling really good about the secondary.

1. Stephon Gilmore is looking elite

The Colts made quite a few moves this offseason that they are hoping payoff and one of the moves was signing Stephon Gilmore. So far through camp, he’s definitely looking like an acquisition that will serve Indy well once the season starts.

The five-time Pro Bowler showed up to camp healthy and in shape and he has been showing that he’s still a quality corner even though he will soon be 32 years old. This was best demonstrated when he guarded the young Alec Pierce one-on-one.

Pierce got a solid release on Gilmore and was able to get on top of him in the route. However, Stephon remained on his hip and when the ball arrived, he was able to leap and swat it out of bounds preventing a catch.

This is exactly the type of play the Colts need out of Gilmore. With uncertainty at the outside cornerback positions, Gilmore was brought in as an established veteran to help stabilize the secondary. Indy needed him to show up and actually be the corner the team hoped they were getting.

So far, he has, and that needs to continue into the season. With Gilmore and Kenny Moore providing solid defense in the secondary, along with some promising young defensive backs, the Colts will be stacked with elite players at every level on defense.

While Indianapolis expects the offense to be much more balanced and improved this season, the defense has the talent to dominate games and led Indy to several victories. If they perform as well as they look on paper, this defensive unit should be able to take the Colts far.

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