It may be too early to start placing players on the bubble of making an NFL roster, with training camps only just beginning within the last week. Unfortunately for the Indianapolis Colts, the bubble may already be calling a player or two.Â
Deion Burks was the last pick for the Colts in this year's draft. The Colts had their reasons for selecting him, such as his speed, explosive upside, and depth at wide receiver. The Colts might have gotten lucky with Burks, considering he was projected to go much sooner in the draft, but fell right into the Colts' laps.Â
The positive reporting on Burks after the draft gave the impression that Burks might actually make a run at being one of the Colts' main targets, after Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, that is. However, since then, and until now, the perspective of Burks may already be fading. That said, there is one reason Burks survives the bubble and makes the Colts' roster.Â
The Indianapolis Colts' unsettled WR concerns could help Deion Burks avoid being cut
Let's face it: the Colts have a glaring problem on their offense. The current injury to Pierce that is keeping him on ice is one part of the problem. The other part is that none of the Colts' other wide receivers have truly emerged to fill the third spot on the depth chart, and that's a problem for a few reasons.Â
After Pierce and Downs, the Colts have Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, Anthony Goulde, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Deion Burks competing for a roster spot in training camp. More specifically, they are competing for the No. 3 spot. Five days into training camp, none have supplanted the others as the leader in the race.Â
Burks, at this point, is unlikely to overlap everyone and win the third spot. Furthermore, the rookie has struggled during camp, especially on special teams. Mistakes are costing Burks early, like muffing a punt return on Monday. Given that Dulin, Treadwell, and Westbrook-Ikhine are taking the majority of first- and second-team reps, Burks isn't getting the ball much.
That makes mistakes even more glaring. On paper, Burks is sitting at the very bottom of the Colts' wide receiver depth chart; he has a long way to climb if he's to avoid being on the bubble or getting cut altogether down the road. That said, one factor could save him.Â
Given their situation at wide receiver and the unanswered questions that continue to boil over, the Colts might not be able to afford letting go of someone like Burks, even if he's not fully ready in year one. Burks' athletic upside as a vertical threat might come in handy down the road. He has upside, which bodes well for him, but the unsettled nature around this position group also bodes well for him.
Burks could literally make the roster simply because the Colts don't have any answers behind Pierce and Downs. Perhaps the best-case scenario for Burks is for none of his fellow wideouts competing for that third spot to emerge from the race. Burks might make it because no one else stepped up.Â
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