NFL teams can't really afford to miss out on the first-round draft picks. Just ask the Indianapolis Colts. The team is desperately hoping that quarterback Anthony Richardson, the number four overall choice in the 2023 draft, will finally stay healthy and be consistently good in 2025.
But third-round picks can't be misses, either. Later-round picks? A team hopes they find a hidden gem. Third-round choices are supposed to develop into starters.
So far, however, tight end Jelani Woods hasn't developed into anything. If one thinks Richardson has problems staying healthy, then don't even look at Woods. He hasn't played since his rookie season in 2022.
Indianapolis Colts third-round bust Jelani Woods might struggle to make the team in 2025
In 2023, the tight end strained his hamstring in the preseason and missed the regular season. Last year, he suffered from turf toe, and that kept him out of the year, too. In 2025, Woods appears healthy, but Colts fans have unfortunately gotten used to players who have a long history of being injured getting easily hurt again.
In fact, Woods has done so little to prepare Indianapolis for his personal success this coming season that there is a chance he doesn't even make the team. On Indy's unofficial depth chart, he is running fifth, and the Colts aren't going to keep five tight ends.
Pete Miller, who covers the Colts for the Sporting News, recently put it succinctly when he wrote, "Woods certainly hasn’t lived up to the Colts' expectations of him thus far. That said, he can still be a useful asset going forward, even if it’s not every Sunday."
Miller, of course, isn't wrong in theory. Jelani Woods very well might be useful if he were available to play nearly every game. The problem is that he isn't. Availability is a skill, too, and head coach Shane Steichen and his coaching staff probably believe the players ahead of Woods on the depth chart, including rookie standout Tyler Warren, can be counted on more.
As a rookie in 2022, Woods caught 25 passes on 40 targets, but he dropped three passes, too. That's a 7.5 percent drop rate, not awful but not all that comfortable either. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs has only had a drop rate that high once in the last seven years.
And while it might be unfair to compare Woods to a future Hall of Famer, one might want to remember that Kelce was a third-round draft pick, too. Plus, Woods was drafted partly to be a quality receiver, and not just a blocker.
So far in training camp. Jelani Woods has at least stayed healthy, but not overly productive. He hasn't been given that much of a chance to prove what he can do this year by the Indianapolis Colts. Woods might not even make the team, and the third-round bust will be looking elsewhere for a job.