To anyone who watched the Indianapolis Colts preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, it's no secret that the Colts were dominated on the scoresheet by their opponent. Luckily, it is the preseason, and both teams relied heavily on their backups, so it's not as glaring an indictment on Indy as it may have otherwise been.
Still, while the scoreboard may not have been pretty, there were definite bright spots for Indianapolis, specifically on the fringes of the roster.
The cutdown to the final roster is coming ever closer, and while fans might not have as much to be excited about with preseason football, these games could be the difference between making the team and not for many players. Here's who stood out.
Indianapolis Colts who saved their roster spot in preseason Week 2
No. 1: Running back Anderson Castle
The Colts have a running back room that's been very crowded as the start of the season has ramped up. Obviously, Jonathan Taylor is the main bellcow. Additionally, Seth McGowan has been a pleasant revelation who would be on this list were he in more danger of being cut. That leaves room for likely one more running back on the depth chart.
Many assumed that running back would be DJ Giddens, but Giddens has been having an underwhelming and injury-riddled camp. He's left the door open for someone to nip at his heels, and the two backs vying for his spot are Ulysses Bentley IV and Anderson Castle. Bentley didn't play this week either, nursing an ankle injury suffered in an earlier joint practice.
With both of those running backs being sidelined for the in-game action, that left an opportunity for undrafted free agent Anderson Castle to show out.
Though it was against players buried fairly low on the Falcons' depth chart, he did impress, ending the day as the Colts' leading rusher with 41 yards on eight carries. It remains to be seen who will take over the RB3 role, but Castle's hat is definitely in the ring.
No. 2: Kicker Spencer Shrader
If we harken back to the ancient days of early last season, Spencer Shrader was looking to be a quality kicker for the Indianapolis Colts, having made 13 of 14 field goals. Unfortunately, his 2025 campaign was cut short by a season-ending ACL and MCL tear suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Blake Grupe was brought in after a slew of failed kickers by the Colts late in the year and appeared in five games down the stretch with Indy. He, for his part, also played very well. He didn't miss a field goal or extra point in any of his appearances for Indianapolis.
However, now Shrader is back and healthy, and a Colts team that once couldn't find a kicker at all now finds itself saddled with two potentially good ones. In kicking battles, the smallest margins can decide the victor, and Schrader won the battle against Atlanta.
He made two field goals while Grupe missed one late, and coupled with Grupe's struggles in Week 1 of preseason, it's going to be hard for him to come back in the competition
The competition won't be decided by a single miss on its own, but Spencer Shrader proved he could be relied on against Atlanta.
No. 3: Linebacker Austin Ajiake
Austin Ajiake signed with the Colts first back in 2023 and bounced around between the practice squad and being cut and re-signed multiple times. In 2025, he played in 16 games, and though he made some plays, he wasn't the most impactful Colts defender on the field.
The game against the Falcons was a preseason bout, and many starters were rested, but it could very well be argued that he was the most impactful defender on the field today for Indy. Ajiake made numerous plays and finished the day with eight total tackles, six of them being solo.
The Colts just added to their LB room with their highest draft pick, CJ Allen, in the second round. It's by no means a guarantee that Ajiake will make the roster, but he's definitely trending towards it if he keeps playing as he did against the Falcons.
No. 4: Wide receiver Coleman Owen
As Colts fans well know, the wide receiver room just got more crowded with the recent signing of veteran receiver Keenan Allen. Besides Allen, the Colts also employ the handsomely paid Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
Needless to say, it's going to be an uphill battle for Coleman Owen to make this roster. He spent much of last year on the practice squad, only seeing action in two games for Indy. And, in addition to the aforementioned receivers, he's also competing against longtime NFL player Laquon Treadwell.
No one is expecting Coleman Owen to beat out any of those receivers save for maybe Laquon Treadwell, but the second-year player did impress in the game. He logged only one reception, but that one reception was a 39-yard explosive play, good enough to make him the leading receiver for Indy on the day by over double the next closest total.
When all is said and done, Coleman Owen proved against Atlanta that he had something of value to add, and that's important in factoring in roster decisions. He may not have solidified himself a roster spot definitively, but he's trending upward, and that's promising.
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