4 training camp position battles for the Colts in 2023

After a long offseason, training camp serves as the official marker that a new football season is right around the corner. The Indianapolis Colts report to start their training on Tuesday, July 25. With a new head coach and so many new players, there are a ton of storylines for Indianapolis heading into camp.

However, camp is about two things at the end of the day: getting ready for the season, and position battles. The NFL is filled with talented players, and they all want to start. However, there are only so many starting spots. That’s why training camp is used as a competitive environment to determine Week 1 starters.

Entering this year’s training camp, the Colts will have quite a few battles, at some key positions. Here are the four biggest position battles for Indy this year.

4. A battle for starting right guard

Whether the offensive line improves or not may be the biggest factor in determining what Indy’s season will look like. Last year, the offensive line was terrible, leading to a horrendous offense. Despite that, most of the same starters are returning, but things are expected to be different.

Bernhard Raimann will start at left tackle, Quenton Nelson at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, and Braden Smith at right tackle. Barring any shocking emergences, those four will open the season as starters. The right guard spot, however, is wide open.

Both Will Fries and Danny Pinter are back, but it’s unclear which will secure the starting job. Also in the mix is the undrafted Emil Ekiyor Jr. Coming out of Alabama, Ekiyor had the talent to be drafted but an injury concern forced him to slide. If he’s healthy, he could try and challenge the two veterans that haven’t established themselves.

Whoever wins the job needs to be prepared to deliver, so that the offensive line can perform better as a whole.