An undrafted rookie is heading into Colts OTAs with a lot of momentum

As the Indianapolis Colts start OTAs, they will be watching an undrafted rookie that made a lot of noise during the team’s rookie minicamp.

The Indianapolis Colts drafted 12 players and signed 15 undrafted free agents. Bringing in that many talented first-year players, Indy is creating a competitive environment as everyone fights for a roster spot. That competition started when all of the rookies showed up for rookie minicamp.

During that minicamp, one of the young players that stood out to the staff was undrafted defensive tackle Jamal Woods. In a Bleacher Report piece by Alex Ballentine, Woods was one of six players named as undrafted rookies making noise for their respective teams. Ballentine highlighted Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s words about Woods following the teams rookie minicamp.

"“His explosiveness, I think, in rookie minicamp is what jumped out at us,” Bradley said, perJames Boyd of The Athletic. “We felt like even in the short period of time, just watching the drill work — obviously, his film work that we studied before, but the way he came in, the way he approached it and some of his explosiveness showed up in that short period of time.“"

- Alex Ballentine

Jamal Woods has impressed Colts

Ballentine pulled that quote from a feature article on Jamal Woods by James Boyd of The Athletic. After six years at Illinois, Woods is now trying to make Indianapolis’ 53-man roster as an undrafted player, and he is off to a great start.

In his college career, Jamal Woods played in 39 games for the Fighting Illini. In those games, Woods recorded 79 tackles, 19 for a loss, but just 1.5 sacks. The production led to the 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle going undrafted, but he has his chance with the Indianapolis Colts.

With OTAs now underway, Woods will have the chance to be even more impressive now that the team will be engaging in 11-on-11 periods. However, Indy still won’t be in pads. Woods must keep impressing the coaches if he wants to make the 53-man roster because there is a lot of competition on the interior defensive line. With DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart locked into the starting spots, and fourth-round pick Adetomiwa Adebawore also trying to make the team, Woods must be prepared to battle.

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