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INDIANAPOLIS – We are one week away from Training Camp starting for the Indianapolis Colts.
A second year of camp at Grand Park will have the Colts on the practice field starting July 25, with 16 open sessions to the public up in Westfield, Indiana.
So it’s time to pick back up our ‘burning questions’ series on 1070TheFan.com
Here are our burning questions in the secondary heading into the 2019 Training Camp:
1. Is it Rock Ya-Sin or Quincy Wilson rounding out the nickel group for the Colts?
This is another expected position battle to watch at camp. And this role is the closest thing you get to a starting spot outside of a ‘normal’ lineup.
Before Quincy Wilson missed the final part of the spring due to a thumb injury, he was the 5th defensive back in the nickel packages.
That injury opened up an opportunity for rookie Rock Ya-Sin to take some reps in the nickel package.
The Colts love the versatility that Wilson has shown and can bring to their defense.
Of course, they also like the outlook for Ya-Sin, especially once he shows an ability to excel in their zone looks.
Whoever wins this battle might not run out of the tunnel as a starter in the season opener, but he’s going to play a very large role in 2019.
2. What is in store for Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers this year?
The thought is when the Colts open up Training Camp on July 25, these two guys will both be healthy.
That hasn’t been the case in the two previous offseasons.
Malik Hooker was healthy for the entire spring and enters his third NFL season poised to truly show why the Colts took him 15th overall in 2017.
Clayton Geathers is probably still going to be on some pitch count, given his injury history, but he knows that this is such an important season for his NFL future, in a contract year.
The Colts like their safety depth, but the duo of Hooker/Geathers provides a high ceiling that will be needed with such an elite group of quarterbacks on the 2019 schedule.
3. How much more man coverage will the Colts play in 2019?
Offensively, the expectation is the Colts won’t look too much different from a schematic standpoint in 2019.
But on defense, the belief is some more man looks will be coming from Matt Eberflus.
Like was mentioned above, that is something this defense needs to evolve with as you look to the QBs on the opposing sideline this year.
The Colts played the most zone coverage of any team in the league last year.
Will incorporating some more man looks lead to the defensive success we saw in 2018, when the Colts finished in the top half of the league in the first season under Eberflus?
