Indianapolis Colts Release Unofficial Depth Chart

The Indianapolis Colts have released their first depth chart of the season. The unofficial list was released heading into Thursday night’s preseason game against the New York Jets.

Coach Chuck Pagano stated that every position was written in pencil, save one that was in thick black ink. One lucky QB can sleep soundly knowing that his position is safe.

There will likely be a number of little changes in the coming weeks, but it gives us a good idea of the bubble (and rookie) players standing with the team.

Base Offense:

WR: 1) Reggie Wayne 2) Hakeem Nicks 3) Da’Rick Rogers; 4) Josh Lenz; 5) Eric Thomas; 6) Nu’Keese Richardson

LT: 1) Anthony Castonzo 2) Joe Reitz) Ulrick John

LG: 1) Jack Mewhort 2) Chad Anderson 3) Eric Pike

C: 1) Khaled Holmes 2) Jonotthan Harrison 3) FN Lutz

RG: 1) Hugh Thornton 2) Lance Louis 3) Josh Walker

RT: 1) Gosder Cherilus 2) Xavier Nixon 3) Matt Hall

TE: 1) Dwayne Allen 2) Coby Fleener 3) Jack Doyle 4) Weslye Saunders 5) Erik Swoope

WR: 1) T.Y. Hilton 2) Donte Moncrief 3) Griff Whalen 4) Tony Washington 5) Ryan Lankford

QB: 1) Andrew Luck 2) Andrew Hasselbeck 3) Chandler Harnish

FB: 1) Mario Harvey  2) Cameron White 3) Stanley Havili (PUP)

HB: 1) Trent Richardson 2) Ahmad Bradshaw 3) Daniel Herron 4) Zurlon Tipton 5) Phillip Tanner 6) Davin Meggett

Base 3-4 Defense

DE: 1) Cory Redding 2) Ricky Jean Francois 3) Tyler Hoover

NT: 1) Josh Chapman 2) Montori Hughes 3) Brandon McKinney

DT: 1) Arthur Jones 2) Jeris Pendleton 3) Zach Kerr 4) Nnamdi Obukwelu

SLB: 1) Erik Walden 2) Jonathan Newsome 3) Andy Studebaker

Mike LB: 1) D’Qwell Jackson 2) Kelvin Sheppard 3) Andrew Jackson

Will LB: 1) Jerrell Freeman 2) Josh McNary 3) Henoc Muamba 4) Jonathan Sharpe

Rush LB: 1) Robert Mathis 2) Bjoern Werner 3) Cam Johnson 4) Daniel Adongo

LCB: 1) Greg Toler 2) Josh Gordy 3) Sheldon Price 4) Johnny Adams 5) Loucheiz Purifoy

SS: 1) Delano Howell 2) Mike Adams 3) Colts Anderson 4) Dewey McDonald

FS: 1) LaRon Landry 2) Sergio Brown 3) David Sims

RCB: 1) Vontae Davis 2) Darius Butler 3) Marcus Burley 4) Qua Cox 5) Kameron Jackson

Special Teams:

P: Pat McAfee

K: 1) Adam Vinatieri 2) Cody Parkey

LS: Matt Overton

KR: 1) Donte Moncrief 2) Daneil Herron

PR: 1) T.Y. Hilton 2) Griff Whalen

Some considerations:

• The wide receiver position is a bit confusing here. In actual depth terms, its Wayne, Hilton, Nicks, and Moncrief. Whalen has been a stud in camp and will likely make the roster on special teams. Rogers is looking like the odd man out; while he has great potential, he’s far too inconsistent. The Colts could go with six WRs, and that would ensure Rogers a spot.
• The offensive line depth, and starting talent, is a bit terrifying. There are simply far too many unknowns on the list right now. That said, Louis has taken first team snaps in practice and has looked good while doing it. Mewhort is also having a very good camp as well. Additionally, there is a player named FN Lutz on the roster (and he’s from Indiana State).
• Given the injury history of the starting safeties, I’d expect the Colts to enter the season with an extra player at the position. The same could be said of the running back position.
• There is some nice depth across the defensive line. The Colts should be able to get consistent play even with the rotation guys, but that might not be a good thing.
• Yes, Hasselbeck will continue to eat up $4 million this season as a backup QB. Pagano is pleased with the situation, and stated that if the Colts had a quality backup in 2011, he wouldn’t be here. Can’t argue with that logic.
• Hilton hasn’t been doing all that much work in camp on punt returns. The Colts can’t afford to lose him to injury on a punt return and I doubt he ends up with job on a regular basis. It also wouldn’t surprise me if you rarely saw Moncrief returning kicks either, but that is a good way for him to get on the field consistently.
• Werner will start while Mathis serves his suspension. This could turn out to be a good thing for his development. Werner’s first start will be against Peyton Manning, so it will be trial by fire for him.
• Havili will be the starting FB once he’s off the PUP list, and the team shouldn’t have more than one player at this position on the active roster in a month.
• Newsome has been impressive so far in camp and the coaches rewarded him with his spot on the depth chart. It also shows just how poor some of the other bodies in camp have been.
• Obviously this list is geared towards players with experience, but the starters are basically set. Safety and offensive line could change, but that’s really it.