Colts camp observations: Playmaking Indianapolis defense dominates again

WESTFIELD — The Colts defense isn’t letting up on the offense.

Ever since the team put on full pads, the defense has been an aggressive, playmaking group, and the storyline continued in Wednesday’s session on a bit of an off day for Matt Ryan.

Ryan finished 7 of 12 in 11-on-11 drills, a mark that included batted passes by both DeForest Buckner and R.J. McIntosh. McIntosh’s bat led to a tip drill interception for Bobby Okereke, the third pick for Ryan in training camp.

Another linebacker, E.J. Speed, made the second pick of practice on the second-to-last play, intercepting a pass that cornerback Isaiah Rodgers deflected into the air.

But the turnovers weren’t the only big defensive plays of the practice.

Kwity Paye and Zaire Franklin combined on a tackle-for-loss of Jonathan Taylor that would have cost the Colts offense at least 4 yards. Buckner and Okereke made nice stops of Taylor in the running game and JoJo Domann knocked Phillip Lindsay out of the end zone to prevent a touchdown catch.

More:Yannick Ngakoue arrives at Colts practice off grueling training regimen in Florida

Rookie rising

Third-round pick Nick Cross has been sharing first-team repetitions with veteran Rodney McLeod in one of the closest battles of training camp.

Cross made a pair of impressive plays in the role Wednesday.

The rookie safety blew up a screen to Taylor early in the practice, blowing through the block of Mo Alie-Cox to force an incompletion. A little later in the day, Cross broke up another throw, this time to Michael Pittman Jr.

Blind side

Veteran Matt Pryor has a firm grasp on the starting left tackle job over rookie Bernhard Raimann heading into the first preseason game, but it has been easy to see both players improving over the course of training camp.

Pryor and Raimann face the tough task of blocking Yannick Ngakoue in practice, and Ngakoue has made a lot of plays in 11-on-11 drills, but the pair of left tackles each had excellent days in 1-on-1 pass rush drills.

Pryor stoned Ngakoue on both of his rush attempts, and Raimann swallowed up Ben Banogu on each of his rushes, a sign that the tools are there, even if the job is more complicated in 11-on-11 work.

Cornering the market

The top four Colts cornerbacks have been clear: Stephon Gilmore, Kenny Moore II, Brandon Facyson and Rodgers.

Beyond those four, the battle for roster spots has been harder to gauge. Anthony Chesley, Chris Wilcox and Tony Brown have all had their moments.

Brown, who can play the nickel in addition to outside, had a big day Wednesday. Aggressive near the line of scrimmage, Brown blew up a pass play by blitzing off the edge to force an early throw and made a tackle in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Brown’s aggressive nature can be good and bad in coverage; on one play, Brown came crashing down on a Ryan attempt in an effort to make an interception, only to have Parris Campbell make the catch a split-second before the cornerback got to it.

Injury report

Campbelldid not appear to be any worse for wear after sitting out most of Monday’s practice with a tight hamstring, according to offensive coordinator Marcus Brady. Campbell did not participate in 1-on-1 matchups against the defensive backs, but he played in every other period, including 11-on-11.

Returning to action was a theme of Wednesday’s practice. Running back D’Vonte Price, safety Will Redmond, guard Jason Spriggs, defensive tackle Curtis Brooks, defensive tackle Byron Cowart and safety Armani Watts all returned to practice after missing varying amounts of time.

Offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (knee), defensive tackle Chris Williams (lower leg), wide receiver DeMichael Harris and linebacker Forrest Rhyne did not practice. All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard (back) and wide receiver Michael Strachan (knee) remain on the active/physically unable to perform list.

Quick game

Rookie Alec Pierce has made a series of strong, contested catches in 1-on-1 situations, including one over Stephon Gilmore on Wednesday. That production hasn’t translated to 11-on-11 much yet; Pierce has three catches from Ryan in 11-on-11 work so far. … Tyquan Lewis’s recovery from the patellar tendon that ended his 2021 season appears to still be ahead of schedule. Lewis blew past Jason Spriggs in both of his 1-on-1 pass rush snaps Wednesday. … Former Ravens running back Ty’Son Williams made his first big play of training camp, bursting through the left side of the line and into the clear for a long run. … Former Dolphins wide receiver Isaiah Ford made an impressive, leaping touchdown catch from Sam Ehlinger.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts camp: Playmaking Indianapolis defense dominates again