‘The Athletic Football Show’ Previews the 2026 Indianapolis Colts

[Colts And Orioles]

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This article has excerpts from the show ...... below the article, I have posted the entire Colts portion of the show via a youtube video.



‘The Athletic Football Show’ Previews the 2026 Indianapolis Colts

(By Michael Beller and The Athletic Football Show)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/755...napolis-colts/




“The Athletic Football Show” is previewing all 32 teams leading up to the start of the 2026 NFL season. Below are select quotes from the show’s preview of the Indianapolis Colts. The quotes are edited for clarity. You can watch the whole preview on YouTube and in the embedded video below, or listen to the full AFC South preview wherever you get your podcasts.



Dave Helman on what about the Colts most excites him: l I think that Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward could be really special if they’re both healthy and playing up to their potential. It’s a fun thing about trades like the Sauce trade. I didn’t like it when it happened ...... I didn’t really think that the Colts needed to do it ...... I thought that it was a mistake ...... Now that we’re here though, Sauce Gardner is a really good football player. Last year was the worst of his career, as he only played 11 games, he was obviously banged up, and he still allowed a 49 percent catch-rate on his targets, which was top-10 in the league. He was targeted on just shy of 14 percent of drop-backs when he was on the field, which is in line with name your favorite corner. He’s right there statistically in terms of how often offenses are even willing to go at him. And he had 8 pass breakups, which is a top-25 number despite missing 6 games last season. Lou Anarumo loves to play man defense and blitz when he’s got a great pair of cornerbacks. If they’re healthy and playing, I think that they could have a transformative effect on the Colts' defense.


Derrik Klassen on what he’s watching in the first month of the season: l They’re letting Daniel Jones play in full practice, and they’re letting him do everything. They’re letting him boot, they’re letting him do all of it. Being comfortable with, ‘he can do it’ and, ‘he’s healthy and good enough that they are the best offense in the league again,’ I think are 2 very different things. And then, not even to a lesser extent, can Alec Pierce play ??? There was a report today that they’re hopeful that he can play in Week 1 against the Ravens. We’re 9 days away and we’re at, ‘We hope that he can play’ when he’s their $28 Million man. Is he supposed to be their best receiver ??? I had already expressed concerns that I think that they’re hoping that the receiver corps is as good as it was last year with Keenan Allen being brought in for Michael Pittman ...... I’m not sure that I believe that.


Robert Mays on what’s keeping him up at night: l We’ve got a rookie 2nd-round pick at linebacker, we got a rookie 3rd-round pick at safety, we’ve got a guy we’ve never seen before as the starting nickel. Bryce Boettcher is going to play. C.J. Allen was hurt for a good chunk of camp. Boettcher was their best linebacker. The only reason that he’s not starting right now is that the idea of putting a 2nd-round and 4th-round pick next to each other at linebacker is terrifying. And so Akeem Davis-Gaither is probably going to play just to give them some veteran stability. Charvarius Ward has not played football, for the most part, in the last 2 years. That’s what’s keeping me up at night ...... it's that the margins are massive on this defense for all of the things that have to go right for you to feel decent about it.



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THE ENTIRE SHOW: ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMpzOwjV78E


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