Colts
- Regarding Colts’ second-round DE JT Tuimoloau, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN writes he’s been compared to former Bengals DE Sam Hubbard, who worked with Indianapolis DC Lou Anarumo for six years in Cincinnati.
- As for first-round TE Tyler Warren, one NFC executive praised his ability to make Penn State’s offense work: “He sort of walked on water at Penn State. Like, beyond the great play, you could just tell he made that thing go and Penn State is going to miss his presence greatly.”
- Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter spoke on the QB competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones: “Competition makes us all better.” (James Boyd)
- Indianapolis DT DeForest Buckner on new DC Lou Anarumo: “I see a lot of the players back in Cincy used to call him the ‘Mad Scientist,’ and I found out why during the first install.” (Stephen Holder)
- Colts OLB Samson Ebukam said he has been cleared for training camp. He also revealed he wouldn’t have been able to play if they made the postseason despite the discussions about a potential return. (Joel A. Erickson)
- One exec is worried about Colts first-round TE Tyler Warren because of his inability to separate consistently: “A tight end like (Colston) Loveland (chosen No. 10 by Chicago) is a dynamic athlete who can get open on his own and really affect the passing game. That is more valuable to me than what the Colts are getting, because Warren is not running away from anyone, including middle linebackers.” (Mike Sando)
- Seth Walder reports that the Colts are hiring Ashleigh Prugh as a Football Analytics Fellow.
Jaguars
Through the first on-field workout during rookie minicamp, Jaguars first-round WR/CB Travis Hunter was only seen doing work on the offensive side of the ball. Jacksonville HC Liam Coen said they wanted him to clean a few things up on offense and revealed he will start getting live reps on defense next week.
“We just kind of ended up making a decision that from yesterday to today, we wanted to be able to clean up some of the things that we may have been able to miss yesterday [and] get extra reps on the offensive side of the ball and next week he’ll start to roll on defense,” Coen said, via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco.
Coen talked about what Hunter defensive learning Hunter has done so far and praised his intelligence for being able to handle both so far.
“He’s been able to dive in and learn some of our three-deep coverages, what do we call our three-deep coverages on the outside, if he has to be manned up on the backside of a three-by-one, he knows all of those calls already. So, at the end of the day, it’s going to be about, on the defensive side of the ball, communication. The technique and fundamentals, we’ll continue to harp on, but it’s really about being on the same page as the rest of the guys on the back end from a communication standpoint and the rest will kind of take care of itself.”
“He’s obviously having to learn both sides of the ball. He’s a football-smart guy. The game makes sense to him. And so now it’s just about putting in that time, that extra time that he’s going to have to do in order to be successful.”
Texans
Houston used a second-round pick on OT Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota to help revamp a room that struggled mightily in 2024. University of Minnesota OL coach Brian Callahan, Ersery’s OL coach in college, raved about his talent and technique while talking about a potential move inside to guard.
“He’s unbelievable. It’s about being consistent with using his techniques and God-given ability, and, you know, I mean, they’ll figure out specifically what they want him to get better at, and I just think he’s got a bright future,” Callahan said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
“I’m sure he could. I think he’s a tackle, but I do think that he has the ability to play elsewhere. He could definitely play guard, for sure. And I’ve been asked that question by a lot of people.”
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