Following the Indianapolis Colts’ final preseason game, we put together one last 53-man roster prediction before roster cutdowns took place. However, we are going to throw that one away and do one more following the Colts‘ latest trade.
The team announced on Monday evening that they were acquiring defensive back Mekhi Blackmon from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick.
Advertisement
We will now have to adjust our latest roster projection a bit in order to make room for Blackmon in the cornerback room.
So, given what the current roster looks like, here is how I now have the Colts’ 53-man roster shaking out.
The adjusted positions are the defensive line and cornerback units.
Quarterback (3)
Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard
The Colts have rostered three quarterbacks in Shane Steichen’s first two seasons. If there were any doubts, they’d do it again. Leonard played very well in the preseason finale.
Running back (3)
Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Goodson, DJ Giddens
There is some unknown here with Goodson’s injury. Maybe he’s a candidate to go on IR and be designated to return. But Khalil Herbert has been sidelined as well, and before Goodson’s injury, he seemed to have a firm grasp on the RB3 role.
Advertisement
Wide receivers (6)
Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, AD Mitchell, Anthony Gould, Ashton Dulin
This is what my final receiver room looked like back in May.
Tight end (4)
This is a position where the Colts could roster three if they wanted to go heavier elsewhere, but I think Will Mallory’s steady showing this summer earned him a roster spot as another pass-catching presence at the position.
Offensive line (9)
Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Braden Smith, Dalton Tucker, Danny Pinter, Jalen Travis, Luke Tenuta
Tenuta performed well against Green Bay but had his ups and downs against Cincinnati. However, when it comes to rounding out the offensive line room, he is likely the next man up after Travis with Blake Freeland out for the season.
Advertisement
Defensive line (9)
DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Neville Gallimore, Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu, Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis, JT Tuimoloau
Originally, I kept 10 defensive linemen–six defensive ends and four defensive tackles. With Tuimoloau and Lewis able to play inside on pass-rushing downs, I was comfortable going a bit lighter at tackle.
The sixth defensive end that I rostered initially was Isaiah Land, who had a very impressive preseason performance against Cincinnati. However, in order to make room for Blackmon, Land was the player I let go of.
Realistically, while I wanted to keep him and had the luxury to do so at first, getting six defensive ends in the game day rotation is a near-impossible task–there just aren’t enough snaps to go around.
Advertisement
So for that primary reason, as I looked to fit Blackmon on the roster, releasing Land made the most sense. If on the team, Land might be inactive more often than not on Sundays.
Linebackers (5)
Zaire Franklin, Jaylon Carlies, Austin Ajiake, Cameron McGrone, Joe Bachie
When Lou Anarumo was discussing how he wanted to play multiple linebackers recently, Ajiake and McGrone were two of the names he mentioned.
Cornerbacks (7)
Jaylon Jones, Charvarius Ward, Kenny Moore, JuJu Brents, Xavien Howard, Johnathan Edwards, **Mekhi Blackmon
This is going to be a defensive back-reliant scheme under Lou Anarumo. So while keeping seven cornerbacks is more than many teams will roster, I was comfortable doing so because of this malleable and disguise-heavy system that will throw a variety of looks at opposing offenses from the back end.
Advertisement
Still not included at this position is Chris Lammons, who has special teams and NFL experience, along with putting together a strong showing this summer. But as I stated in the original roster prediction, I thought that getting him to the practice squad would be more likely than Edwards or Brents.
Safety (4)
Nick Cross, Cam Bynum, Rodney Thomas, Daniel Scott
Without Hunter Wohler, the backup strong safety role was up for grabs, but Scott secured that with his play.
Special teams (3)
Spencer Shrader, Rigoberto Sanchez, Luke Rhodes
Shrader was competing for the kicker job with Maddux Trujillo, but took control of that battle prior to the second preseason game.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Mekhi Blackmon trade: Updated Colts 53-man roster prediction
