Hey there Colts’ fans! Here are some thoughts on the eve of the 2018 training camp:

Camp opens Thursday the 26^th and the seemingly unthinkable was just announced this week: QB Andrew Luck has been fully cleared to practice when camps opens. He is expected to take the first team reps as usual, and only some reduction of snaps and throws is expected as the team is cautious with their franchise star. GM Chris Ballard also revealed in the last few weeks that while Luck was nursing his badly injured throwing shoulder last season, "several teams" approached him about trading Luck and all came with multiple high draft choices and first rounders. Yes, for an injured quarterback with no guarantee of ever throwing a ball again. And Ballard laughed them all away. He basically said that he was NOT going to have "trading Andrew Luck" on his resume. It is good to see the mood surrounding Luck discussions be light and confident after nearly two lost years and a lot of trepidation and uncertainty. Also cleared for a full throttle at camp was presumed starting RB Marlon Mack and OL Jack Mewhort. Mack had offseason shoulder surgery and will wear a brace on it during camp, but will not be limited. Mewhort has had consecutive seasons end on injured reserve and will get rest days but no limitations.

The news was not so good, but not disconcerting, for three other starters, Second year stud FS Malik Hooker will start camp on the PUP as he recovers from his midseason ACL tear. Hooker is probably the best IDP fantasy player on the Colts, and might get forgotten in many drafts since his promising rookie season was cut short after 7 games. The other starting safety SS Clayton Geathers might also be slow to start camp since he had an undisclosed "knee procedure" in the offseason and he has missed many of the OTAs and other workouts. Geathers is a hybrid linebacker/safety and might be more of a tackler for IDP purposes, so this also bears watching. Finally, blind side blocker OT Anthony Castanzo will also start the camp on PUP temporarily since he tweaked a hamstring while working out just this past week; they don’t expect him on the field on Thursday, but they do believe that his PUP stay might only last until the weekend. None of these issues are expected to stretch far into camp and certainly not into the season, but as these three guys are very important parts of the team they are trying to build around Luck, their health is a major concern at all times. Versatile backup OL Jeremy Vujnovich started every game foe the Colts last season and has been bothered by a calf injury throughout the spring and summer; he is expected to be evaluated after camp starts so don’t be surprised if he is limited as well. All the other players that were held out of some portion of the OTAs are expected to be ready to go – most notably top WR TY Hilton and three of the top four corners on the roster as of the moment.

Of course, there will be much more to report and a whole lot less speculation when the rotations and the first- and second- units start to flesh out in training camp. From a fantasy perspective, the big things to watch aside from Luck’s throwing are the following…. (1) Who will start on the line, and more importantly will it gel quickly enough to give Luck a chance to be himself in the pocket? Realistically, the status of the line is possibly more important that Luck’s shoulder, because an experienced QB Jacoby Brissett could still be a viable NFL and fantasy passer behind something better than the middle-school line he survived in 2017. (2) What will the running back rotation look like? Everyone is drafting Mack as the putative lead back, but there has been a lot of speculation as to the uses of the two rookie draft choices, speedy RB Nyheim Hines and banger RB Jordan Wilkins. And don’t forget the most experienced and utile back on the roster, the suspended RB Robert Turbin after week 5. (3) Who will be the other receivers aside from Hilton? Most assume that the veteran WR Ryan Grant will upstage WR Chester Rogers as the #2 with Rogers working as the #3. Esepecially if you are a dynasty league owner, I would l carefully watch 6^th round pick WR Deon Cain out of Clemson. There is something about this kid I really like…. And (4) What fantasy impact will TE Eric Ebron have on TE Jack Doyle? The short answer is that he will render Doyle as no better than a high #2 tight end in PPR leagues. But I would totally not be surprised if the team ran a lot of double-tight ends sets and looked for mismatches which might help Ebron more than Doyle. Barring an injury, his presence will make the team tight end position valuable but might render both of them as no more than bye week fill ins.

That is all for now from the Crossroads of America. I will be back in early August to summarize the first few weeks of camp and perhaps any meaningful observations from the early preseason games. Until then friends…..have a great summer and GO COLTS!!!!

End.