6 position battles to watch

The Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions are set to square off at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday for a preseason Week 2 matchup.

While the starters are not expected to play following a pair of physical joint practices this week, there are still plenty of position battles that will be taking place on Saturday afternoon.

Here are six position battles to watch in the preseason Week 2 matchup:

1
Running Back

AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

We won’t see Jonathan Taylor at all this preseason and it wouldn’t be a shock if we didn’t see Nyheim Hines much—or at all—Saturday. But there is a robust competition behind those two for the depth roles in the backfield.

Entering this game, Lindsay is the leader for the RB3 role behind Taylor and Hines. Given the Colts like to keep a fourth running back for special teams purposes, there’s a solid battle there as well.

Behind Lindsay, it appears Ty’Son Williams is next in line followed by Deon Jackson and a pair of undrafted rookies in D’vonte Price and C.J. Verdell.

2
Kicker

AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

Another year, another kicker battle for the Colts. Blankenship is going into his third season and appears to be the leader of this competition over Jake Verity, who has struggled with consistency despite having more range on his kicks. Can Blankenship put this battle to rest?

3
Wide Receiver

Syndication: The Indianapolis Star

For a while, we thought the Colts might only carry five wide receivers because they were going to carry four tight ends on the roster. However, the injury to Andrew Ogletree opens up a spot.

The final two spots in the wide receiver room are completely wide open and there hasn’t been much made in the way of a leader. It was Keke Coutee for a moment, but he’s dealing with a groin injury and hasn’t done anything since the preseason opener.

Dezmon Patmon has had some flashes while Mike Strachan quickly got to work after returning from the PUP list this week.

4
Depth DT

Syndication: The Indianapolis Star

There is still a pretty big competition for the depth roles behind Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner. As Chris Williams has missed the majority of training camp, it has given more opportunities for players like R.J. McIntosh, along with draft picks Eric Johnson…