Colts rookie report: How Anthony Richardson, Josh Downs and others are handling early challenges

The Colts season is only seven weeks old, but it's already been a whirlwind for many of their rookies.

From electric debuts to crushing injuries, from record-breaking chances to position switches, the first two months of their NFL careers will be something to remember, and at times something to forget.

But rookies are playing many crucial roles on this year's squad, which sits at 3-4, a step better than many predicted for one of the youngest tams in the league. The youth movement was under effect ever since Indianapolis drafted a quarterback at No. 4 overall and decided by training camp to make him the starter.

Here's how each draft pick is faring just past the 1/3 mark of the regular season:

QB Anthony Richardson (Round 1)

This season was always supposed to be about the development of Anthony Richardson and the offense Shane Steichen was building week to week around his historic dual-threat skill set. It was about getting him the reps he missed during a 13-start career at Florida.

So in that sense, it's harder to view Richardson's rookie year in a positive light now that it's over due to an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder. He made it through parts of four games, with 84 passes and 25 runs and 173 total snaps. He completed 59.5% of passes for 577 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and 6.9 yards per attempt.

But the development that could be crucial to carry him and the franchise through the next several months of rehab, which began Thursday, following a successful surgery on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Richardson will soon be back in the Colts facility but will not be on a practice or game field until the calendar flips to 2024.

But he won't be forgotten, because what's in the past can also craft the future.

"We got a little taste here and there with him showing how he can extend plays, making the big throws and lead long drives for touchdowns," wide receiver Alec Pierce said. "... He'll be here next year and will be the same player."

They all have the highlights in their minds: There were the two touchdown runs against the Texans, the first on a draw where he exploded so quickly the defense couldn't recover and the second on a Steichen design that had the line moving left as he looped right and to the end zone before most of the defense could even think about stopping him.

Those were two of the four touchdowns he ran for in his first three games, a feat no other quarterback in NFL history has accomplished.

MORE: Inside the hurt, the healing and the hope in Anthony Richardson's shoulder

But mostly, they'll hold tight to the Rams game, where a 21-year-old quarterback led a 23-point comeback through the most explosive quarterback play the franchise has seen since Andrew Luck. They'll remember the touchdown toss to Mo Alie-Cox, where he escaped a destroyed pocket and zipped the ball on the move. And they'll cherish the 38-yard heave down the right sideline to Pierce, where Richardson stood tall with pressure in his lap and flicked his wrist to power an explosive play.

"He's an extremely special player," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "Just having him out there, it was exciting just to even watch him from our sidelines. We had a close-up view of him."

They'll miss him, of course. Teammates had gravitated toward a quieter goofball who could light up an often heavy sport. They were just advancing beyond elementary levels of the shotgun- and pistol-heavy, RPO-laden, dual-threat playbook Steichen built that was an extension of the one he used to elevate Jalen Hurts to an MVP runner-up level in Philadelphia and was now tailored to Richardson.

But those flashes give them hope for what's to come, which makes this year different than many of the preceding ones. They're not wondering if they have the right guy anymore. They're only wondering how early in the spring he can return.

CB JuJu Brents (Round 2)

Richardson wasn't the only member of this class who burst on the scene once he got his opportunity. He's just the one who never had to wait for it.

JuJu Brents rode a fairy tale spring to wind up in Indianapolis, where he grew up and graduated from Warren Central High School. As a second-round pick out of Kansas State, with prototypical 6-foot-3 height for Gus Bradley's Seattle-style scheme and playing one of the thinnest positions on the Colts roster, he seemed even more likely than Richardson to be a Week 1 starter.

But a rash of injuries from offseason wrist surgery to two hamstring issues limited his entire offseason practice load to all of a couple weeks by the time the regular season arrived. Since Colts coaches prefer experienced players they can trust with their more diverse schemes, Brents was a healthy scratch the first two weeks.

But he got his chance in Week 3 in Baltimore, following Dallis Flowers' season-ending Achilles tear. From there, his rookie season has been all about highs and lows.

He jumped on the scene in Baltimore by punching the ball out of former teammate Kenyan Drake's arms and recovering it all on a single play. He also had a physical break-up of a pass to tight end Mark Andrews, helping to shut down the Ravens in a 22-19 overtime win.

The next week, against the Rams in another overtime game, brought the first low. Matthew Stafford was driving Los Angeles into the red zone when Brents jumped on an out pattern that Kenny Moore II already had covered, leaving Puka Nacua to catch a game-winning pass while uncovered in the middle of the field.

The next week, against the Titans, brought a play that showed how much he'd grown. Tennessee lined up in the high red zone for a 2nd-and-18, ready to take a third-quarter lead, when Brents got ready to press outside receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

"We were in a Cover-2 scheme, and when you're in the higher red zone, you know you could potentially get a shot," Brents said. "I'm pretty much a flat corner on that play, just trying to give a jam for my safety over the top. But just the way they were playing, DeAndre Hopkins was being a little bit aggressive in that area.

"With two verts, if I'm jamming him and seeing that (the slot) is going vertical, it's a good bet that (the outside receiver) is going vertical as well if he's not crossing my face. Seeing that, feeling that and continuing to keep sinking.”

Brents recovered quick enough on the play to leap back to the ball, which bounced off his hands. He regretted dropping the interception, but he'd only have to wait one more week to get one of those against the Jaguars, when he kept eyes on Trevor Lawrence in a zone and jumped up to pick the pass off.

But injuries have become a part of his early story in the NFL, as he'd suffer a quad injury the next week against the Browns and would need help to hobble to the locker room. He's now focused on getting healthy, which will mean missing at least this week's game against the Saints, a league source told Indy Star.

"He was playing pretty well for us," Bradley said.

Unlike Richardson, though, this injury is not going to derail his season. More lessons will come.

WR Josh Downs (Round 3)

The most consistent and productive rookie by far is the one who came with size concerns, making him an outlier to the way general manager Chris Ballard typically drafts.

That he took a 5-foot-9, 173-pound receiver in the third round says everything about just how ready they thought Downs could be.

"You’ll see," Ballard said at the start of training camp. "Downs is pretty freaking good."

From then on out, Downs has looked the part of a player who broke 1,000 yards in back-to-back college seasons despite playing with two different quarterbacks at North Carolina. He's been a natural in the slot, which fits his frame and short-area quickness as well as the route running and football IQ he developed as the son of six-year NFL running back Gary Downs and the nephew of former Lions Pro Bowl cornerback Dre' Bly.

He's excelled with two very different styles of quarterbacks this season. Richardson was the cannon-armed fellow rookie he built chemistry with starting in a hotel parking lot before rookie minicamp. Gardner Minshew is the short-area veteran he first got to know while sharing the second team in training camp.

Downs is up to 33 catches for 401 yards. The catches are the most through a player's first seven games in Colts history, and the yards are second-most, only behind Bill Brooks.

Downs has ascended in the past three weeks with Minshew, averaging 81 yards a game with two touchdown catches. On Sunday, he saw six targets and caught five of them for 125 yards and a touchdown, including a pair of deep passes, which is a part of his game that is quickly growing.

"It was a little bit of a projection on our end just based on his college tape," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. "The guy can run, really run. He’s a good route runner, has a really nice instinct for getting open. He’s thinking about it.

"A lot of times that receiver position, you have to really think about how you’re running your routes and how you’re going to get open and who is covering you and how does this route work and that route work? Where does the quarterback think I’m going to be? Those are probably not easy things for a rookie coming into the NFL and trying to get on the same page with his quarterback and with his play-caller and all that good stuff. Josh has done a really nice job of that."

On Sunday, a GPS tracker clocked Downs at more than 21 miles per hour on his 57-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. He can really run, and it's paying off with and without his starting quarterback.

OT Blake Freeland (Round 4)

Circumstances aren't always ideal for when a rookie first steps in to play, as Bernhard Raimann had to learn the hard way a year ago. When the Colts drafted Blake Freeland in the fourth round out of BYU to be their swing tackle, it was only a matter of time until that was the case for him.

Freeland saw his first start in Week 4 against the Rams, when Raimann wasn't able to play with a brain injury. The task that day only involved Aaron Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who can bounce to the outside for 1-on-1 opportunities. It was a predictably difficult day for Freeland as Donald created regular pressure on Richardson.

But perhaps a bigger challenge would come a couple weeks later, when Freeland had to flip to the right side when Braden Smith suffered a hip injury with one day of practice remaining before a road game in Jacksonville. Freeland had trained at both spots dating back to training camp, but the timing made it impossible to build any chemistry with right guard Will Fries.

But Freeland is settling in better now that he's had consistent practice reps with the first team. That's a bright side to Smith's injury, which could keep him out for a third straight game against the Saints after missing two more practices this week. The challenge will be strong, but it can't get more difficult than the one he just faced in having to block Myles Garrett.

Through four starts, Freeland has committed a blown block on 5.4% of reps but has only been flagged for one penalty, per Sports Info Solutions. He's given up two sacks. Given that half of those starts have come against Donald and Garrett, the Colts are encouraged that the early experiences can pay off for him the way they did for Raimann heading into his second season.

CB Jaylon Jones (Round 7)

The one other rookie who has seen a significant role this season has ironically been the second-to-last pick of the class.

Jaylon Jones fell to the seventh round because he had parts of his game at a premium position like outside cornerback that needed some training. It was never for a lack of talent. The former five-star recruit was a starter in the Southeastern Conference at Texas A&M, so he was used to some challenges.

But that potential flashed in a 6-foot-2, 200-pound body in training camp, where he showed an ability to be physical both in coverage as well as on special teams. Injuries have since opened he door at both, as he has taken Ashton Dulin's spot as a gunner on the punt team and Flowers' starting spot at outside cornerback.

He impressed so much in the summer that the Colts kept him over fifth-round South Carolina cornerback Darius Rush.

"I love the way he's attacked this as an underdog, really making himself self-made," defensive backs coach Ron Milus said. "He's put himself in this type of position where, hell, the Colts are counting on him."

With Brents out this week, Jones will be the Colts' top outside cornerback. It's a rapid ascension for a seventh-round rookie, but not entirely unlike the one that Rodney Thomas II rode to a starting free safety spot last year and into this year.

Other rookies

Here's how some other draft picks have fared so far:

Fifth-round Miami tight end Will Mallory has played in three games, helping to add depth to a position that has had constant injuries to Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletre and Mo Alie-Cox. At 6-4 and 239 pounds, he's built more as an "F" receiving type this early, and he flashed in that role with a 43-yard catch on a busted coverage against the Texans in Week 2.

It's one of his two catches this season, as he's also had to work interchangeably with three quarterbacks based on where he's fallen on the depth chart.

"It's a big step for tight ends coming into the league," Mallory said. "... I had quite a few changes and whatnot in college, so you get used to it. It's part of the game."

Sixth-round Northwestern running back Evan Hull was set to see early action during Jonathan Taylor's absence, but those hopes unfortunately ended in the opener. Hull hurt his knee badly enough that he has been on crutches since, and multiple reports have said that he will not return during his rookie season. The Colts liked his potential, especially in pass protection, and he should have a chance to compete for a No. 3 running back role next year.

Injuries have also cut seasons short for fifth-round California safety Daniel Scott (ACL) and seventh-round Northern Michigan tackle Jake Witt (hip).

Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts rookie report: How draft picks are handling early challenges