Colts rookie WR Anthony Gould is suffering from a serious injury and will be out for months…Read More…
Colts’ second-year wide receiver Josh Downs suffered a high ankle sprain during Wednesday’s practice and will miss the next 4-6 weeks, according to Ian Rapoport, putting his availability for Week 1 in jeopardy.
Without Downs on the practice field for the time being, the Colts will need someone to fill in for him in the slot with the starters, and rookie Anthony Gould is the most likely option to handle that workload.
So far, through two-plus weeks of training camp, while working with the second and third-team offenses, Gould has been able to showcase the big play ability he can bring to the offense, specifically as a downfield presence.
He’s got great speed, I’ll tell you that,” said Shane Steichen on Wednesday. “We’ve had him on some deep crossers through camp. He can really run, and when we were going through the draft process, watching him, he can play a little bit of everything inside at Oregon State, he played outside as well, and he’s got punt return ability. So really impressed with what he’s done so far.”
With 4.39 speed and possessing the skill set required to be a dynamic punt returner, Gould’s ability to create and pick up YAC could also make him a threat on short-area throws or designed touches in space where his playmaking can take over.
During his final two years at Oregon State, Gould caught 71 passes and averaged an impressive 16.5 yards per catch.
“Right now he’s pushing the ball down the field,” said Jim Bob Cooter last week. “We’ve just sort of gotten the pads on, and obviously, we’re not playing tackle football right now, but I think some of the catch-and-run stuff is something that Anthony can do well. He’s got a really exciting skill set.”
In addition to Gould stepping in, we could also see Steichen deploy more 12 personnel–or two tight end sets–while Downs is sidelined.
Like every team, 11 personnel–or three receivers–is what the Colts used the most in 2023, but 12 personnel was the team’s second-most utilized package.
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