When JT Tuimoloau and DJ Giddens were selected by the Colts in the second and fifth rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, respectively, both players joined position groups with clear-cut starters.

Tuimoloau, a highly regarded defensive end out of Ohio State, joined Samson Ebukam, Laiatu Latu, Tyquan Lewis and Kwity Paye -- not to mention defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart -- on the defensive line. And Giddens, as a running back, joined a room with Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Goodson; the Colts also signed 11-year veteran Ameer Abdullah in September.

Both rookies were expected to bring depth and future potential to their respective positions, with the focus in 2025 being on learning from their teammates, acclimating to the NFL and taking advantage of any playing time they had.

"I think for me, I want to grow in any area," Tuimoloau said when he was drafted. "The IQ set of it, I know that you're going against guys that are grown men and they're craftsmen. And for me, it's just understanding that part of it. And then the run game, I just want to play with my hands, and then too, just continue to critique and clean up my toolbox and be able to always find what other players do that helps that win and apply that to me. So, being a sponge in all three areas of the game."

In total, Tuimoloau was able to see the field in 13 games, playing a total of 215 defensive snaps and 99 special teams snaps. Per Pro Football Focus, Tuimoloau recorded six quarterback hits and eight hurries as well as five solo tackles.

"I've liked what we've seen from JT," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said in November. "I think that the more he plays, the better he'll be. Again, each week's a little bit different. How many tackles do we have up? How many ends? But I'm pleased with his progress. Had a couple good rushes. Set a couple of good edges in the run game. Played physical. And it's a different game from college. And JT is another guy that's a hard worker, doing things the right way. We're pleased with his progress for sure."

Special teams coordinator Brian Mason was also pleased with Tuimoloau's improvements over the course of the season, praising his physicality and ability to make impact plays.

And Giddens, whose main goal entering his rookie season was to simply "have some worth on the team," appeared in nine games for a total of 70 offensive snaps; he had 26 carries for 96 total yards and a career-high 12 carries for 44 yards in the Colts' Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins.

"You can just tell he's trying to soak everything in like a sponge," Taylor said of Giddens in September. "I think that's actually really important. I think it's actually a good thing that he may not speak as much initially, because I just remember my freshman year of college coming from a small high school, going to a large school at Wisconsin, I just wanted to observe everything. I wanted to see who got things right? Who got things wrong? What were the coaching points – even things that weren't necessarily directed at me. So, I feel like he's soaking everything up. I think that when he gets his opportunity and he has the ball in his hands, I think that he'll make a lot of special plays."

Taylor, with a historic 20-touchdown season, played 883 of the Colts' 1,075 total snaps; his dominance meant both Giddens, Abdullah and Goodson (who dealt with an elbow injury and a groin injury in 2025) had limited snaps. But Giddens' clear willingness to learn and improve since the minute he joined the Colts made a strong impression and seems to have set him up well for the future.

"He's a young guy who's been put in some different roles maybe than he was in college," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said during training camp. "Just in the NFL, you're running the ball, but maybe you're running it from different sides and behind the quarterback. You're running these routes that maybe you never ran in college. You're working different blitz pickup schemes. Oftentimes, a young running back has a lot on his plate – learning that it is a little bit different than college. DJ has done a really, really nice job of picking up the offense, picking up his role and then going out and executing it...oftentimes he's had a knack in this camp of sort of finding that crease, reading that defense the right way and sort of working with his offensive line to create yards. So, we're real encouraged with DJ."