WR Deion Burks
Burks has done well not only to earn a spot on the Colts' 53-man roster, but to carve out a role in his team's offense as a rookie selected with the fourth-to-final pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound speedster has four catches for 58 yards and three rushing attempts for 21 yards on 57 snaps.
And while his role has been limited, Burks is one of the fastest players on the entire team – he ran a 4.30 40-yard dash at the 2026 NFL Combine, which stood as the fourth-fastest of any player in the pre-draft process.
But sneakily, Burks had another top-of-the-charts showing at the NFL Combine. His 26 bench press reps were tied for the most of any wide receiver in this year's draft, and that commitment to strength in addition to speed has helped earn him more snaps within the Colts' offense.
"He's a hell of a blocker," wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne said. "So that's kind of what got him noticed. ... You keep seeing that go across the film."
In Week 4, Burks scrapped with – and hung with – Washington Commanders outside linebacker Joshua Josephs to give running back Jonathan Taylor enough time to get upfield. Plays like that, as Wayne said, will continue to earn Burks more trust – and more touches – in the Colts' offense.
"It's like, all right, damn, Deion's blocking his tail off," Wayne said. "And then when you see him blocking and you string a run here and there, you pay him for all his hard work. You give him, whether it's a gadget play, reverse, a shot at a deep ball here and there. So just keep doing that, and then all of a sudden you look up and you got a cookbook full of recipes."
G Jalen Farmer
Colleague Abby Halpin already covered the Colts' confidence in Farmer, a 2026 fourth-round pick, to step in for eight-time Pro Bowl left guard Quenton Nelson. There's a lot of good perspective in there, so let's look at another angle on Farmer.
Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. has consistently developed mid-round draft picks into quality NFL starters. The highest-picked Colts offensive lineman on Sunday will be left tackle Bernhard Raimann (2022 No. 77 overall pick), followed closely by right guard Matt Goncalves (2024 No. 79 overall pick). Next to those third-round picks are a trio of former fourth-round picks in Farmer (2026 No. 113 overall pick), center Tanor Bortolini (2024 No. 117 overall pick) and right tackle Jalen Travis (2025 No. 127 overall pick).
We'll find out over the next 10 weeks if Farmer has the makings of another mid-round Sparano success story.
DE Jaylahn Tuimoloau
Tuimoloau wrecked back-to-back plays on the Minnesota Vikings' first possession of Week 7. Facing a third-and-one, Tuimoloau knifed inside an attempted block by tight end T.J. Hockenson to drop running back Aaron Jones for no gain; on fourth-and-one, he exploded off the snap, darted inside past right tackle Bryan O'Neill and made Jones stop his feet, allowing linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither and defensive end Laiatu Latu to stuff Jones and force a turnover on downs.
Later in the game, Tuimoloau fought through being chipped by Jones and then soundly beat O'Neill with a filthy spin move, which helped force quarterback Kyler Murray to scramble out of the pocket and be stopped short of the line to gain on third-and-10.
The more of those plays the Colts can get out of Tuimoloau, their 2025 second-round pick, the better their defense will be.
"I was pleased with the run effort," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. "And certainly, you saw it on that first drive where he created some knockback, created some indecision on how they were going to block something and we were able to stop them on that first series, which was great. But yeah, him and Latu both just continuing to work and get better at getting off on the ball, using their speed to power, using their God-given abilities, and then finishing and getting close and getting these guys on the ground. That's what we have to do, and those guys are working their tails off to get it done."
DT Adetomiwa Adebawore
Adebawore added two sacks in Week 7 as his breakout 2026 season continued, but one other play to highlight came midway through the second quarter against the Vikings. Jones took a toss and looked to follow O'Neill into open space toward the boundary. But Adebawore disengaged from center Jake Brendel's reach block and closed with remarkable quickness on Jones, dropping the running back before he could turn the corner and get upfield.
That sentence doesn't quite do the play justice, if we're being honest.
"Unbelievable," defensive line coach Marion Hobby said. "... It was one of those high-effort, extra-effort tackles that you get from the inside guy – those should go on your clinic tape every year, because that's rare.
"You come out basically from the middle of the field all the way to the sideline and make a play. That credit goes to him.
"If you had to talk about motor, he's got a V8. He's not a V6. He's a V8 guy, and he plays like it."
Those are the types of plays head coach Shane Steichen said he wants to see out of his team – the sort of no-matter-the-circumstances, make-a-play effort that jumps off the tape.
"Just the relentless effort to go get him down, and that's what you want," Steichen said. "Just a tireless freaking work ethic – that's what you want in football players, and he displays that, but he does it in practice. So, when you do it in practice, it comes to life in the games, and he's doing it at a high level."
LB CJ Allen
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said Tuesday that, had Allen been available Sunday – he was ruled out with an ankle injury he sustained in practice last week – he would've started at MIKE linebacker, with Davis-Gaither sliding to WILL while still handling communication duties.
Anarumo and the Colts have maintained for weeks they aren't down on Allen, who had begun carving out more playing time with 40 snaps in Week 5 and 13 snaps in Week 6. And while there could still be some rotation at linebacker even if Allen does start, the more snaps he can get, the more opportunities he'll have to learn – which will be key for a guy the Colts see as their MIKE linebacker of the future.
