Checking in on Indianapolis Colts' Biggest Project Players

The future of the Indianapolis Colts will be decided by their most well-known players.

Andrew Luck. T.Y. Hilton. Future high draft picks. Vontae Davis.

But the Colts have spent a considerable amount of time developing project players over the last few seasons, signing former rugby players, Canadian Football League players, waiver-wire castoffs and more. These contributors can lead to key savings, like paying virtually nothing for Jerrell Freeman at inside linebacker for a replacement-level starter.

While the big names will ultimately decide the Colts' future, these lesser-known projects can play a big part in deciding how the Colts can most efficiently spend their resources, thus surrounding those big-name players with better talent.

LB Daniel Adongo

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If you have followed the story of former rugby player Daniel Adongo at all, you know that the yearly updates always seem to come around this time.

Adongo, who has been hurt or on the practice squad for pretty much all of his career thus far, was so raw coming to Indianapolis from Kenya that most of his story has simply been the transition to the United States and to football as a sport, much less actually getting to play in games that matter.

Three years in, it's time for Adongo to make his mark.

A torn bicep, suffered in the first preseason game last year, kept Adongo from even having a chance at contributing last season, and it looks like his chances will be slim again this year with the crowded nature of the outside linebacker position.

Yet, Adongo is reportedly brimming with confidence at the team's organized team activities (OTAs).

"My heart says I'm a football player, my mind says I'm a football player, my body says I'm a football player," Adongo told Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. "I've put in all the work and time and effort not just for myself, but for the team."

According to head coach Chuck Pagano, Adongo is further along than he's ever been in Indianapolis.

But will it be enough? It's certainly a long shot with eight other edge players (Trent Cole, Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Jonathan Newsome, Cam Johnson, Bjoern Werner, Carols Fields, Zack Hodges) having just as good or a better shot at making the roster.

TE Erik Swoope

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Another reclamation project, Erik Swoope came to Indianapolis with zero organized football experience last offseason. A former small forward for the University of Miami, Swoope earned the attention of the Colts with his pure athletic ability last offseason, and came to Indianapolis with similar expectations to Adongo: None.

Here was another bit of clay for the Colts coaches to mold.

A year later, it seems that significant progress may actually have been made. Swoope made a few catches during last week's OTAs that caught the eye of local media, and he's caught the eye of head coach Chuck Pagano as well.

"He's turning into a football player before right before our eyes," Pagano told Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. "The guys is a hard worker. He's got talent. He can run. He's got a big catch radius. He understands things obviously better now than he ever has, so he's able to play faster. He's making plays."

At 6'6" and now weighing around 250 pounds, Swoope has the size and athletic ability to make an impact at the position, but it will be difficult to know just how much he's improved until pads come on in August.

LB Henoc Muamba

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Perhaps the most telling thing about Henoc Muamba's offseason is how little we have heard.

The former CFL player was signed last offseason and made the roster as an inside linebacker, playing in 13 games and racking up six tackles. Muamba was impressive in the preseason, racking up a positive-5.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest grade of any Colts linebacker. However, that translated to just 21 regular-season defensive snaps, as Josh McNary and Andrew Jackson were the main rotational players at the position.

With both McNary and Jackson out of the picture at the moment due to off-field transgressions, Muamba seemed primed to take on a bigger role this season.

But the Colts added Nate Irving, a former starter for the Denver Broncos, to the roster in free agency and selected Amarlo Herrera out of Georgia in the sixth round of the draft.

Muamba certainly still has a shot at making the roster, particularly over sixth-round rookie Herrera or as a fifth inside linebacker, but the added competition isn't a particularly positive sign that the Colts are confident in Muamba's ability to take key snaps.

The only news on Muamba so far this offseason has been his participation in the Sports Journalism and Communications Boot Camp at Bowling Green for current and former NFL players, preparation for life after football. That certainly is a noble cause, and it's commendable for Muamba to be taking the initiative. But as far as on-field progress is concerned, it seems we will have to wait until training camp to see if Muamba has progressed as a football player.

WR Duron Carter

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Though Duron Carter share's his father Cris' last name, the Hall of Famer's son came to the Colts from the CFL and has had to prove himself as much as any other player on the roster during the offseason. In a loaded wide receiver room, Carter making the roster has never been guaranteed.

Fortunately, he's made enough of a mark in OTAs to make that roster spot look more and more probable.

"

Duron Carter not letting Phillip Dorsett be the only star today at OTA's. Carter just went up over a DB and pulled in aTD.

— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNFL) May 27, 2015"

In an interview posted on Colts.com, Carter mentioned that he's been working most closely with Matt Hasselbeck and Andre Johnson, two veteran stalwarts that should be fantastic mentors for Carter both on and off the field.

With the most intriguing size profile of any of the Colts receivers at 6'5", 209 pounds, Carter's natural ability to use his length to his advantage could be a key part of carving out his role among this team.

OLB Cam Johnson

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Just days before the 2013 season began, the Colts traded a seventh-round pick to San Francisco for former Virginia outside linebacker Cam Johnson. The athletic edge-rusher played mostly special teams in 2013, and his season was cut short by an injury last year, being placed on the injured reserve list on September 9.

While the outside linebacker room in Indianapolis is more crowded than it's been in years, it seems that Johnson is using this offseason to make his mark.

Johnson was one of three players that outside linebacker Jonathan Newsome told Steve Andress of Colts.com that he had been particularly impressed with in OTAs, along with Phillip Dorsett and Zack Hodges. Chuck Pagano dropped his name as a key special teams contributor to Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel earlier this offseason as well.

The 6'3", 260-pound outside linebacker may not earn a lot of snaps this season, with Cole, Mathis, Werner, Walden and Newsome likely making up the majority of the rotation, but if Johnson can make the roster, he'll potentially have a chance to get on the field later in the year if injuries become a problem.