The Indianapolis Colts moved to 3-0 over the weekend with a dominant performance on the road against the Tennessee Titans, winning by three touchdowns in a 41-20 thrashing.
Notably absent from the action, however, was second-round pick JT Tuimoloau. The defensive end from Ohio State has now been amongst Indianapolis' game inactives for two of its three games so far this season, raising concerns amongst the fan base that they’ve wasted a top draft choice.
But let’s pump the breaks for a minute and put things into perspective.
Tuimoloau is listed as the fifth and final defensive end on the Colts depth chart and is by far the least experienced. The other four, outside of Laiatu Latu, have at least five seasons in the NFL under their belts. So cracking the rotation will be tough for Tuimoloau.
Still, being surrounded by that level of veteran experience will help his development down the line.
Additionally, in both of the games Tuimoloau hasn’t dressed, the Colts have been at or near full strength. For opening day, just running back Tyler Goodson had an injury designation. For Sunday’s matchup with Tennessee, both Tyler Warren and Charvarius Ward played despite being listed as questionable.
When injuries inevitably begin to happen for the Colts, especially on defense, Tuimoloau should be able to get on the field. His body of work in the preseason combined with how much the Colts coveted him in the draft mean it’s only a matter of time before Tuimoloau is consistently apart of the rotation.