Colts’ preseason opener spotlights Will Mallory and defensive ends Caden Curry and George Gumbs Jr. in early standouts

The Indianapolis Colts’ first preseason game of 2026 played out the way most opening weeks do under Shane Steichen: the coaching staff kept the vast majority of the starters off the field, prioritizing health and evaluation over results. For fans, the takeaway was less about the overall picture of a team trying to find rhythm, and more about the handful of players who turned short opportunities into clear, repeatable indicates of form.

Among the most notable names from that Week 1 look was tight end Will Mallory. According to the Colts’ official recap, Mallory stood out as part of the offense’s second-and-third-wave efforts, giving the staff something to watch in live game tempo, spacing, and route execution. In preseason evaluation terms, it is often the consistency of looks, not a single big play, that becomes the key question for a position group, and Mallory’s performance fit that “progress you can build on” theme.

On the defensive side, the Colts’ early standout list included defensive ends Caden Curry and George Gumbs Jr. Their preseason work, highlighted by the team, pointed to the kind of impact the coaching staff is searching for in the early rounds of an offseason-to-preseason transition: pass-rush production, discipline in assignments, and an ability to make plays without needing the top starters on the field to create favorable matchups.

Even with starters staying out, the preseason still functions as a high-speed audition for roster roles. Teams rarely change their foundational depth charts in the first outing, but they do sort players into tiers. For the Colts, Curry and Gumbs Jr. appearing in the team’s standout section suggests the staff viewed their reps as more than incidental, and that their snaps offered something the coaches could measure against expectations.

Steichen’s decision to limit starters also frames how to interpret these early performances. A preseason Week 1 “standout” is not the same as a regular-season guarantee, because the on-field mix, play-calling, and opponent tendencies can differ from game to game. Still, it does matter when a player shows up in the team’s own evaluation notes, especially in phases where the margin between earning snaps and falling behind can be thin.

The Colts will move from evaluation to refinement as the preseason progresses, and the next question becomes whether these names carry the momentum into subsequent weeks. Mallory’s role development, and whether Curry and Gumbs Jr. can sustain their effectiveness across a longer stretch of reps, will be the simplest storylines for observers to track as Indianapolis works toward its final roster decisions.

For now, the team’s official recap provides the core facts: the Colts opened the preseason in a starter-light approach under Steichen, and highlighted Will Mallory plus defensive ends Caden Curry and George Gumbs Jr. as Week 1 standouts. The broader meaning is organizational, not merely individual: these performances help shape which players are building trust with the coaching staff as training camp transitions into the final evaluation window.