Lucas Oil Stadium is used to switching between sports. Since opening in August 2008, the Indianapolis venue has played host to football, basketball, soccer and innumerable other activities.
This month, however, the home of the Indianapolis Colts is taking on an unprecedented challenge: swimming’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
Yes, the same venue where Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew was slinging passes five short months ago will welcome Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledecky and others beginning June 15. Wednesday afternoon, USA Swimming gave fans a peek behind the curtain at Lucas Oil Stadium’s stunning aquatic makeover.
A time-lapse video depicted crews tearing up the stadium floor and putting in three Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Indianapolis has long been a favorite destination for the Olympic swim trials, but this will be the city’s first time hosting the event since 2000. Omaha has hosted the last four in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021, respectively.
Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is scheduled to begin on July 27.
In the NFL, things change quickly. Just ask the AFC South.
A year ago, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts each had new quarterbacks and first-time head coaches. While the future was considered bright, the present was thought to be bleak.
Fast-forward one season, and the Texans are defending AFC South champs while anything less than a playoff appearance in Indianapolis would be considered a failure.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars were viewed as Super Bowl contenders in 2023, only to fall apart after an 8ā3 start to miss the playoffs. Now, will they play as they did early last season before succumbing to injuries, or are they a group about to take a step back?
We took a look at all four AFC South rosters and ranked them, giving a snapshot of what to expect in 2024.
1. Houston Texans
In one year, the Texans went from having a roster nobody thought could win six games, to a team which might contend to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX.
Of course, the driving force behind Houstonās sensational turnaround is quarterback C.J. Stroud, who threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns to help lead the Texans to a shocking AFC South title, along with a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns.
With Stroud under center, Houstonās offense is one of the leagueās scariest. This was only bolstered by the acquisition of All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs, who joins Nico Collins and second-year speedster Tank Dell in the receiver room.
Defensively, the Texans have Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. rushing off the edges with Denico Autry manning the inside of their front. In the secondary, youth is serving with corner Derek Stingley Jr. and safety Jalen Pitre patrolling the deep end.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville may have been a huge disappointment in 2023, but the roster is still teeming with above-average talent.
For the Jaguars, their rebound effort will be spearheaded by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who last season struggled with 21 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Lawrence, entering his third season alongside coach Doug Pederson, has ample weaponry around him including running back Travis Etienne Jr.; tight end Evan Engram; and receivers Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and incoming first-rounder Brian Thomas Jr.
On the other side, Jacksonville has one of the leagueās better fronts, headlined by edge rusher Josh Allen and 2022 No. 1 pick Travon Walker. General manager Trent Baalke also added to the line with free-agent signing Arik Armstead coming over from the San Francisco 49ers.
The big question is in the secondary, where the Jaguars are relying on Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco to prop up some question marks, including newcomers Darnell Savage Jr. and Ronald Darby.
3. Indianapolis Colts
So much of how the Colts work out will be determined by second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson, who was Indianapolisās first-round pick in 2023, only started four games before being shelved with a shoulder injury.
Before getting hurt, Richardson flashed dynamic talent, accounting for seven touchdowns (including four as a runner) despite leaving two of his four games before halftime.
The talent around him isnāt star-studded, but it's considerable. The Colts re-signed wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who alongside second-year man Josh Downs and rookie Adonai Mitchell form an intriguing trio. The offensive line is also solid, led by center Ryan Kelly and All-Pro Quenton Nelson.
The defense is led by a front including star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and first-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu, but is there enough punch otherwise? The secondary is also a concern as Kenny Moore II is a terrific slot corner, but the rest of the group has concerns abound.
4. Tennessee Titans
The Titans added talent this offseason, headlined by receiver Calvin Ridley and corner LāJarius Sneed. There were also other notable offensive additions including center Lloyd Cushenberry, first-round left tackle JC Latham and running back Tony Pollard, but it still isn't enough to get out of the AFC South basement.
Tennessee has major question marks along the offensive line despite adding Latham and 2023 first-rounder Peter Skoronski. The Titansā right side remains in flux, and Will Levis under center is an unknown, having thrown for eight touchdowns while completing 58.4% of his passes across nine starts last season.
On defense, Jeffery Simmons is an elite defensive tackle but no longer has Denico Autry playing alongside him. The edges are also thin behind Harold Landry III. In the secondary, Sneed gives Tennessee a legitimate top-end corner, but the rest of the unit has either unsettled starters or depth concerns.
Tennessee isnāt terrible, but itās not a playoff team either.
The entire AFC is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week, some teams closed the gap during the 2024 NFL draft. Others saw it only grow wider.
But which teams did the best? Which added the most potential while also finding immediate starters? And, conversely, who failed to find enough help, making them vulnerable?
We analyzed and ranked all 16 of the AFC draft classes, going from least-inspiring to most.
16. Tennessee Titans
Tennessee did a nice job picking up OT JC Latham in the first round to bolster its offensive line, but the rest of the draft was underwhelming. The Titans gambled big on DT TāVondre Sweat despite his off-field concerns, and then selected three linebackers as the rounds clicked off. Not enough upside.
15. Buffalo Bills
The Bills traded back twice in the first round before ultimately selecting WR Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round. Buffalo then decided to pass on a litany of other talented wideouts, instead loading up on the offensive line with four picks. The Day 2 choices of S Cole Bishop and DT DeWayne Carter were their best.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville had the opportunity to draft any corner in the draft, but traded back to hoard picks. Fair enough. However, the Jaguars then took WR Brian Thomas Jr. instead of addressing a major need. Afterwards, Jacksonville took a kicker and a reserve running back, passing on more high-upside talent. Not awful, but not great.
13. Cleveland Browns
The Browns were once again without their first-round pick as a result of the disastrous Deshaun Watson deal, which gets hilariously worse by the year. Clevelandās first pick came Friday, when it took a high-upside defensive end in Michael Hall Jr. despite his lack of statistics at Ohio State. Down the board, the Browns finished the draft with three defensive players, hoping to find depth.
12. Denver Broncos
If Bo Nix turns out to be a quality quarterback, my team grade is going to look silly. If heās not, the Broncos are going to be spinning their wheels for the next few years. The Broncos were also without a second-round pick before taking edge rusher Jonah Elliss and receiver Troy Franklin in the middle rounds. Not a bad haul, but everything hinges on the 24-year-old quarterback.
11. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins decided to go for an edge rusher in the first round, selecting Penn Stateās Chop Robinson to bolster depth after injuries to Bradley Chubb and Jaelen Phillips. In the second round, general manager Chris Grier took Miamiās future left tackle in Patrick Paul, a three-year starter at Houston. On Day 3, the Dolphins took another running back in Jaylen Wright. An intriguing class.
10. Houston Texans
The Texans didnāt have a first-round pick after trading back with the Minnesota Vikings, but they still had a nice haul. Houston got a pair of defensive backs on Day 2 with CB Kamari Lassiter and S Calen Bullock, before getting great value in Ohio State TE Cade Stover. Ultimately, Houston added a few potential starters plus depth.
9. Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati loaded up in the trenches, while also taking a pair of boom-or-bust SEC prospects. The Bengals used three of their first four picks on offensive and defensive linemen, including Georgiaās Amarius Mims in the first round. Mims is incredibly talented, but only started eight games for the Bulldogs. In the third round, Cincinnati gambled on WR Jermaine Burton, who has great film but character-driven red flags.
8. New York Jets
The Jets started strong by taking OT Olu Fashanu to lock down the left side for years to come. However, after not having a pick in the second round due to the Aaron Rodgers trade, New York took a pair of running backs. The Jets also took WR Malachi Corley, a 215-pounder who can create yards after the catch. It was an offensively driven class with upside.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs hit on their two biggest needs in the first two rounds, trading up for WR Xavier Worthy and OT Kingsley Suamataia. On Day 3, Kansas City found quality value in S Jaden Hicks and CB Kamal Hadden, upgrading an already strong secondary despite the loss of LāJarius Sneed in a trade with the Titans.
6. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore made an already strong roster even better, utilizing all three days of the draft. After getting good value at No. 30 with CB Nate Wiggins, the Ravens continued to take ready-made contributors in edge rusher Adisa Isaac, OT Roger Rosengarten and WR Devontez Walker, along with an intriguing talent in CB TJ Tampa.
5. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts understood their assignment going into the draft. They had to make second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson comfortable, and that appears to have been achieved. GM Chris Ballard landed receivers Adonai Mitchell and Anthony Gould along with a pair of mid-round offensive linemen. Indianapolis also added to its pass rush with edge Laiatu Latu, a potential star off the edge.
4. New England Patriots
New England did exactly what it needed to in the draft. The Patriots resisted the temptation to trade back and took Drake Maye as their next franchise quarterback. Then they spent the rest of the draft surrounding him with an improved offense ranging from receivers JaāLynn Polk and Javon Baker, to a pair of offensive linemen in Caeden Wallace and Layden Robinson.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders were patient, and that paid off. Instead of trading up into the top 10 for a quarterback, veteran GM Tom Telesco stayed at No. 13 and tabbed TE Brock Bowers. On the second day, Telesco upgraded the offensive front with G Jackson Powers-Johnson and OT Delmar Glaze out of Maryland. The Raiders still need a quarterback, but when they find him, heāll be in a better spot.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers needed to find talent across the board in this class after losing receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, among others. To that end, Los Angeles nabbed Notre Dame OT Joe Alt at No. 5 before trading up for WR Ladd McConkey in the second round. On Day 3, the choices of CB Cam Hart and WR Brenden Rice represent great value.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Nobody in either conference had a better draft than GM Omar Khan and the Steelers. Pittsburgh found a litany of offensive linemen who could start soon between OT Troy Fautanu, C Zach Frazier and G Mason McCormick. Then thereās the third-round choices of WR Roman Wilson and LB Payton Wilson, both excellent values. Home run stuff from Pittsburgh.
Five years ago, in āThe Art of Coachingā documentary that highlighted the bond between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, the then-Alabama coach ripped off a rant on NFL teams, and how they handled evaluating his players ahead of the draft.
āOne thing that you do, that a lot of the NFL guys donāt do, I donāt know that youāve ever picked one of our guys if you never talked to me before picking him,ā Saban said to Belichick. āAnd thereās a few other guys in the league that do that. But then thereās another 30 teams that I never hear from, and then they pick somebody and Iām saying, āThey picked that guy?ā And then they say, āWell, we didnāt know this.ā Well, all you had to do is call and I would have told you the good stuff and I wouldāve told you any issue.ā
Count the Detroit Lions as a team that listens to Saban.
Two consecutive years, theyāve come away from the NFL draft with the guy NFL folks had tabbed as the legendary coachās favorite in the class. Last year, it was Brian Branch, who became an integral part of the Detroit defense, and a Swiss Army knife for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. This year, itās Terrion Arnold, a corner the Lions never thought would be there in the 20s.
Detroit had actually laid groundwork for a trade upāI believe Missouri DE Darius Robinson was the targetāwhich made it easy to pivot and get aggressive in going up from No. 29 to No. 24 to land a falling Arnold.
For his part, Saban loved how Arnold took hard coaching, and attacked the challenge the coaches put in front of him, in sticking with him at corner rather than projecting him to safety like other schools had in recruiting him. Also, Detroit took note of how Saban played him at the āstarā position (nickel corner), as well as outside corner. As the Lions see it, being deployed as the star at Alabama is a huge sign of trust and respect from Saban, because of the mental and physical burden he puts on that spot, and the versatility he demands from it.
Branch, for what itās worth, played a lot there, too.
In this case, it wasnāt like it had been the year before, where GM Brad Holmes personally connected with Saban (theyād talked about Branch and Jahmyr Gibbs last year). But Detroit did have a couple of high-level staffers get to Saban on Arnold, confirming what theyād seen. Which, in the end, made going after Arnold a no-brainer when he slipped.
ā¢ There are a lot of stories where a fortunate twist can play into a team drafting a certain playerāand the Chargers will have one of those from 2024 if, years from now, OT Joe Alt becomes the sort of franchise cornerstone Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh think he can be.
The fact that the GM and coach were new did limit, to a degree, what they were personally able to do during this draft cycle. But the Chargers were able to get guys out on the road enough, both on the coaching and scouting side. And one such lieutenant that traveled around was veteran line coach Mike Devlin.
As luck would have it, he was assigned to run drills for the offensive line prospects at Notre Dameās pro day in March. That allowed Devlin to challenge Alt, and to also get to know him better with the extra time heād get with the Irish captain. Now, itās not like there were too many revelations on the visit. Everyone knew what sort of player he was. But with the Chargers also liking Alabama RT JC Latham, the little things did make a difference.
The biggest question now is where Alt will fit on the line. All 33 of his starts at Notre Dame came at left tackle, the position Rashawn Slater plays for the Chargers. The plan is to let Alt compete for the starting right tackle spot. That said, he played tight end in high school, and wound up starting at left tackle as a true freshman at Notre Dame. So the lift might not be as heavy for Alt as it would be for others.
And thatās what made this pick so easy for the Chargers. Alt will figure it out, and at a baseline be a really good pro with a chance to be much better, making him the rare high floor-high ceiling prospect. He has some stuff to work on such as his ability to anchor (though the Chargers would tell you to watch how, in those spots, he bends and recovers). But with the presence and intelligence he showed the Chargers in meetings, itās a good bet that Alt will keep ascending.
ā¢ The Chiefs did right by Travis Kelce, giving the future Hall of Famer what amounts to a plain-old raise Mondayāusually teams will require adding years to a playerās contract in exchange, or moving money away from a future year, for giving them this sort of pay bump.
Kelceās existing contract had a $12 million base salary for this year, with another $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and a $250,000 roster bonus. The Chiefs gave him another $4 million, guaranteeing all $17 million for 2023. They left his $17.25 million for 2025 intact, added a trigger thatāll guarantee most of it in March (in the form of an $11.5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year), and force the team to make a decision on whether to keep him at the start of free agency.
The two-year deal makes Kelce the highest paid tight end in the NFL heading into a season in which heāll turn 35. Itās also, truth be told, not that big of a number. Heās making less, in fact, on an APY (average per year) basis than Cleveland Browns WR Jerry Jeudy. Which is to say everything is relative, and in that sense a great tight end is a much better deal in todayās NFL than is a good receiver.
ā¢ As happy as the Minnesota Vikings were to get J.J. McCarthy where they did with the 10th pick, Iād say they were more surprised that pass rusher Dallas Turner slipped as deep into the teens as he did, which prompted the reaction from Kevin OāConnell that the teamās in-house crew captured.
In the end, they got two guys who were projected in the top 10 in a series of trade-ups without giving up an additional first-round pick to do it. The downside? It comes in volume. They wound up with seven picks after coming in with nine, and none of those picks came on Day 2 (they had one pick between 17 and 177, and that was at 108). As it stands now, they will have only four picks next yearātheir own first-rounder, a third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins, their own fifth-rounder, and another fifth-rounder they acquired in the ZaāDarius Smith trade.
ā¢ With the deadline Thursday, we know that nine of the top 12 picks in the 2021 draft have had their fifth-year option picked up. The three that havenāt, and wonāt, are all quarterbacks who have been tradedāZach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields.
The teams that took those three certainly felt the pain of the misses, but each has recovered nicely. And throw Mac Jones in there, and you have four of five first-round quarterbacks from that yearās class dealt, without a single Day 1 or Day 2 pick included in any of the four trades.
ā¢ Interestingly enough, only six of the remaining 22 first-rounders from that year have had their fifth-year options picked up.
ā¢ Ezekiel Elliott showed last year with the New England Patriots that he can still play. That said, the Dallas Cowboys canāt run him the way they did in Elliottās previous stint. I was pretty surprised, as such, that the Cowboys didnāt use one of their eight picks on the position, though they do think highly of Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.
ā¢ It wasnāt a huge surprise that the New York Giants punted on quarterback with Drake Maye three picks before their first-round selection at No. 6āword circulated around the NFL that New York had become a Maye-or-no-QB team over the couple of weeks leading up to the draft. And since they did offer their 2025 first-rounder to get to No. 3, you can see New York saw a gap between the top three and the next three in the class.
ā¢ As for how the teams had the guys ranked, the Vikings really dove in on the guys after the top two, and had Maye (for whom they offered 11, 23 and a 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring them bringing some value back), then McCarthy. The Falcons had Michael Penix Jr. behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels (with a few folks in their building personally having Penix second). And Denver had Nix behind only Williams and Daniels.
ā¢ I can appreciate the video of Colts GM Chris Ballard saying the Indianapolis Colts got the draftās best pass rusher in Laiatu Latu. Most people, maybe all, I talked to about the UCLA star before the draft told me his tape was the best among the pass rushers. But thatās not the question with Latu; itās the condition of his nick. But if heās healthy? Paired with DeForest Buckner in that front, look out.