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Colts defender making position change to wide receiver in training camp
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- Colts defender making position change to wide receiver in training camp
There's a position change taking place on the Indianapolis Colts' roster, with safety Ben Nikkel lining up at wide receiver during the team's first training camp practice.
"Ben's kind of a jack of all trades," Shane Steichen said after Wednesday's practice. "He's a Swiss Army knife."
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This change didn't just come out of nowhere either. Apparently, Nikkel played some wide receiver on the scout team last season in practices and made some plays.
"He does a lot of different things for us through special teams last year on the scout team," Steichen added, "so playing safety, you have only so many practice squad players, so he would go both ways for us last year and he made a ton of plays for us on the scout team. So we switched him over to offense. Was excited to see him out there. He had a catch today and he's going to continue to improve and grow in that role."
Nikkel was signed to the Colts ' practice squad following roster cutdowns last summer after being waived by Washington. He did not appear in any games with Indianapolis.
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Nikkel went undrafted in 2024 out of Iowa State, where he played safety his final two seasons. But before then, he attended McPherson College, where he played wideout, catching 107 passes for 1,570 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Whether at safety or wide receiver, Nikkel faces an uphill battle when it comes to making the 53-man roster, but this position change could help him carve out a role on the practice squad once again.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts defender making position change to wide receiver in training camp
