Seth McGowan is a running back who didn’t get a single carry in Week 1 during his NFL debut for the Indianapolis Colts.
Despite that, the rookie RB found a way to make an impact.
It was the kind of thing easily overshadowed in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but McGowan at least flashed signs of positivity that can hopefully turn into better things going forward for Indianapolis.
How Colts Used Seth McGowan
While the Colts didn’t use McGowan in the backfield, they did have him on kick returns, and he stood out there.
McGowan brought one kick back for 66 yards and looked explosive overall with the ball in his hands.
“McGowan never carried the ball, but he had quite a special teams impact,” ESPN’s Stephen Holder wrote on Tuesday. “The sixth-round pick showed promise in training camp as a kick returner and made his debut Sunday. He returned five kicks for 164 total yards. His longest return, a 66-yarder in the fourth quarter, took the ball to the Ravens’ 30-yard line. McGowan is expected to get some work behind starting running back Jonathan Taylor as the season progresses, according to coach Shane Steichen.”
McGowan had quite the college journey — from Oklahoma to New Mexico State to Kentucky — and he showed just enough for the Colts to make him a seventh-round pick (No. 237 overall) in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Last season at Kentucky, McGowan ran 165 times for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns while also catching 19 passes for 126 yards.
He isn’t listed as ever having a kick return in college, but the return game in the NFL is different. College football still has the old kick return rules, which favored players with fast wide receiver-type builds. The NFL’s new kick return rules favor RBs who know how to read their blocks, and McGowan showed in his debut he can do that.
He won’t get a ton of work this season as long as Jonathan Taylor stays healthy, but McGowan has already shown he can help the Colts in a different way.
Colts Power Rankings
This McGowan analysis from ESPN’s Stephen Holder came as part of their post-Week 1 power rankings, which weren’t good news for the Colts.
They now slot in at No. 23 out of the NFL’s 32 teams.
They had been No. 19 in the preseason so it’s just a bit of a drop. Evidently, ESPN wasn’t super high on the Colts to begin with.
A 41-23 loss to the Ravens clearly didn’t impress anyone, though. Yes, the Ravens are led by two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, but it was the lack of overall competitiveness from the Colts that could be concerning going forward.
It doesn’t get easier. Indy plays the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football in Week 2. They’ll have to turn things around in a hurry.
What We Learned From Seth McGowan’s NFL Debut for Colts