Colts 2015 Player Preview: Wide Receiver Quan Bray

In our series looking at each individual player on the Colts' offseason roster leading up to training camp, the past few days have focused on kickers.  Today, however, we look at a wide receiver in undrafted rookie Quan Bray.

When he was just 19 years old, his mother was shot and killed by Bray's father, and a tattoo on his right shoulder/arm reminds Bray daily of his late mother, Tonya Bray.  Through the tragedy, however, he dedicated himself on the field and in the weight room.  In four seasons at Auburn, he caught 93 passes for 853 yards and seven scores, saving his best for his senior season in 2014 in which he caught 39 passes for 471 yards and four touchdowns.  Throughout his career Bray also contributed in a number of different ways: he carried the football 23 times for 97 yards and a touchdown (4.2 yards per carry), completed one of two passes for 33 yards and a touchdown, returned 70 punts and averaged 8.1 yards per return while scoring two touchdowns (both in 2014), and returned 34 kicks while averaging 22.3 yards per return.  Combining receiving yards, rushing yards, passing yards, and return yards, Bray accounted for 2,306 total yards while at Auburn.  He went undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft but signed as an undrafted free agent with the Colts.  Interestingly, according to Spotrac, Bray was the only one of the undrafted free agents signed by the team to receive guaranteed money, as Bray received a $5,000 signing bonus and $5,000 guaranteed.  Of course, this likely doesn't mean much, but if Spotrac's contract numbers are correct (and they usually are) then it could give us an idea that perhaps Bray is a player to watch.

With the depth at the Colts' wide receiver position, Bray will have a hard time making the roster, just like with the other wide receivers competing for a spot.  T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, and Phillip Dorsett seem like sure things to make the 53-man roster, meaning that the other five guys are competing for one or two spots - and that group includes guys like Duron Carter, Vincent Brown, and Griff Whalen.  Bray therefore faces an uphill battle to make the roster, and it's likely that his best chance to do so would be in the return game.  He did a good job as both a kick and a punt returner at Auburn, and if he impresses as a receiver as well the return part of his game could help his chances - though Phillip Dorsett can also return kicks and seems to be the favorite in that area.  Bray is a long shot to make the final roster, but he has risen to the challenge before (both on and off the field) and it will be interesting to see how he does with the Colts in training camp.