NFL: Why the Indianapolis Colts are set up for success

Key pieces on defense

Jacksonville Jaguars v Indianapolis Colts

Like I mentioned already – over the course of the Pagano era the Colts had a bottom half defense in all but one year and they have allowed an average of about 24.5 points per game during that stretch.

While they started off with some of the veterans I already mentioned on that side of the ball, it wasn’t until this year that they had a real difference-maker on defense, if you take Robert Mathis’ outlier 2013 season out of the equation, in which piled up 19.5 sacks and forced eight fumbles. While I still think there is a lot of room for improvement and they still need some more players, they have started putting together a talented unit.

I will mention some of the key offseason moves and draft picks Chris Ballard has made as general manager in my next point, but for now, I want to talk about the play of some of those guys. Since defensive end/outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard was signed to a three-year deal last season, he has been one of the mainstays for a mostly struggling defense.

Last season he racked up 67 total pressures and 30 total run stops (for no or negative yardage), which are both incredible marks. He hasn’t quite reached that level of play this year, but he is still a valuable asset.

Margus Hunt has turned into a different beast this season after forgettable years in Cincinnati, disrupting plays from the D-end spot as well as on the interior as part of sub-packages. Indy also brought in Al Woods and Denco Autry these last two offseasons and they have both played more than 40 percent of the defensive snaps.

They also drafted four more defensive linemen these last two years and 52nd overall pick Kemoko Turay out of Rutgers is a guy I believe could really develop into a star pass rusher for them. The Colts have a multitude of bodies on their D-line, who can create negative plays and bring excellent pursuit in the run game, as well as being able to condense the pocket.

At the second level, however, is where they might be set up better than anybody else in the league. Darius Leonard and Anthony Walker are a special linebacker duo. Walker was an absolute steal in the 2017 draft, falling all the way to the 161st overall pick.

I had him as a third-round prospect in my evaluations, but I had concerns as well due to some lack of fast-twitch muscles that held him back from breaking up passes around his area and catching smaller ball-carriers on the edges.

Like I suggested, he shed some additional weight that slowed him down and now he looks lighter on his feet than he ever did at Northwestern. The second guy was the Colts’ first pick in round number two last April – Darius Leonard out of South Carolina State.

The small-school standout popped out to me at the Senior Bowl and when I put on his tape afterwards. I fell in love with his instincts, violence and hunger. Both those guys beat blockers to the spot continuously, trust their eyes and just don’t miss tackles. While Walker comes off the field on some passing downs as the Colts like to substitute to really light packages, Leonard is a monstrous contributor on those. He is a tremendous asset to their pass rush and has been used as a dog blitzer a lot, racking up six sacks already.

Let’s finally get to the secondary. That’s the group that I think still needs some work. The key piece to the entire defense maybe is free safety Malik Hooker. I looked at him as the prototype you want at the position coming out of Ohio State, especially in Matt Eberflus’ single-high safety heavy scheme.

He brings crazy range and premiere ball-skills to the table, which enables him to make plays all the way outside the numbers and scares offenses away from letting the ball hang up in the air. He is also still improving his open-field tackling. Clayton Geathers has been solid for them at the opposite safety spot, but none of those guys in that backfield have really made a name for themselves.

Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore lead them in snaps among corners and they have played pretty well for them, but there’s a reason both guys were claimed off waivers in 2017. I like Nate Hairston in the slot and I was pretty high on Quincy Wilson as a press-corner, who they both drafted last year. With all that being said, defensive back is definitely the area Indy wants to invest in next. If they grab a true shutdown corner next April, it makes things easier for all those other guys around him and this defense could take the next step.

Obviously, the Colts defense is still on its way, but they have some of the key pieces to build around. If a couple of their defensive linemen start stepping up and they add some corner help, they can definitely do enough defensively to support the offense.

Hooker and Leonard are guys who can force turnovers and Matt Eberflus just starts installing his defensive scheme. They are still putting together personnel to fit the transition to a 4-3 front and they are already improving a lot in terms of 20+ yard plays allowed.