Colts Could Target Safety Gerod Holliman in Draft

The Indianapolis Colts are almost stuck in limbo this offseason when it comes to the safety position. The Colts have released LaRon Landry, and Mike Adams is a free agent. Sergio Brown played well, but is not a starter for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations. This leaves Ryan Grigson in the same boat that he was in just a season ago with no real answers at safety.

Will the Colts re-sign Adams? At 33 years old, you have to consider the risk of bringing him back for too much money. So there is a possibility that Grigson and the front office sign him back for another year, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Adams is in Indianapolis for more than another season. That leaves the Colts targeting a young player in the draft at safety.

Enter Gerod Holliman, a safety from the University of Louisville.

Holliman tied an NCAA record last season with 14 interceptions, and decided to forego his final two seasons in college and declare for the NFL draft. That is good news for the Colts as they desperately need a ball-hawking safety, something that has been missing since the departure of longtime safety Antoine Bethea, just a season ago in free agency.

Gerod stands at 6’2″ and 213 pounds, and would likely be thrusted into the starting lineup. There is one thing you cannot coach in football, and that is instincts, something Holliman truly excels at.

Case in point a game against Boston College this past season:

On third down, Holliman reads the quarterback’s eyes perfectly and cuts in front of the pass for the interception. Textbook type play from the safety. He has made so many plays this past season like that, which lead to interceptions and broken up passes. This has made him an early first round prospect according to many draft experts, but what might be holding him back is his run stopping abilities.

Play breakdown number two:

On this 2nd down and Four, Holliman over-shoots the run and completely misses Dalvin Cook, and allows him to break outside and run in for the touchdown. This is by far his biggest weakness. He is completely raw in the running game, and with only one season under his belt in college, it will cause scouts to question his ability to play at the NFL early on.

But, Holliman still shows flashes of greatness on his instincts in the run game as well:

Here, Holliman reads the read-option play beautifully and cuts to the outside to force the tackle for loss. It is plays like these that will give the Colts hope that he can develop into an all-around safety at the next level.

Holliman might have only played one full season at Louisville, but his ceiling is high, and that is why the Colts must look at him if he is still on the board at 29 when they go onto the clock.

(Videos Courtesy of DraftBreakdown.com)