Indianapolis Colts Biggest Defensive Needs Entering Draft

We’re hours away from the start of the 2017 NFL Draft. While the Indianapolis Colts have made some nice roster additions to their defense, there are still plenty of holes to fill.

After focusing on the Indianapolis Colts offensive needs a few days ago, we’ll now now focus on the team’s defensive needs:

Interior Defense

Make no mistake about it, the addition of Jonathan Haskins is huge! As was written a few days ago, Haskins is the best interior defensive lineman the Indianapolis Colts have had since Anthony ‘Booger’ McFarland. He is a run stopping force the Colts have lacked for years. Adding Haskins allows David Parry and Al Woods to move to a backup role.

Henry Anderson, when healthy, is a solid defensive end. He only started 2 games in 2016 and registered just 12 tackles. In 2015, he registered 31 tackles and a sack while starting 9 games. Hassan Ridgeway showed that he is a capable defensive tackle in the NFL; however, he is still young. T.Y. McGill is the only other defensive tackle listed on the Colts roster. If the Colts have any injury concerns with Anderson, they may want to target another defensive end in the draft.

At defensive end, the Colts have even less depth. Kendall Langford is serviceable, but like Henry Anderson, injuries plagued Langford in 2016. The Colts signed Margus Hunt this offseason, but he is probably a better backup – not a starter. Kristjan Sokoli has played in just 1 game in the NFL.

Outside Linebackers

We hear it all the time from the Indianapolis Colts front office. They want pass rushers. While they improved their outside linebacking corp with the addition of John Simon, Jabaal Sheard, and Barkevious Mingo, the Colts would be vastly improved if they drafted a pass rushing OLB in the early rounds of the draft. Beyond Simon, Sheard and Mingo, the Colts have no other outside linebackers on the roster that started an NFL game last season.

Inside Linebackers

The Colts have a glaring need at inside linebacker. I’m not convinced that Edwin Jackson and Antonio Morrison are the answers. The Colts added Sean Spence this offseason who will add competition, but is probably not the answer. The Colts must address this position in the draft.

Cornerback

Vontae Davis had a bad year in 2016. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him out at a 47.3 in 2016, the 98th ranked player at the position. In comparison, he ranked out at a 94.6 in 2014 and an 82.2 in 2015. Was it a bad year, or a major sign of decline for the 28 year old? The only thing more scary than a sizable decline is the fact that right now, Rashaan Melvin is the leading candidate to play opposite Davis. Melvin looked absolutely lost at times in 2016. The Colts have other role players, but with the likely move of Darius Butler to safety, the Colts have another glaring need at cornerback.

Safety

Clayton Geathers has shown promise at safety in his 2 years with the Indianapolis Colts. I sound like a broken record, but Geathers just has to stay healthy after missing 7 games last season. The Colts selected T.J. Green in the second round last April and was pretty raw in his rookie season. There is still some hope that Green will develop. In the meantime, Darius Butler will move from cornerback to safety. The Colts have some other players who saw action at safety last year and I wouldn’t expect safety to be a big focus for the Colts in the draft – at least not early on.

Next: Colts Rumored to be Interested in Florida Linebacker Jarrad Davis

In a previous post, I said that the Indianapolis Colts will likely use 3 of their 7 picks on offensive players. If that is the case (and assuming the Colts don’t trade back and receive more picks and the Colts don’t pick any special teams players), the Colts will have 4 picks for defensive players. In my mind, the order of importance is cornerback (1 pick), inside linebacker (1 pick), outside linebacker (1 pick), and defensive end (1 pick).