Colts Roster Projections: Starting Defense

Depth charts will soon be coming into focus for teams around the league as the regular season comes closer. Who will be atop the depth chart on the defensive side of the ball for the Colts?

Most depth charts are easy to predict. A lot of teams have returning starters or players who have been with the organization for awhile. That is not the case for the Indianapolis defense. There were a lot of changes, and many spots remain up in the air. Here is who should be on top come week one.

Defensive Line:

This is hard to project since the Colts are using a new scheme from last year. As of now, it looks like Jabaal Sheard and Al Woods are locked in at defensive end and defensive tackle respectively. After that, it gets less clear. John Simon has had a heck of a preseason and camp, so he should take the other d-end spot. That leaves one DT spot left. Even though Hassan Ridgeway has had a great preseason, the last spot will go to Denico Autry.

Linebacker:

This is also a tough call. Darius Leonard is the only sure starter on this unit, but he looks like he could be a star. Najee Goode seems like he will start on the outside, but who else will join him? Anthony Walker has a chance, but right now it looks like it’ll be Skai Moore.

Cornerback:

The corners are still up in the air. It looks like it’ll be Kenny Moore on one side, but after that it gets messy. Pierre Desir had a good preseason, as did Nate Hairston. Quincy Wilson is hurt (again) so he didn’t show too much. Newly acquired Lenzy Pipkins has a chance too, but probably is better suited for the slot corner position. My guess is Desir has done enough to earn the other starting corner job and that Pipkins and Wilson will be slot corners.

Safety:

The only position on the defense that isn’t hard to forecast, safety is pretty set in stone. Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers are the starters, and they have a pretty good backup in Matthias Farley if someone should get hurt as well.

It is yet to be determined how accurate this will be, but it’s always fun speculating who will start when the regular season rolls around.