Colts 2018 season recap: Least improved player

As with every season, there is some good and bad mixed in with what the Colts did in 2018. Today we look at who was the least improved player on the roster.

The Colts had plenty of players who did a great job all season long for them. Because of that, there weren’t too many players who regressed or didn’t make a big leap this year. But there was one player who didn’t quite play up to the high expectations he set after last year’s performance.

Malik Hooker didn’t quite have the year that many people were expecting out of him. He had three interceptions last season in seven games as a rookie. His season was cut short after he tore his ACL against Jacksonville. People were expecting him to be a breakout player this year.

That didn’t quite happen. Hooker only had two interceptions on the year while adding a fumble recovery. He did double his tackle total from last year though. But it was expected that the ball-hawking safety would create more problems in the passing game and create more turnovers.

That was mainly expected of him because of the amount of picks he had last season in just seven games. Three in seven games is pretty darn good. He also had seven interceptions in 13 games his final season at Ohio State, while returning three of those for touchdowns.

Hooker is expected to make big plays in the secondary. But just because his interception totals were down this season doesn’t mean he isn’t a good player. If Hooker has to make a lot of tackles or a lot of interceptions, that means the rest of the defense isn’t doing their job well.

Hooker’s numbers should continue to improve as he gets more time in the league. He was injured some this season too, which is turning into a concern. But expect more interceptions and big plays out of him as his career goes along. This year was just a blip in the radar.