Here’s what Derrick Kindred can do for the Colts

The Colts made a move yesterday, picking up the fourth-year safety off of waivers after being released by the Browns. What can he add to the team?

Derrick Kindred was claimed off of waivers by the Colts yesterday. The safety spent his first three years in the NFL with the Browns after being a fourth round pick in 2016. He played in a total of 42 games while he was in Cleveland. What can he do for his new team?

Kindred played in a lot of games for being a fourth round pick. He even started 10 games back in 2017. He is a capable defender on the backend that can play decent coverage. Don’t expect him to help in the run game much though, as he only has 10 tackles for loss in his career.

The Colts picked up Kindred to give them some depth at the safety position. Both of their safeties are injury prone, so they need some insurance in case something happens. Kindred mostly plays strong safety though, so he would likely help spell Clayton Geathers.

Kindred has shown some potential in Cleveland. Based on the tape I’ve seen, he has decent ball skills and uses his hands well. He has 12 passes defended in his young career. Unfortunately, he doesn’t intercept the ball often, as he only has 2 of those in his career.

Kindred could be a useful player on third down packages or obvious passing situations. He gives the Colts another guy who can cover and run the field well. I wouldn’t expect too many big plays from him, but he is a serviceable backup who can give the Colts good minutes if needed.

It will be interesting to see if this move kicks off some more activity from the Colts, as they have been largely quiet in free agency.