Colts should increase Julian Blackmon’s role against Bears

With their secondary still struggling with injuries, the Colts should look to increase rookie DB Julian Blackmon’s role in Week 4 against Chicago.

The Colts’ secondary is extremely banged up heading into their Week 4 matchup against Chicago, which will deploy Nick Foles under center after he came off the bench in the third quarter and led the team to an impossible comeback win over Atlanta.

With safety Malik Hooker (Achilles) lost for the year, Indianapolis could ill afford to watch any other defensive backs go down with injury. That unfortunately hasn’t been the case as Rock Ya-Sin has missed the last two games with a mysterious illness of which we still don’t know the full details.

The 2019 second-round pick is expected to return this week after managing consecutive full practices heading into the weekend following a limited session on Wednesday. However, that positive update was met with a discouraging one regarding cornerback TJ Carrie, who was declared out with a hamstring issue.

In light of this untimely news, the Colts should look to increase the role of rookie Julian Blackmon, who had plenty of experience playing cornerback across his four years at Utah.

Blackmon made his NFL debut versus Minnesota in Week 2 — a little less than 10 months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in his final game for the Utes — and the consensus reaction was that he delivered a strong performance.

The 2020 third-round pick played 63% of the defensive snaps and his most notable contribution came late in the first half when he recorded a pass breakup on a Kirk Cousins deep ball that resulted in one of Indianapolis’ three interceptions. He followed that up with another solid showing in the Colts’ undressing of the Jets last week.

It’s worth noting that Blackmon has filled in as Hooker’s like-for-like replacement at free safety, but Indy’s coaching staff was raving about his versatility once he was cleared to return to practice during training camp. If there was ever a time to put it to use, it’s with Carrie sidelined and Ya-Sin (presumably) not ready to play a full complement of snaps.

Blackmon started out as a cornerback at Utah before making the move (at his request) to safety as a sophomore. Though the majority of his snaps came at FS, he shifted over to CB in certain packages and played both positions at an elite level.

In 39 starts, Blackmon tallied 158 tackles (8.5 for loss), 29 passes defended, nine interceptions, two forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns. He took college football by storm as a senior in 2019, when he recorded 60 tackles, a Pac-12 best four INTs and four pass break ups on his way to being voted a second-team AP All-American.

With Carrie out and Ya-Sin likely not in game shape following his recovery, the Colts shouldn’t think twice about fully unleashing the 22-year-old defensive back. Blackmon was drafted in large part due to his versatility and this is the perfect opportunity for Indy to take full advantage of it.

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