Colts: 2 players who’ve justified team’s faith and one who hasn’t

The Indianapolis Colts don’t have the benefit of aqua blue water and 80-degree weather to attract top free agents, meaning that Frank Reich and Chris Ballard have had to build this team on the back of smart drafting and gambles in the offseason.

Under Reich, that philosophy has paid dividends. Despite the constant shifting at quarterback, the Colts have made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, and they are positioned well to overtake the Tennessee Titans for supremacy of the AFC South division.

The Colts have placed their trust in some players that a lesser organization wouldn’t even have given the time of day to, and it ended up turning the Indy into one of the best teams in the AFC. A Reich offense and Matt Eberflus defense will do wonders for you.

However, they’ve had some pretty egregious misses over the years, and there is one player on this roster that has to have Ballard slamming his head into his palms when he examines his progress, or lack thereof, to this point.

2 Colts players have rewarded Indy, but one of them has disappointed.

Colts Win: CB Xavier Rhodes

If you ever needed more ammunition as to why the Pro Bowl is a complete farce, look no further than the fact that Rhodes was named a Pro Bowler despite allowing more than 80% of passes thrown his way to end up as completions in 2019. Rhodes’ value fell off of a cliff, but he resurrected himself in Indianapolis.

Rhodes was able to record two interceptions of Sam Darnold in his matchup against the Jets, but his 42 tackles and 12 pass deflections show that the corner who was nearly impossible to throw toward during his prime in Minnesota has returned to action in Indy.

Xavier Rhodes turned his career around with the Colts.

The Colts might not have the best secondary in the world, but you could certainly do a heck of a lot worse than Rhodes at one outside cornerback spot and Kenny Moore in the slot. Cornerbacks have a ton of responsibility in Eberflus’ scheme, and Rhodes has proven his quality once more in a new setting.

Rhodes is the type of player that needed a scheme that would allow him to make some mistakes while still giving him the responsibility he craves. Indy gave it to him, and he looks like one of their better defensive players heading into this season.

Colts Win: LB Bobby Okereke

With nickel sets being the current meta in the NFL, playing with two linebackers places even more of an emphasis on whomever gets the start being able to cover lots of ground from a standstill. The Colts have Darius Leonard, still elite in every sense of the word, and Okereke just earned a promotion.

The Colts let Anthony Walker leave for the Cleveland Browns, meaning that Okereke is likely to fill the void. Considering how Okereke plays the game like he was shot out of a cannon, he should be a tremendous fit in Indianapolis.

Bobby Okereke has the keys to a starting role with the Colts.

The former third-round pikc has recorded 137 tackles in his first two seasons with the Colts, but it’s not unreasonable to assume that he could cross the 100-tackle threshold in 2021. His range in both rushing and passing situations will be so valuable because Eberflus’ defense tasks linebackers with covering a lot of ground.

Okereke has beefed up since entering the league, which had critics finally pipe down when questioning his strength and ability to disengage from blocks. The Colts had a ton of money to spend, and they still chose to let Walker test the open market in order to see what Okereke can do as a starter.

Colts Loss: WR Parris Campbell

You all know the story by now. Urban Meyer loves to have one versatile hybrid player that’s half-wide receiver and half-running back, after the success of players like Percy Harvin at Florida and Braxton Miller, Jalin Marshall, and Curtis Samuel at Ohio State. As a result of that, Indy drafted Campbell to be their next big-play threat after his success in many forms with the Buckeyes.

The speed is very real, but Campbell hasn’t been on the field enough to make good on that potential. Injuries have left him in street clothes more than his Colts uniform, and that prompted both the selection of Michael Pittman Jr. in last year’s draft and the re-signing of TY Hilton this offseason.

Parris Campbell hasn’t stayed healthy for the Colts.

At his best, Campbell can stretch the defense horizontally with his speed before finally breaking off a long one deep down the field. That could be exactly what this offense needs, but there’s so much uncertainty around him that it will be incredibly tough for the Colts to lean on his contributions.

Whatever potential he may have gets overshadowed by the fact that his injury woes have sabotaged his career. There’s still time to salvage it all, but he started off on such a bad foot that he’s really going to have to blow everyone away over the next two years to make all the bad disappear.

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