Want to know how good things are going for the Indianapolis Colts in 2025? Bleacher Report writer Brad Gagnon published a story identifying the most disappointing player on each of the NFL’s 32 teams. His choice for the Colts was Samson Ebukam.
Let me get this out of the way right up front. Samson Ebukam is a quality professional football player. He performed very well for the Colts in 2023, and his lack of recent production has far more to do with injuries than with a lack of talent or desire.
With that in mind, let me further say that when Samson Ebukam can be claimed as your team’s biggest disappointment, you are living a charmed NFL life. The fact that this is a defensible choice is all the proof you need to know that this has been a magical season for Shane Steichen and his men.
Is Samson Ebukam really the Colts’ biggest disappointment in 2025?
We’ll answer that question in a moment. First, let me put into context just how extraordinary the pick is.
Amongst Indy’s three AFC South rivals, two had their starting quarterbacks chosen as their biggest disappointments. That would be C.J. Stroud in Houston and Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.
I happen to think both of those choices are wrong, but just the fact that they are in the conversation says a lot. Nobody is going to argue that the Colts’ Daniel Jones has been a disappointment this season.
The non-quarterback disappointment is Calvin Ridley, starting wide receiver and second highest-paid player on the Titans.
Samson Ebukam is the eight-highest paid player on the Colts, which I suppose makes him a bit of a disappointment. But he is not even a starter. He missed all of 2024 with an injury and entered this season slated to back up Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu. He has done just that.
He hasn’t been very effective, but I don’t know anyone who seriously believed that a 30-year edge rusher, coming off a torn Achilles, was going to make a huge impact while playing maybe 40% of his team’s snaps.
Ebukam has been serviceable, which is what should have been expected. The fact that he is now dealing with an injured knee which is likely to significantly limit his contributions the rest of this season, does add to the disappointment factor.
But the BR list is filled with starting QBs – nine of them – as well as other major contributors like Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and T.J. Watt. If one of those guys is your biggest disappointment, that’s a genuine problem. If it’s a backup defensive end, it’s hard to get too worked up.
But maybe the article is simply wrong and Ebukam should not have been the Colt selected. That was my initial reaction, without giving the topic much thought. Now that I have thought about it a bit, I’m not sure there is an obviously better selection.
For my money, I have been more disappointed in Kwity Paye and JT Tuimoloau because I genuinely expected bigger things from them. I have been equally disappointed with Tyquan Lewis. I suppose the takeaway there is that all those players come from the same position group.
Edge rushers are Indy’s Achilles heel right now, and finding one at the trade deadline should be Chris Ballard’s biggest concern.
If we are using injury as a rationale for disappointment, then Charvarius Ward would have to be in the conversation. His absence may have the most negative impact of any player on the team’s aspirations this season.
If we’re looking at on-field production – or lack thereof – I’m afraid we have to look in the direction of AD Mitchell.
But Mitchell doesn’t have to contribute very much right now because the Colts’ roster is so good and they are playing at such a high level. He’s a backup. How disappointing can he be? Kind of like Samson Ebukam.