In 2024, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard told fans that the team's cornerback group would be just fine that season. It wasn't. Now, Ballard is telling fans that the underwhelming group of edge rushers Indy has entering 2026 will be just fine, too. That's unlikely.
In 2024, Ballard's pick of corners was 22nd in quarterback rating allowed (95.8) and ranked 26th in passing yards allowed per game (229.4). If fans needed any indication that even the GM thought the CBs were a problem, one look no further than Indianapolis signing Charvarius Ward last offseason and trading for Sauce Gardner during the season.
The Colts won't have the same opportunities at edge rusher this offseason, however. The team doesn't have the money to attract a high-producing edge even if a player like that was still on the market. They aren't. Indy did seemingly try to chase Trey Hendrickson in early free agency, but he chose the Baltimore Ravens.
Chris Ballard is running out of time to fix the Indianapolis Colts edge rusher group
Fitting Hendrickson's deal into the available cap space might have been difficult next season, but it may have been impossible in 2027 as the cap hits for the recently re-signed Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce will balloon next year. Still, the issue is nonexistent as Hendrickson is elsewhere, but Indianapolis's pass rush might only be slightly better than nonexistent.
Ballard also won't be able to fix it via a trade as teams with good edge players will likely want a first-round pick in return, and the Colts don't have that in 2026 or 2027 as Ballard gave those to the New York Jets in return for Gardner.
Speaking at the NFL annual meeting this week, Ballard told reporters, "(JT Tuimoloau), who we drafted in the second round last year, we really like. We think he’ll take another step. … And then adding (Arden) Key and (Micheal) Clemons, who both add an energy and toughness that we wanted, we feel like as a group right now, I feel pretty good about it. Does that mean we won’t add? No, we’ve got time."
No, Ballard really doesn't. The best free agents at the position are off the board, so Indianapolis has to hope for the best in the draft, and many of the high-end edge rushers will be gone long before Indy chooses at pick 47. Maybe the Colts could try to trade up, but the team is quite unlikely to have the trade value needed to move up much, and not into the first round.
Chris Ballard seemingly seems fine with pushing the problem down the proverbial road, much in the same way he did the cornerback problem in 2024 when he eventually was forced to pay top-dollar for Charvarius Ward and overpay in draft capital for Sauce Gardner.
The Indianapolis Colts can likely count on Laiatu Latu being good next season, but free agent acquisitions Key and Clemons are riskier. Tuimoloau only played 24 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie, so thinking he can suddenly be very good in year two might be foolish.
Ultimately, Indy's defense, which lost linebacker Zaire Franklin, edge rusher Kwity Paye, and safety Nick Cross, appears worse than it was last season. No matter how good the offense is, Chris Ballard's lack of success in building the edge rusher group might doom the team overall.