There are a lot of ways to consider the Indianapolis Colts defense in 2025, but most point in the same direction. They were not very good. Not a total dumpster fire, mind you. They had some talent, and they had some heroic bend-but-don’t-break efforts through the season. But in the end, they simply didn’t have enough good players to win games when it mattered.
And so general manager Chris Ballard made some changes.
That’s the polite way of putting it. Ballard has now virtually remade the entire defense in the past two seasons, and much of the heaviest lifting came in the past five months. Five defensive starters – Kwity Paye, Zaire Franklin, Germaine Pratt, Kenny Moore, Nick Cross – are gone.
Throw in major rotational backups Neville Gallimore, Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis, and you are missing more than 5,500 defense snaps from last year. That’s almost half of all the defensive snaps the Colts played in 2025.
Indianapolis Colts 2026 defense broken down by position group
So the question is, will these wholesale changes actually make the defense better? Or is it a move born out of desperation? Perhaps a bit of both.
Interior line
The Colts have relied on veterans DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart for a long time. They have been the core of the defense. Now, Stewart is showing signs of age, and Buckner is having trouble staying healthy. In most circumstances, a general manager would begin acquiring a couple of talented young prospects to fill in behind his veterans.
What the Colts have done is a little harder to figure out. They seem to be banking on the emergence of Adetomiwa Adebawore and recently-acquired Colby Wooden quite a bit. Both have shown flashes, but this remains a major question mark.
None of the other interior linemen on the roster – whether youngsters like Tim Smith or vets like Jerry Tillery – has shown enough to merit any confidence. Age and uncertainty outweigh potential at this stage.
Verdict: a step backward
Edge rusher
The Colts lost three of their top four edge rushers this offseason, but quite frankly, none was setting the world on fire. They may come to regret the absence of Kwity Paye. He never developed into a top-tier pass rusher, but he was a solid all-around performer. Veteran Arden Key may be able to improve the pass rush opposite their one remaining star, Laiatu Latu.
But this is similar to the look on the interior. Lou Anarumo will be relying on mid-tier veterans and unproven rookies to build a quality defense, and that seems unlikely. Latu should be better, but that alone doesn’t change much.
Verdict: the same
Linebacker
Zaire Franklin went from being a team captain to an expendable spare part seemingly overnight. Though he continued to log major snaps, he just never seemed to fit into Anarumo’s defensive schemes.
Things seemed slightly better when Ballard brought in Germaine Pratt, who played under Anarumo in Cincinnati and presumably knew the defense, but this offseason, both Franklin and Pratt were jettisoned.
It’s an all-new look at linebacker, with draft picks CJ Allen and Bryce Boettcher joining free agent Akeem Davis-Gaither. Does “new” equal “better?” Who knows? I do like Allen a lot, and to be honest, the linebackers weren’t very good last year, so there isn’t much room to fall.
Verdict: slight improvement (?)
Cornerback
Like the entire back seven, the cornerback position has undergone a complete overhaul in two short years. But at corner, things should be a lot better. They really have to be. This is the position Ballard and Anarumo are building their defense around.
Assuming health, Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward should form an elite perimeter tandem. The team is very high on Justin Walley, who missed his entire rookie season with an injury. If he can step into Kenny Moore’s slot shoes, it provides a major boost to the whole defense.
A lot of marginal players logged major minutes last year due to the plague of injuries, and that should only improve the depth this season.
Verdict: major step forward
Safety
Nick Cross had developed over four seasons into a pretty solid run-stopping safety. He didn’t excel in coverage, but he was not a cipher. Paired with a quality deep safety like Cam Bynum, the Colts had a decent pair.
But apparently it was not good enough for Anarumo. The Colts let Cross walk in free agency and drafted AJ Haulcey. Early reports have been positive, and the league has seen plenty of safeties make big immediate splashes in recent years. That could certainly happen with the Colts, but I think we need to see it on the field before counting on it.
Verdict: the same
Simply having a healthy Sauce Gardner on the field for 17 games should make the Colts’ defense better in 2026. Maybe a lot better. But the sheer volume of change suggests it could take a while for the new players to gel.
The AFC South boasts an elite defense in Houston and a rapidly improving one in Jacksonville. Even the Titans, with Robert Saleh taking over and their own flotilla of new blood, should have an improved defense.
Anarumo and his charges need to keep pace if Indianapolis is going to rebound from the disappointment of 2025.
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