Even with their late-season collapse and loss of their starting quarterback in the final quarter of 2025, the Indianapolis Colts finished the season with an offense that ranked in the top-10 of virtually every meaningful stat.
General manager Chris Ballard seemed to confirm that his team’s fortunes would rise or fall based on offense in his offseason moves. He devoted the overwhelming majority of his attention and his available cash to retaining quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce.
Those are entirely defensible moves. If Jones and Pierce continue to build on what they established last season, the Colts’ offense should make them dangerous in the AFC South. With Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs, Tyler Warren, and a very good line, Shane Steichen’s men will score points.
JT Tuimoloau needs to make major strides this season for the Indianapolis Colts
Will they stop anybody? That is a huge question. The answer may end up relying on one largely forgotten player who desperately needs redemption in 2026. JT Tuimoloau’s rookie season wasn’t exactly a train wreck. He wasn’t on the field long enough for that. Actually, it was worse. He was invisible. That needs to end ASAP if the Colts’ defense is going to avoid being a liability in 2026.
Ballard took Tuimoloau with the 45th overall pick in the second round. Six picks later, Carolina chose Nic Scourton. Scourton quickly established himself as a key part of the Carolina defense as they won the NFC South. He played 717 snaps, registered 47 tackles, and five sacks.
Tuimoloau played fewer than 20% of the Colts’ defensive snaps – 215 in all. 17 tackles, Zero sacks.
It is not as if he were trapped behind elite talent. Laiatu Latu and Kwity Paye may have been locked in as starting edge players, but behind them, Lou Anarumo was relying largely on players who were aging and injured. Primary backups Samson Ekuban and Tyquan Lewis combined for five total sacks. This is where Tuimoloau was needed, and for some reason, he was not able to contribute.
The need is even greater this year. Paye and Ebukam are gone. The 31-year-old Lewis remains unsigned. Ballard has replaced them with two low-end veterans in Arden Key and Michael Clemons. I actually like Key and think he could see a bit of a revival under Lou Anarumo. Clemons has talent, but has never been a consistent performer in the NFL. At best, both players are stopgaps.
Tuimoloau needs to push his way ahead of both and have an actual presence in 2026. Whether he technically starts or not doesn’t matter. He just has to show that he was worth the second-round draft pick that Ballard invested in him.
At Ohio State, Tuimoloau was often a dominant presence. Ask former Penn State (and current Cincinnati Bengal) QB Sean Clifford about what the second-year Colt is capable of doing.
In 2022, Tuimoloau delivered one of the greatest defensive performances ever seen in the NCAA against the Nittany Lions. He forced four turnovers. He had three tackles for loss. He had two interceptions, the second of which was a pick-six. Not bad for a 265-pound defensive end.
That game may have been an outlier, but it was no fluke. Tuimoloau was an excellent pass rusher in college who played the run just as well, if not better. But in his first professional season, nothing. It is almost as if he has already been forgotten.
That would be a huge mistake. Tuimoloau may never develop into an elite edge, but he has undeniable talent - size, power, straight line speed. His relentlessness has never been questioned.
There were concerns about his lateral quickness and first-step suddenness. That is why such an attractive prospect fell into the second round. And some scouts questioned whether he could correct some technical flaws and add a greater variety of pass rush moves to his arsenal.
This is a common problem for physically gifted players who have been able to rely on pure athleticism to succeed through college. In the NFL, where everyone is an elite athlete, a player needs more.
This is why one of the most critical moves Shane Steichen and Lou Anarumo made this offseason was to bring in Marion Hobby as the new defensive line coach. He replaced veteran Charlie Partridge, who is now coaching the line for Notre Dame.
Hobby is another veteran line coach who worked with Anarumo in Cincinnati. Because he helped develop Trey Hendrickson into a premier pass rusher, fans hoped this move might lead to Hendrickson’s eventual arrival in Indianapolis.
That was probably never in the cards. And it doesn’t have to be. It would be far better for the franchise if Hobby could help turn JT Tuimoloau into the next Trey Hendrickson. Doing so would help the Colts challenge Houston, Jacksonville, and a resurgent Tennessee squad in 2026 and beyond.
Failing means Indianapolis’ offense is likely to be trying to keep the team afloat all by themselves in 2026.