In 2024, the Minnesota Vikings shocked the NFL by riding quarterback Sam Darnold to unanticipated success in the regular season. Playing for a brilliant offensive-minded coach and alongside some elite skill position players, the journeyman Darnold led the Vikings to five straight wins to begin the season. In many ways, they were the 2025 Indianapolis Colts of 2024.
The Vikings dropped a couple of games coming out of their bye week. The trade deadline was approaching and they suffered a potentially devastating injury to left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Hence, Vikings' general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made a trade out of desperation.
He acquired Cam Robinson from Jacksonville to take Darrisaw’s spot. Robinson is a legitimate starting tackle, but nothing more than that. He performed adequately for the remainder of the season.
Indianapolis Colts need to add to its defense if it hopes for championship glory
Apart from their annual re-acquisition of backup running back Cam Akers (thus completing the Cam daily double), that was the only deal Adofo-Mensah completed in advance of the trade deadline. Chris Ballard and Colts’ fans should take note of what happened next.
The Vikings already had a good offense. Acquiring Robinson may well have been necessary but he did nothing for the defense. That defense had surrendered 61 points in back-to-back losses before the trade deadline. The second of those losses was to the Los Angeles Rams. Minnesota fell 30-20.
Jump ahead a couple of months. Minnesota again met the Rams in the first round of the playoffs. They gave up 27 points and lost. Though they did not surrender as many yards as in that first meeting, the yards-per-play and points were virtually identical.
The Rams also shut down Darnold and the Vikings' offense and the game was not close. But even if Darnold had performed at a higher level, it’s unlikely Minnesota would have won. The reason – they did nothing to improve a defense that could not stop LA in the regular season.
The 2025 edition of the Colts has their own version of Sam Darnold. If anything, Daniel Jones is playing at an even higher level. Offensive-minded coach Shane Steichen has his team scoring points in bunches. The O-line is excellent. The receivers are balling out. They have one of the best tight ends in the league and quite possibly the best running back.
The Colts have an offense that can win a Super Bowl. But they probably do not have a championship defense. Not yet, at least.
Statistically, that defense looks just fine. But consider the offenses they have played. Miami, Tennessee, Las Vegas? Three of the worst in the entire league. Arizona? Inconsistent and playing without their top running back. The Chargers? Certainly legit, but also operating behind the most makeshift of offensive lines.
The two quality, healthy offenses on the schedule – Denver and the Rams – gave Indy the most trouble.
Ballard can wait for some injured players to get healthy. That will help – if it actually happens. But he should be proactive.
The Colts are thin in the secondary and do not have a consistent pass rush. Those two things are complementary. Address one and you also help the other. The pass rush has not looked too bad this year because Indy’s offense has established big leads and forced opponents to become one-dimensional pass-happy teams. It is always easier to rush the QB when you know he is throwing.
Ballard should make a major effort to add a quality edge rusher to pair with Laiatu Latu. The second-year UCLA alum has been Indy’s best edge rusher. Indeed, he has been the only one to consistently apply pressure. The Colts get a good push from the interior linemen but Latu needs a bookend.
The Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson is the biggest name who might be available. He has been linked to Indianapolis because of the fit and because of his past relationship with Colts’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who coached Hendrickson to great success in Cincinnati.
But the price tag for Hendrickson may get very high. Ballard obviously has to make inquiries, but there are other options available. The one I would like to see is Jaelan Phillips, currently killing time with the moribund Miami Dolphins.
The price tag for Phillips is not going to be nearly as high as for Hendrickson. And he is capable of creating great pressure. His sack totals are not anywhere near the league leaders, but his pressure number are quite good.
The same applies to his run defense. This year, his numbers do not look very good, but he has always been a solid two-way player. He can play every down in Anarumo’s defense, improving the pass rush without sacrificing anything against the run.
The knock on Phillips is clear. After a breakout 2022 season, he missed major chunks of the next two seasons with back-to-back serious injuries. That has led him to be labelled as injury-prone. But he was not injury-prone prior to 2023 and he appears to be just fine this year.
Phillips is just 26, without a lot of wear and tear on his body, and is in the final year of his rookie deal. That means he doesn’t cost a lot, and that he should also be extra motivated to earn his next contract.
Based on previous comparables, Phillips could probably be acquired for a 4th-round draft pick. The Colts have built a good young core of players and still have a full compliment of picks in the 2026 draft so parting with a day three pick should not hamstring Ballard next April.
The risk-reward makes sense. A mid-level draft pick – maybe around pick 130 overall – for a chance to add another quality pass rusher and significantly improve the defense this season. Learn from what the Vikings failed to do last year. Build a stronger defense which can balance the offense come playoff time.