Entering the offseason, the cornerback room was considered a strength for the Indianapolis Colts. With the established Stephon Gilmore and the emerging Isaiah Rodgers Sr., the expectations were clear. However, Gilmore was since traded, and Rodgers was suspended and released.
With a void at corner, the Colts decided to turn to the youth. Welcoming back second-year corners Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker Jr., Indy also drafted JuJu Brents, Darius Rush, and Jaylon Jones in the 2023 NFL Draft. All together, the Colts have a young, inexperienced, and unproven cornerback room.
Everyone is questioning if this is something that could hurt Indianapolis. While we won’t know the answer until the regular season starts, the Colts believe that the lights won’t be too bright for their young DBs. Team owner Jim Irsay made that clear during Saturday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
Irsay joined the broadcast for the third quarter of the game, and he spoke about a ton of topics from Jonathan Taylor to the defensive line, and the young corners. Irsay said that today’s young corners aren’t like the young corners of the past, expressing, “these guys have played at high levels, big programs, and they’re used to big stadiums, they’re used to the lights.”
Jim Irsay is trusting the collegiate experience of Colts young corners
Irsay is right, young corners are entering the league at dominant levels every year. That’s been the case all throughout the league, and the Kansas City Chiefs were even able to win the Super Bowl last season with an extremely young secondary. The Colts are hoping their young corners can immediately produce like their peers.
Despite this belief, Indy isn’t planning to put too much pressure on the young guys, as Irsay explained that the Colts want to build their defense from the inside out, from front to back. That means everything will get started with Indianapolis’ elite defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. If the defensive line can play elite, they will help the young secondary out a great deal.