Colts sign a former first-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft to add more depth to their defensive line
Colts are signing the 28th pick in the 2019 first round pick to improve depth to the interior of their defensive line.
The Indianapolis Colts continue to prioritize adding depth to their roster in free agency.
We are over a week into free agency, and the team still hasn’t signed an expected starter. And they are keeping up that trend with their latest addition to the defense.
The team announced that they have signed Los Angeles Chargers 2019 first-round pick Jerry Tillery.
Get to know new Colts DT Jerry Tillery
- Birthday: October 8, 1996 (29)
- Size: 6-6, 295 lbs
- College: Notre Dame 2015-2018, 50 games, 13.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles
- NFL: seven-year career to date (2019-2025), 113 games and 53 starts in the NFL with four different teams
Colts sign defensive line Jerry Tillery
The Chargers selected Tillery with the 28th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent the first three and a half seasons with the team, appearing in 54 games and logging 29 starts, recording 10.5 sacks, 106 total tackles, and 12 tackles for loss as a Charger before being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders mid-season in 2022.
Tillery has jumped around the league a bit since playing with the Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, and the Kansas City Chiefs. He has played in all 51 games over the past three years and logged 20 starts with 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and five tackles for loss in that span.
Now he will try to make the Colts roster in training camp, with several others competing to back up the team’s projected starters, DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. Tillery is the fifth new addition to the defensive line this offseason, including free agent edge rushers Arden Key and Micheal Clemons, and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi as well as Colby Wooden, whom the team traded for from the Green Bay Packers.
Tillery has played a little bit everywhere on the defensive line. He’s lined up as a big defensive end and kicked inside depending on the defense he was playing for. For Lou Anarumo’s scheme, I would expect the Colts to plan to use him primarily at defensive tackle.
He will likely be competing with Wooden and Adetomiwa Adebawore for two spots to back up Buckner. He is nowhere near a lock to make this roster, but he does bring solid NFL experience that makes training camp more competitive as a whole.