Colts Training Camp Roster Overview: Cornerbacks
Breakdown of the Colts Corner room
The Indianapolis Colts training camp will get underway Wednesday July 26th when both the teams rookies and veterans will take the field. And with that day approaching its time to look at each position group and how it looks on paper. And where better to begin then the position group with the most questions surrounding it.
Cornerbacks on the roster:
- Darrell Baker Jr.
- Julius (JuJu) Brents
- Tony Brown
- Cole Coleman
- Dallis Flowers
- Jaylon Jones
- Kenny Moore II
- Darius Rush
- Kevin Toliver II
The Colts corner room got quite the overhaul this offseason. They elected to draft three corners during the 2023 NFL draft in Julius Brents (2nd Round), Darius Rush (5th Round), and Jaylon Jones (7th Round). As well as two of the teams starters no longer being with the team as Stephon Gilmore was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Isaiah Rodgers Sr. was released following the NFL's ruling that Rodgers Sr. violated the leagues gambling policy.
The Starting Slot Corner:
Kenny Moore II
Kenny Moore II followed up his pro-bowl season in 2022 with a season he'd like to forget in 2023. His 1st year in Gus Bradley's scheme showed to be a struggle for Moore II. The main area of concern being in coverage where he received his lowest PFF grade in his career with a 46.3. The Colts seem to be hoping for a bounce back season from Moore II though, because even though he was in many trade rumors this offseason the team elected to keep the corner. As well as not adding any significant competition for his starting slot corner job.
An element that was missed with Moore II last season was the diverse role in which he played in now Bears head coach Matt Eberflus' defense. Bradley getting creative in the manner in which Moore II is used to best utilize his skills could be the missing ingredient to bring back the 2022 Kenny Moore II that got him named a Pro-Bowler. Even last season where Moore II struggled he graded out really well by PFF when it came to his run defense with a 80.5 which was the 2nd best score by any player on last years Colts team only behind E.J. Speed who was given a 82.8.
The Starting Outside Corners:
One of the areas of concern for the Colts corner room is the amount of starting corner experience present. The only player with a complete season of starting at corner is Kenny Moore II, and the only other player who has started a game at corner in the NFL is Dallis Flowers. So predicting who the starters will be is tricker than normal, but here are the players I believe are competing for those two jobs.
Julius Brents
With the 44th pick in the 2nd round of the 2023 NFL Draft the Indianapolis Colts selected CB Julius Brents out of Kansas State University. Although Colts fans may not have rooted for him as a Wildcat, they may have been cheering him on during Friday night lights as a Warrior at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis.
One of Brents' clear advantages is his size at the CB position, standing at 6'3 as well as having 34'' arms. He uses his size to his advantage by playing very physical in press coverage to disrupt WRs at the line of scrimmage, which is the exact style of corner his new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley who has quite the track record with that style of defensive back from his time leading the "Legion of Boom" with the Seattle Seahawks. The Colts haven't been shy to play rookies during the Chris Ballard era, which is a good thing because with the room so thin they don't really have a choice.
Darius Rush
It appears one corner wasn't enough for the Colts because they elected to add Darius Rush during the 5th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The question surrounding day 3 picks often are "Will they make the roster?" not "Could they start day 1." Rush is an interesting case though as he fell much further than many had predicted during the draft. Most analysts had Rush as a day 2 prospect who would end up falling to the middle of day 3. Earlier this offseason I got to sit down for an interview with Darius Rush and he shared the mentality that he holds following his draft slide which is "Its not about where you go its about what you do when you get there."
Rush's film displays his overall comfort in a heavy zone scheme, which will suit him well for a team like the Colts. But something I think isn't talked about enough is how impressive that it is that Rush is able to understand zone concepts so well as he is still fairly new to the corner position. Since Rush was recruited and started preseason camp with the Gamecocks as a wide receiver. After not getting many snaps at WR because he was behind the likes of Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards most of his playing time during South Carolina's pre season camp came on special teams. He made the most of those snaps as his impactful play there would lead to him being asked if he would want to make the switch to corner. And he would go on to start two full seasons at corner for the Gamecocks in the arguably the toughest football conference in the country in the SEC.
Dallis Flowers
Dallis Flowers is entering his 2nd year with the Colts after making the roster last year as a undrafted free agent, and somehow has the 2nd most starting snaps at corner on the Colts roster. The skill that led to Flowers earning a roster spot last year was his ability as a returner, and it showed throughout last season as he finished the year 4th overall in total kickoff returns with 715 yards and his average kickoff return of 31.1 yards was the most in the NFL among players with 10+ returns.
As a corner all of Flower's coverage snaps occurred from week 15 on last season where according to PFF he ended the season with 101 coverage snaps. Which was the 2nd lowest of any Colts corner last season, the only corner having less being Tony Brown who only had 4 coverage snaps. And in one offseason Flowers has gone from 2nd least amount of coverage snaps to the 2nd most only behind Kenny Moore II. Time will tell if Flowers is able to make a jump in year two to become a every down corner. The question is if he does, would the Colts keep letting him return kicks as well?
Competing To Make the Roster:
I believe the four corners who have been named above (Moore II, Brents, Rush, and Flowers) are locks to make the roster. Which would leave roughly 2 roster spots up for grabs.
Tony Brown
Tony Brown shined last season as a special teamer for the Colts and for that reason I think he has a really solid shot at making the roster. A reason to pause though is that the Colts have a new special teams coordinator this season. And he is basically starting on even playing field with all the new corners in the corner room in the aspect of being a NFL corner after only playing 4 coverage snaps last season.
Kevin Toliver II
The most experienced corner that will be competing for a roster spot for the Colts is Kevin Toliver II. Toliver II’s NFL career began with the Chicago Bears in 2018 where he signed as a undrafted free agent. He would go on to have a decent role in his rookie season where he would appear in 10 games that season, even starting a game for the Bears. In total Toliver II has appeared in 29 games, his last appearance coming in 2020 during week 9 with the Denver Broncos.
Jaylon Jones
It seems that not even two corners were enough for the Colts as they elected to draft Jaylon Jones out of Texas A&M in the 7th round. A similar build to his fellow rookie corners Brents and Rush, Jones is a long corner prospect. An as Erik Burkhardt of Roc Nation shares below his performance at the NFL scouting combine made history for the corner position.
Though Jones was taken 3rd of the group, one could make the argument that he had the most productive year of the 3 last season. When it comes to yards allowed last season, Jones allowed the least of any corner drafted with only 94 yards. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that he did this in the SEC. This level of production isn't something you usually see out of a 7th rounder. It is one of the reason's I personally believe Jones has a better chance of playing rotational snaps for the Colts than he does of not making the roster.
Cole Coleman
Cole Coleman is an undrafted free agent out of Elon University. Due to injuries he only was able to play in 7 games last season finishing with 35 total tackles. Coleman played both corner and safety for Elon but has been listed as a corner by the Colts so far. His ability to play safety and corner should help his case for making the roster, and I’d expect that spends time working with both during training camp to better his chances of making the teams 53 man roster.
Another element that adds to his case is at his size Coleman projects as a slot corner at the next level. At the moment the team doesn't have a go to reserve at that spot behind starter Kenny Moore II, and he's the only player in this competition that predicts a slot corner. Could Coleman be the next in a long line of undrafted players making the teams initial 53 man roster?
Darrell Baker Jr.
Darrell Baker Jr. signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a undrafted free agent last year. After being waived. by the Cardinals he would end up on the Colts practice squad after trying out for the team. Baker would go on to be called up to the active roster during week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings where he played all his snaps on special teams. And would end the year on the Colts active roster with his biggest moment of the year coming in week 18 against the Houston Texans where he recovered a fumble. It’ll be interesting to see how Baker Jr. fares in this competition in camp, and will him having more familiarity with the team and system than the rookies play in his favor.
Colts get an important signing done
Just in time for Training Camp
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