The Indianapolis Colts fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-21 in the season opener this past Sunday. It was a valiant effort by the young team, but too many mistakes piled up late in this heartbreaking game one loss.
While it is always frustrating to drop a game to a division rival, there is a lot to be proud of with this Colts' team. They went toe to toe with a playoff caliber football team, and they were right in the thick of it until the final whistle.
Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson was a notable standout for the Colts, but the team's defense also had several top performers on the day. DeForest Buckner played like the All-Pro we all know and love, Grover Stewart did his elite thing in run defense, and even Kwity Paye stood out as a pass rusher. The best overall player on the Colts, though, was linebacker Zaire Franklin.
Franklin racked up an insane 18 tackles this past weekend, while also collecting a pass breakup and a forced fumble on the day. His seven stops ranks third among all linebackers in the NFL thus far, and Pro Football Focus graded him out with an elite 92.2 overall defensive score.
Franklin, 27, emerged as a real playmaker for this Colts' team a season ago. In the absence of Shaquille Leonard, Franklin stepped into the starting role and simply thrived. He broke the Indianapolis Colts' single-season tackle record, while also coming away with six pass breakups and 58 total stops last season. He was a Pro Bowl alternate a year ago, and he appears to be on track to make his first appearance in 2023.
One of the more underrated aspects of Franklin's game is his ability in pass defense. He started out fairly slow in coverage early last year, as he was still adjusting to the new defensive style under Gus Bradley. He started to find his groove late in the year, and now he is playing with much more speed and confidence in coverage.
Franklin set the tone early in this game with an impressive pass breakup on the Jaguars' opening play. He crashed downhill out of his zone drop and dislodged the ball from Zay Jones over the middle of the field. This is simply elite closing speed and awareness by the veteran linebacker on this play:
The bread and butter in Franklin's game however is his run defense. He is one of the more explosive linebackers in the NFL, and it shows on each and every snap. With his added experience and extra awareness (now being in year two of this scheme), he is beginning to make more highlight level plays in the backfield already.
This next clip is trademark type of play in Zaire Franklin's young career. He reads the sweep run to his side of the field and is shot of a cannon to the outside edge. He closes space in an instant and is able to make the huge hit for a minimal gain on the play:
Zaire Franklin is an old school linebacker with the play speed and the explosion that we are seeing in new age players. He is a tenacious head hunter that still plays in control on every snap.
This next clip is very similar to the play above. The Jaguars are trying to attack the perimeter in the run game and that simply does not happen to Franklin's side of the field. He is too active and too athletic for even the fastest running backs to attack the edge to his side. He closes that space with ease yet again for the stuff on the rush attempt:
For every highlight tackle on the exterior, there are a dozen strong ones on the inside in run defense. Franklin is a unique linebacker that can stack and shed blocks with both his physicality and with his athleticism. On this next play below, he opts to use his quickness to shake free.
The Jaguars attempt to neutralize Franklin on this run design by pulling right guard Brandon Scherff to the second level on the power rush. Franklin is too quick for that block out in space, as he swiftly sidesteps the would-be blocker to make the tackle up the middle:
Overall, Zaire Franklin has transcended past being a feel-good story for the Indianapolis Colts... he is a legit playmaker on this defense. He has emerged as one of the top linebackers in the AFC, and now his presence is being felt on each and every snap.
The sky is the limit for the 27 year old starter in Indy. He is the heart and soul of this Colts' defense and he plays like it on every Sunday. I fully expect to see more performances like this one from this budding star going forward.
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