Colts S A.J. Haulcy Expected To Start

A few weeks before the draft, it appeared the Colts were preparing to stage a safety battle consisting of two inexpensive free agent pickups – Jonathan Owens and Juanyeh Thomas – and 2025 seventh-rounder Hunter Wohler. But when Haulcy was still on the board at No. 78 overall, Colts general manager Chris Ballard couldn’t pass on the former New Mexico, Houston and LSU standout. The decision looks promising so far, as Haulcy has gotten the vast majority of first-team work in practice and impressed Colts coaches, per Holder.

Haulcy, a ball hawk who earned the nickname “Mr. Give Me That” in high school, joined the Colts with significant college experience on his resume. He combined to play 48 games in four years, including 12 in his lone LSU season in 2025. The 6-foot, 215-pounder, who collected between 74 and 98 tackles in each season, ended his college career with 19 passes defensed, 10 interceptions and four forced fumbles. Haulcy picked up a first-team All-America nod and first-team All-SEC honors at LSU, where he racked up 88 tackles, four PDs and three picks.

Along with posting excellent production in college, Haulcy showed off valuable versatility. The majority of his snaps came at free safety, but he also amassed over 1,000 as a box safety and just under 300 in the slot. In that way, he is similar to Cross, who lined up all over the Colts’ defense during his four-year run with the team.

Last season, his second as a full-time starter, Cross played 551 snaps as a box safety, 279 at free safety, 150 in the slot and 102 around the line of scrimmage. He gave the Colts a productive chess piece, one they had interest in extending before free agency, but parlayed that into a raise in Washington on a two-year, $14MM deal. Several weeks after losing Cross to the Commanders, the Colts may have drafted an ideal replacement in Haulcy.