Rankings Not Impressed By Colts' Defensive Playmakers

The Indianapolis Colts were well aware that their defense needed to change in 2025.

After a lowly 2024 campaign that got defensive coordinator Gus Bradley sent packing, the Colts went out and replaced him with Lou Anarumo, who's known for confusing offenses with a unique blend of looks before and after the ball is snapped.

They then went out and spent significant money and draft picks on new players for the defense, hoping to get things moving quickly in the right direction in 2025.

Still, the Colts' defense has to prove their worth before they convert pundits into believers.

Gilberto Manzano of SI.com recently compiled a list of each NFL defense's top "triplets," made of one member each from the defensive line, off-ball linebackers, and secondary. For the Colts, Manzano chose defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Zaire Franklin, and cornerback Kenny Moore II, ranked No. 26:

26. Indianapolis Colts

Triplets: DeForest Buckner, Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore II

Buckner remains one of the best at pushing the pocket, but the Colts probably would have liked Laiatu Latu to be recognized as a budding star after using a first-round pick on him last year. Latu had somewhat of a quiet rookie year with four sacks. The Indianapolis defenders might fare better with new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who had many productive seasons in Cincinnati.  

Although a 26th ranking is near the bottom of the NFL, it's not undeserved. Buckner, Franklin, and Moore have been starting together for three years, and the Colts' defense has ranked 15th, 24th, and 29th, respectively.

I do like the idea of judging these trios based on one player from each level, because it points to a balanced defense, but it's the Colts' trio in general that I tend to disagree with.

You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger appreciator of Moore's game and career than me -- he's one of the most talented, cerebral defenders I've seen -- but if the Colts have it their way, then their top defensive back in 2025 is going to be Charvarius Ward, who they signed to a $60 million deal this offseason. Heck, they signed new safety Cam Bynum to a $60 million deal in March as well.

Moore has been the most significant defensive back for the Colts' defense in more seasons than not since 2017, but for the purposes of building a defensive trio list, Ward is your guy to represent the secondary. He's going to be tasked with following the opposing team's top receiver during marquee matchups, and the Colts are paying him to get back to being a top-10-level NFL cornerback.

As for Buckner and Franklin, those are definitely suitable choices. As Manzano mentioned, ideally, Laiatu Latu would be the defensive lineman on this list next year, but he has a long way to go to surpass Buckner's impact.

In what turned out to be one of Buckner's best seasons out of nine years, he faced a five-game absence on Injured Reserve with a high ankle sprain. However, when he returned, he played lights out and sparked a defensive front that desperately needed it. Buckner finished with 61 tackles (eight for loss), 6.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and one pass breakup. Projected over 17 games, that's 86 tackles (11 for loss), 9.0 sacks, and 20 QB hits. Buckner was the eighth-highest-graded defensive tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, receiving a grade of 81.9.

Franklin has a reputation for being reliant on high tackle numbers -- his 173 in 2024 led the league -- but he was also tied for the most forced fumbles in the NFL with five, which creates turnovers and is the most valuable thing you can do on defense. He also had a career-high 3.5 sacks, two of which came on third downs in Colts wins.

Not many areas of the Colts are held in high regard currently, but if all goes well, you can count of the Colts' 2026 defensive triplets to be ranked much higher.

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