Four Indianapolis Colts players are defying expectations

admin | December 7, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

The Indianapolis Colts have four former seventh-round picks who have stepped up and earned starting jobs.

Chris Ballard, general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, enjoys finding gems in the rough during the NFL draft. He’s done this at times by selecting Day 3 players that no one expected to do much in the NFL.

However, there are presently four players on the roster who were all drafted in the seventh round and are all playing important roles for a playoff-contending Colts team that is 7-5 in 2023.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at each of these four guys and what they’ve brought to the Colts.

LB Zaire Franklin

When the Colts selected Zaire Franklin with the No.235 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, he was likely seen as nothing more than a special teams or linebacking depth piece out of Syracuse.

For the first three seasons of his career, he was largely on special teams and started four games, but he didn’t earn many meaningful defensive snaps. Franklin, on the other hand, saw himself as the special teams captain due to his special teams expertise.

Over the next four years, his efficiency would impress the Colts coaching staff, earning him 11 starts in 2021, along with 40 tackles and his sole career interception.

What followed was a season that no one expected Franklin to have. Franklin had to fill in during former Colts linebacker Shaq Leonard’s tough 2022 season while Leonard healed from lower back ailments.

Franklin would break Leonard’s team record for tackles in a season with 167, revealing a tremendously efficient player. Unfortunately for Franklin, the Colts were awful enough that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl.

Franklin, a former seventh-round choice, is on his way to breaking the previously mentioned 167 tackle record in 2023. The defensive Captain ranks second in the NFL with 130 tackles in 11 games (11.8 per game).

After the season is over, Franklin might earn his first career Pro Bowl selection.

G Will Fries

Will Fries, a former Penn State Nittany Lion, was drafted in 2021 and was essentially a third-string right guard behind starter Mark Glowinski and backup Danny Pinter. With Glowinski in the fold, nobody thought much of Fries. Fast forward to the next year, and he was the mainstay at the position.

All of Fries’ publicity has helped to hush many naysayers who said Indianapolis needed a veteran at right guard. According to Pro Football Focus, Fries’ notable blocking grades with 12 games played and 802 offensive snaps (2nd most on the Colts’ offensive line to Quenton Nelson) through 2023 are as follows:

Overall: 66.0
Pass: 65.6
Run: 66.6

Fries has been constant and steady throughout. Fries has filled in nicely for a position that no one in the Colts organization understood what to do with last year and will look to grow and keep this starting spot, exceeding his seventh-round projections.

S Rodney Thomas II

The Colts drafted Rodney Thomas II out of Yale in 2022, but he was passed over in favor of more known defense Julian Blackmon.

However, with strong safety Nick Cross faltering and Blackmon injured, both Rodney McLeod and Thomas would take over as safeties. Thomas emerged from nowhere to lead the 2022 Colts with four interceptions and ten starts.

In 2023, Thomas has seen some ups and downs but still holds down the starting free safety position after Blackmon was switched to strong safety, which has suited him well. As Indianapolis battles for a postseason spot, Thomas will seek to build on his two interceptions, 29 tackles, and four pass defenses.

CB Jaylon Jones

There weren’t many highlights on Texas A&M’s Jaylon Jones’ college tape, but there was a lot more behind the footage.

Jones was drafted No.221 by the Colts, and his tape didn’t indicate his outstanding defensive efficiency until you looked closer. Jones would virtually remove opposing pass-catchers at the snap with smothering and physical coverage.

Initially, he was expected to be behind the Colts’ fifth-round cornerback, South Carolina’s Darius Rush. However, Rush would be released by the Colts before the opening game of the season.

Many thought this was insane, but in retrospect, they were probably good with Jones. With fellow rookie cornerback JuJu Brents struggling to remain on the field due to injury this season, Jones has been a fixture in the secondary and is looking more and more like a starter with each passing game.

The following are some of the key PFF ratings and data for the former Aggie in 2023, highlighting a player who is coming into his own as an NFL corner as a rookie:

Coverage grade: 59.1 (505 total defensive snaps; 302 coverage snaps)

Tackling efficiency grade: 71.4
Six games started (12 played); 29 tackles (23 solo), three pass defenses

After a rocky start to the season, the Colts’ youthful secondary is shaping up for a playoff run, and at the perfect time. With five games remaining, Jones must maintain his rise if the Colts are to finish strong enough for a wild card spot.