The cornerback position is a massive need for the Indianapolis Colts this offseason, so who are some of the top available free agents to target?
As GM Chris Ballard said after the season, the Colts have to get better in the secondary. While we saw some growth from young players like Jaylon Jones and Samuel Womack, overall, the play on the back end wasn’t good enough.
Indianapolis’ pass defense would finish the regular season ranked in the bottom 10 in completion rate, passer rating, pass deflections, and yards per pass attempt, according to Pro Football Reference.
Making additions via free agency hasn’t been Ballard’s M.O. as we all know. However, Ballard would call his roster building approach last offseason a “mistake,” and cited the need for more competition throughout the roster.
Salary cap-wise, the Colts have just over $28 million in available space. This likely won’t be enough to get through an entire offseason, but they do have the ability to create more room.
With help from Pro Football Focus’ free agent rankings, here are the top available options at cornerback:
DJ Reed, New York Jets
This past season, Reed allowed a completion rate of just 58% when he was targeted and a modest 12.3 yards per catch. He’s been a capable run defender and has good ball production with 23 pass breakups and two interceptions over the previous two seasons.
Charvarius Ward, 49ers
Ward had an excellent 2023 season where he allowed a completion rate of only 54% and had a whopping five interceptions and 17 pass breakups. This past season, he would miss some time, and gave up a completion rate of 61% at 13.3 yards per catch with four pass breakups.
Ward’s overall body of work in his career has been impressive and includes a 55% completion rate and a passer rating of 82.9.
Carlton Davis, Lions
Davis missed the final three games of the 2024 season with a jaw injury, but overall, he allowed a completion rate of 59% with the Lions, surrendering 13.6 yards per catch with two interceptions and six pass breakups. Quarterbacks also had a below average passer rating of 87.9 when targeting him.
His career completion rate surrendered is 58% and Davis also has four seasons of 11-plus pass breakups.
