Second-year cornerback Jaylon Jones, along with JuJu Brents, appears to be the early favorite to be one of the Indianapolis Colts’ starters on the boundary this season.
Following the NFL draft, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley mentioned that outside of Kenny Moore in the nickel, the starting boundary cornerback roles were “wide open.”
Not surprisingly, Brents has been one of the starters through the first two weeks of OTAs, but across from him has been Jones and not Dallis Flowers. James Boyd of The Athletic would note that Jones had at least one pass breakup down the sideline on a pass from Anthony Richardson.
Jones was a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2023, and he was thrown into the mix fairly quickly as the Colts dealt with injuries in the secondary. Jones would end up playing 788 snaps as a rookie, allowing a completion rate of just 54 percent on 57 targets and only 10.6 yards per catch. Jones would also come away with five pass breakups.
“The biggest thing for me has been trying to stay consistent and disciplined,” said Jones late last season via Horseshoe Huddle. “If I’m doing those two things, adding that to my God-given abilities, great things will continue happening for me.”
In general, for the Colts’ secondary as a whole last season, there weren’t enough plays on the ball being made and there were too many explosive plays surrendered. Coming into this season, PFF still considers the secondary as the weak point of this Colts team.
With the only outside additions to the Colts’ cornerback room this offseason coming in the latter portion of the draft, they are banking heavily on the development of their young players, like Brents and Jones, to be a catalyst behind improved play from that unit.
“Those guys are very talented,” said Julian Blackmon of the Colts’ young cornerbacks. “I’m not really worried about the corners. If I see them in press, I don’t have to worry about them. Just because they’re just competitors, man. Those guys make plays, and they did that last year. So I’m excited to see the next step for those guys.”
It goes without saying, but there is a long way to go before Shane Steichen and Bradley have to decide who their starters are at cornerback, and a lot can change between now and then. However, it is still noteworthy that Jones is getting the early reps over Flowers, who is returning from an Achilles injury.
Ultimately, while making plays on the ball is important, day-in and day-out consistency will be the deciding factor in who wins this starting cornerback role.
“Now we got Dallo (Dallis Flowers) coming back, and JuJu (Brents) and JJ (Jaylon Jones), so I really like that part of it,” said Bradley. “I think for us, it’s the skill set, the length, the speed, now it’s just the consistency.
“Who’s going to step up and be that guy that takes the next step as a corner. Kenny we feel real good about and what he brings and trust Kenny and his consistency. But with those other guys it’s play in and play out, who can play at the standard we’re looking for.”
