The Indianapolis Colts have been pretty active since the start of free agency in the middle of March, going through some relatively extensive roster changes.
Most of the players they’ve brought in likely will hold rotational roles at their respective positions while they’ve seen the departure of a handful of starters from the 2022 season.
Pro Football Focus listed their favorite and least favorite moves for each team thus far through free agency. Here’s what they said about their favorite move for the Colts:
Favorite: Signing edge defender Samson Ebukam
Ebukam earned career highs across the board in 2022, with a 69.1 overall grade, 43 quarterback pressures and 11.8% pressure percentage. The former fourth-rounder profiles as a solid replacement for Yannick Ngakoue in Indianapolis as the smaller wide alignment edge rusher, with Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo the bigger defensive end types.
Ebukam has been touted as one of the better signings of the offseason throughout the entire league. Likely to take on the LEO role in Gus Bradley’s defense, he’s a perfect fit as an explosive pass rusher while adding more impact as a run defender than Yannick Ngakoue gave the Colts in 2022.
As for PFF’s least favorite move regarding the Colts in free agency, it’s the departure of a starting wide receiver who finally showed what he can do with a fully healthy season.
Least favorite: Losing wide receiver Parris Campbell
Campbell’s production in 2022 exceeded his three-year cumulative totals from 2019-2021 in nearly every statistical category once he was finally healthy, with nine games of at least 40 receiving yards on the year. The New York Giants continue to load up their roster with slot receivers, a trend that has spanned across multiple regimes, but the $4.7 million one-year flier for Campbell is a great value. The Colts’ offense ranked dead last in expected points added per dropback in 2022, and while a new quarterback can change that more than Campbell ever could, he certainly would’ve helped.
Losing Campbell is a relatively significant blow to an offense that is lacking stable depth in the wide receiver room. The Colts shouldn’t have gone all in for the oft-injured speedster, but re-signing him to a deal similar to what the Giants gave him would have made a ton of sense.
The Colts wound up signing slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie to a one-year deal, but he’s far from a proven commodity on the offensive side of the ball. If both players are healthy, that switch should be considered a downgrade.
Regardless, the Colts have been far more active in free agency than expected. No one knows how everything will turn out, but the start of the offseason is far from a failure from the team’s perspective.
Keep up to date with the latest news, signings and rumors through our free agency tracker for the Colts.
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