Coming off of a 21-16 victory over the Chicago Bears to improve to 1-2 on the season, what can we glean from the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 3 snap count figures?
Particularly during this early portion of the season, snap counts can give us some insights into where things stand playing time-wise at certain position groups, along with a glimpse into what the Colts wanted to do from a game-plan standpoint.
Pro Football Focus did the hard work and charted these snaps, so now we can dive into my five big takeaways from these figures:
Small role for AD Mitchell
With Josh Downs sidelined for the first two weeks, AD Mitchell–along with other players–was tasked with manning the slot. However, with Downs back in the mix and Alec Pierce ahead of Mitchell on the depth chart, his role this week was significantly reduced, playing just seven snaps. Ashton Dulin would go on to have 14. Also not helping things was the Colts’ usage of two tight ends, which requires just two receivers to be on the field.
Jonathan Taylor
Yes, the game flow this week compared to last was much different, with the Colts leading throughout this matchup, but there definitely seemed to be a greater emphasis on having Taylor on the field and getting the ball. After 28 total carries between Weeks 1 and 2, Taylor had 23 on Sunday. He was also on the field for 49 of the 56 offensive snaps.
Dallis Flowers out-snapped Sam Womack
Last week, Womack got the start over Flowers but the snap count between the two were almost equal, with Womack playing 20 snaps and Flowers playing 19. This week, however, Womack again got the start, but played 28 snaps to Flowers’ 41.
A big role for Dayo Odeyingbo
After playing a combined 61 snaps the first two games, Odeyingbo played 62 this week, just a few shy of Tyquan Lewis and Kwity Paye. Contributing to that increased workload was the absence of DeForest Buckner so the Colts moved Odeyingbo inside on 22 of those snaps.
Raekwon Davis and Taven Bryan
Bryan would get the start next to Grover Stewart, but Davis would end up seeing more snaps, on the field for 38 players–a season-high up to this point. Bryan still had a big role, playing 33 snaps, but what we did see more of was Bryan lined up as the 3-technique and Davis on the field with Stewart during more obvious running downs.
Other quick notes
Laiatu Latu was on the field for 35 snaps–the Colts continue to use him on more pass specific downs.
Jaylon Carlies played 15 snaps, continuing to cement himself as the third linebacker when the Colts are lined up in their base 4-3 defense.
Josh Downs played 32 of the 56 snaps in his return. Again, the Colts usage of 12 personnel oftentimes put just two receivers on the field.
