A strength of this Indianapolis Colts’ team coming into the 2024 NFL season was the depth of their defensive front. Unfortunately, injuries are putting that depth to the test early on this season.
Before the season even began, Samson Ebukam was placed on injured reserve and designated to return after suffering an Achilles injury early on in training camp.
Then, following a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers, DeForest Buckner was placed on injured reserve, forcing him to miss at least four games.
In Sunday’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Colts were without Kwity Paye, who suffered a quad injury the week prior against Chicago. Coming out of that game, the Colts announced on Tuesday that Tyquan Lewis was placed on injured reserve.
The original depth of the Colts’ defensive front gave them the ability to have a hockey-like rotation in the trenches in an effort to keep everyone fresh over the course of a game. But now, three of the original top eight defenders along that front are on injured reserve, while Paye’s status for this week’s game is still unknown.
With these injuries, Laiatu Latu and Dayo Odeyingbo have taken on larger roles at defensive end, along with Odeyingbo seeing some opportunities inside. Isaiah Land would play a career-high 12 snaps this past week as well.
Then along the interior, Taven Bryan and Raekwon Davis have shouldered the workload along side Grover Stewart. The Colts also have Adeomtiwa Adebawore and just signed Adam Gotsis to the 53-man roster.
With depth, in addition to keeping players fresh, the Colts really had the ability to play matchups based on the opponent and each player’s skill set. But with the defensive line room getting a bit thin, many of the players mentioned have had to take on broader roles, helping out more against both the run and the pass.
Even with having to navigate these injuries, the Colts front has held its own the last two weeks against the Bears and Steelers. Getting after the quarterback is the name of the game, and limiting an opponent’s run game, puts them in predictable passing situations, giving the defense the advantage.
Although replicating that recent play becomes more difficult as more injuries happen, the overall success of the Colts defense is still going to be dictated by how well this front plays and how disruptive they can be.
