The Indianapolis Colts are five training camp practices in, and the competition at cornerback is looking very similar to what it was during OTAs and minicamps.
Before training camp began, GM Chris Ballard highlighted the key positional battles that will be taking place this summer. When describing the cornerback position, he mentioned that the only certainty was that Kenny Moore would be starting. Beyond that, everything else was up for grabs.
However, based on the reports that we’ve heard so far, as was the case during offseason programs, JuJu Brents appears to be locked into one of those starting boundary roles.
As far as the starting spot opposite of him, Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan noted that Jaylon Jones appears to be ahead of Dallis Flowers, which again, was the case during offseason programs.
Jones, a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2023, ended up seeing significant playing time as a rookie with Brents dealing with injuries and Flowers sustaining a season-ending Achilles injury early in the year. As noted on the Colts’ team site, Jones played at least 60 percent of the defensive snaps over the final 13 games.
In coverage, Jones would allow a completion rate of 54 percent on 57 targets, and held pass-catchers to just 10.6 yards per catch, limiting big plays, while coming away with five pass breakups.
“He had some up and down moments,” general manager Chris Ballard said, “but I thought he played really well for the most part.”
Before Flowers season ended, he allowed 11 completions on 18 targets at only 10.5 yards per catch with three pass breakups.
“I thought he was really impressive up until that injury,” said defensive coordinator Gus Bradley after the draft. “He did some good things. He’s got that maturity. Very driven. Knows what he wants and is pretty focused on that; you see him in these walkthroughs.”
Just because Jones seems to have the early leg up in this competition doesn’t mean that things can’t change. Ballard would also mention that this positional battle could extend into the first month of the season. How each of these players performs in the joint practices and preseason games will carry weight as well.
The Colts’ secondary play last season was very up and down, in part due to needing to rely heavily on a few inexperienced players. However, with valuable experience gained and another year of being in the same system, improved play is the expectation.
While there are question marks about this position group on the outside, internally the Colts seem to be quite bullish, given that no outside free agent additions were made and the only additions in the draft came on Day 3.
“I think all those guys, obviously, we drafted two young guys, but I think with Jaylon Jones, Dallis, and JuJu, they’re long, rangy guys that are physical when they get up and press,” said Shane Steichen during minicamp.
“They got good vision. I love those guys. It’s a good room. A good competition there. It’s going to be a good competition, obviously, in minicamp and OTAs, but going into training camp is going to be big for all those guys.”
