Gennaro Filice of NFL.com recently named each AFC team’s “most underappreciated” player, and for the Indianapolis Colts, he selected defensive end Samson Ebukam.
Here is some of what Filice had to say about Ebukam and his impact on the Colts’ defense:
“Ebukam started 61 games in his first six NFL seasons with the Rams and 49ers, but he didn’t fully blossom into a true edge menace until his arrival in Indianapolis and implementation into Gus Bradley’s defense. Seen as a replacement for Yannick Ngakoue in the LEO role — essentially the weak-side DE/OLB — Ebukam not only matched Ngakoue’s 9.5 sacks from 2022 but also provided the kind of run-stuffing prowess his predecessor lacked.”
As a free agent last offseason following two seasons in San Francisco, the Colts signed Ebukam to a three-year contract worth $24 million, and they immediately felt his impact as both a pass rusher and a run defender.
Ebukam’s 9.5 sacks were the most on the team and by far a career-high for him. His 48 pressures were the second-most on the Colts’ defense, behind only DeForest Buckner, and nearly a career-high for Ebukam.
On top of that, Ebukam’s run defense grade from PFF was the second-best on the team and the ninth-best among edge rushers across the NFL.
“He plays with so much physicality,” said Shane Steichen about Ebukam last season, “he sets the edges, he rushes the passer, he’s able to fall back and make plays on the running back like he did the other day. Just a tremendous get – great job by Chris Ballard and his staff. Signing him in the offseason was a huge get for us.”
Not to be overlooked when discussing Ebukam’s raw production from last season was his overall consistency, specifically at getting after the quarterback.
As a team, the Colts registered the fifth-most sacks in 2023, which included Kwity Paye totaling 8.5 sacks and Dayo Odeyingbo recording 8.0. However, in terms of replicating that success in 2024, Ebukam is positioned the best to do so among the Colts’ defensive ends, ranking 21st among his position group in PFF’s pass-rush win rate metric.
While the Colts ultimately did well at converting pressures to sacks last season, in order to maintain that level of sack production in 2024, as a unit, they’ll need to create more steady pressure after also ranking 22nd in pressure rate and 23rd in total pressures.
When it comes to the Colts’ defensive front, there is strength in numbers for what has become a very deep position group that GM Chris Ballard has invested heavily into. Between the defensive ends and the defensive tackles, the Colts believe that they have an eight-man rotation with little to no dropoff.
“I think it’ll just be a big problem for other teams,” said Paye about the Colts’ defensive front depth. “You know, like you see teams that make it far in the playoffs, the Chiefs, the 49ers, the Eagles, teams like that where they just have a second D-line that could be a first D-line anywhere else.
“So that’s kind of like, I feel like that’s what we’re trying to build here. There’s no dropoff. As soon as the second D-line coming, the O-line doesn’t have rest, like the O-line doesn’t have the chance to regroup for the first team coming in.”
As we all know, the name of the game is pressuring the quarterback, and the Colts are positioned to have what should be one of the most disruptive units in football. And helping to lead the way is Ebukam.
