The Indianapolis Colts improved to 1-2 with a win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. With the dust having settled, PFF has reviewed the game tape and released their player grades.
So which Colts players fared the best and which players struggled?
Now, before we dive into all of that, I’ll provide my usual disclaimer which is that these grades shouldn’t be treated as the be-all-end all when it comes to player evaluation. It’s just one metric, so treat it that way.
Below is a look at PFF’s grading system to provide some context behind the numbers:
90.0+: Elite
80-89.9: High quality
70-79.9: Good
60-69.9: Above average
50-59.9: Average
40-49.9: Below average
39.9 or less: Poor
Below you will find the three Colts’ players that received the lowest marks from PFF. For a more optimistic outlook, click here for the three players on offense that earned the highest grades. You can also click here to see the three highest graded defenders.
AD Mitchell
PFF grade: 45.2
Small sample size alert here with Mitchell only playing seven snaps. As mentioned when diving into the snap counts from Sunday, the Colts used a lot of two tight end sets and with Josh Downs back and Mitchell behind Alec Pierce on the depth chart, there were fewer snaps to go around. Mitchell had one target and no receptions.
Taven Bryan
PFF grade: 48.1
The good is that Bryan recorded a sack and had a batted pass. However, his overall grade was brought down by his run defense. PFF gave Bryan a grade of just 42.2 in that phase. Despite playing 18 run defense snaps, PFF didn’t credit Bryan with any tackles. We did, however, see the Colts give him fewer snaps away from nose tackle.
EJ Speed
PFF grade: 48.4
PFF graded Speed out well against the run with a score of 76.5. However, by their metrics, he struggled in coverage, allowing six completions on seven targets for 88 yards, or 14.7 yards per catch. Speed was in on 10 total tackles, but had two misses.
