The Defensive Line’s 4 Most Versatile Players
Since switching to a 4-3 defense at the start of the 2018 season, the Colts have approached building their defense in a surprisingly efficient, transcendent manner. Chris Ballard has sought out players that have the ability to play inside and outside on the defensive line. Learning one position in the NFL is difficult let alone two. You often see swing players on the offensive line like Joe Haeg or Evan Boehm. It’s even more rare to find a player than can move around on the other side of the line AND be good at it.
Here, I’ll breakdown the players that can and will play both spots. Therefore as a disclaimer, this article will not include ‘specialist’ players like Kemoko Turay or Grover Stewart as they’ll be analyzed in future pieces.
After 2018 free agency ended, Denico Autry being the Colts’ highest profile free agent signing was almost a punchline. Who? The formely undrafted player, whose community college was featured on the Netflix series “Last Chance U,” was signed to a modest 3-year deal worth $17.8 million. He had only started 18 games in 4 years with the Raiders producing just over 10 sacks.
At a glance, he was viewed as someone that could help the pass rush and that he did; and more. The first sign was a (little talked about) compliment from eventual All-Pro Quenton Nelson in the 2018 off-season. When asked who was giving him the most fits in practice, he said Autry was the most difficult to block. “Slippery” was the term he used. Maybe his quote wasn’t taken as seriously because it was Nelson’s first experience in the league, but Denico Autry lived up to that compliment.
Autry churned out 9 sacks in 12 games in what (I believe) should have qualified as a Pro-bowl level campaign. Not too many people in the national media, outside of Brian Baldinger, recognized this and his ‘Madden 20’ rating would be a perfect example: 76 overall. Pull up any highlights from the Colts season and you’ll see #96 consistently driving linemen backwards. He was able to get pressure consistently and lived in the backfield just like he has so far this year.
Most of the Colts beat writers have chosen him and T.Y. as the best players on the field so far during training camp. Standing at 6’5 285 lbs. Autry has displayed the ability to generate a pass rush lining up inside and out. He’s my favorite player on this Colts defense and I look for him to have a 10+ sack season.
The next player on this list surprised a lot of people when the first depth chart was released. Many viewed Tyquan Lewis as just a defensive end/rotational edge player coming out of a talented Ohio State defense. It was clear the Colts had a different vision for him when they traded back into the second round to make him their 4th second round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. His spot on the depth chart as a nose tackle all but confirms their plans to play him in multiple spots.
The Colts vision for him was put on hold when a toe injury sidelined him in training camp last season. This vision stemmed from their belief that Lewis could play on the interior defensive line as well. He was one of two candidates designated to return from IR which was a newer policy the Colts utilized. He returned late in the season with his most memorable performance coming against the Dallas Cowboys in a 23-0 shutout. Both of his 2 career sacks came in that game while lining up in both spots.
Depth chart’s can’t be taken too seriously this early, but it was peculiar to see Lewis as the starting nose tackle being listed as 6’4 277 lbs. Again, depth charts can be especially meaningless when players are consistently moved around, but it was interesting to see that as his “main” spot. After the departures of Hassan Ridgeway and Al Woods, there seems to be a noticeable lack of girth inside besides Grover Stewart.
The fact that they didn’t draft any interior d-linemen (with Caruan Reid being one of the only notable additions) shows the Colts confidence in the players they have; including Lewis. They look to replicate their run defense success from last season as the 2018 Colts didn’t allow a single 100 yard rusher. I’ll be interested to see how Lewis holds up if they decide to play him inside consistently.
The next player is coming into a contract year that will be his third season with the team. Signing Jabaal Sheard to a 3-year deal worth $25.5 million was one of Chris Ballard’s first free agent signings. Still not a household name, he’s consistently generated pressure the past two seasons and played in all 16 games both years. He repeated his sack total of 5.5 to the exact amount, but somehow managed to do it even more quietly. Not only is his pass rushing presence valuable, but his run defense (especially on the edge) is superb. He has the ability to “bench press” much bigger players than him which can only be a result of experience and skill.
A quiet guy by nature, Sheard didn’t complain (from what we know) about being asked to play inside when the Colts switched to a 4-3 defense after the 2017 season. He hadn’t played in a 4-3 defense since the Browns made him their 2nd round pick in 2011. Playing for the Patriots and Belichick’s 3-4 defense translated to playing “outside linebacker” meaning he was asked to drop into coverage frequently instead of primarily rushing the passer. That may help explain why he’s never had a double-digit sack season; although it didn’t stop Justin Houston from putting up huge sack numbers. The former Kansas City Chief is entering a similar situation.
Although it’s unlikely the Colts ask Houston to play inside, they asked Sheard to last year and he held up surprisingly well for being 6’3 268 lbs. Currently, Sheard is dealing with a relatively serious knee injury suffered early in camp. The Colts have been tightlipped about the severity of the injury which makes it difficult to asses when he’ll be back. The Colts Man of Year candidate is an underrated veteran on this team who’ll be missed if the season starts without him.
The last player on this list is my dark horse candidate to have a breakout season. Coming out of Illinois, scouts gave Jihad Ward the title of a defensive end that could bump inside as well. It seems to be vice-versa now as the Colts haven’t lined him on the outside that much. It’s certainly not because he can’t, but he seemed to flash inside last season putting up 4 sacks in 6 games.
Ward’s above average athleticism at 6’5 290 lbs. intrigued teams enough to send his draft stock soaring in 2016. The Raiders used a second round pick on him which brought high expectations from a young player (similar to Quincy Wilson). Oakland showed they didn’t have time to develop him by trading him to the Cowboys for Ryan Switzer. After being waived by the Cowboys in final cuts at the start of last season, he was signed to the Colts practice squad.
Ward was promoted to the 53-man roster not long after, but an ankle injury ended his season early. I was excited to see what he could do in a full year after a fast start since he was on pace for at least double digit sacks. Now after a full-offseason with the team, I’m even more excited to see if he can step up in a big way as a rotational player. Time will tell if his versatility and athleticism are enough to make a lasting impact on this football team.
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