Indianapolis Colts Must Add Interior Pass Rush in the NFL Draft

For many, the first item on the Indianapolis Colts' list of needs in the 2015 offseason revolved around run defense.

Considering the Colts' embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game—the third consecutive matchup with New England in which the Colts gave up 175 yards rushing or more—it’s not an illogical conclusion.

But for most of the 2014 season, the Colts didn’t have much of an issue defending the run. Sure, it was a problem against New England in both the regular season and postseason, but the rest of the Colts’ opponents didn’t have irregular success.

In the Colts’ 15 other regular-season games, they allowed just 4.15 yards per carry on rushing plays, slightly less than the league’s 4.16-yard average. In critical games against power-running teams like Cincinnati, the Colts generally stepped up and did well defensively.

In two games against Cincinnati, the Colts held Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard to just 85 total rushing yards at 3.15 yards per carry. Against Denver in the divisional playoffs, the Colts allowed 88 total rushing yards, albeit on 20 carries. But the majority of that was on two carries that totaled 32 yards. Absolving the Colts of those two momentary lapses, the defense allowed 56 yards on 3.11 yards per carry.

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It’s easy to look at the Colts’ season-ending games against New England over the last two years and assume the run defense is simply terrible. But in reality, the run defense was much closer to average than the bottom of the league.

What the Colts really struggled with defensively was pass rush, something tight end Dwayne Allen alluded to in a candid interview with NFL AM recently.

“We couldn’t get to the passer last year," he said. "Collectively we did an alright job, but we didn’t have a guy.”

Allen’s exactly right when you look at the numbers.

The Colts tied for ninth in the league with 41 sacks and were ninth in Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Sack Rate. How the Colts succeeded in pass rush was almost completely scheme-based, as defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and head coach Chuck Pagano put together blitz packages that worked well against some of the lower-tier quarterbacks the Colts faced in 2014.

But against better, more balanced offenses with strong quarterbacks, Indy's pass rush was negated as individuals struggled to win one-on-one battles. As a team, the collective pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus (negative-17.5) was the third-lowest in the league. In the Colts’ six losses this year—to Denver, New England (twice), Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Dallas—Indianapolis had three total sacks and gave up 242 points (40.3 points per game).

The Colts attempted to address the problem by bringing in veteran outside linebacker Trent Cole in free agency. While Cole is aging (33 in October), he can still be a threat as a pass-rusher and gives the Colts a premier playmaker. Cole can’t handle the full-time load he once could, but between him, Robert Mathis returning and Jonathan Newsome developing, the Colts should have enough weapons in the arsenal to keep offenses on their toes.

In fact, the Colts have something of a logjam at the edge. With Cole added in, the team has five outside linebackers to fit in the rotation, including returning Erik Walden and Bjoern Werner. It’s a good thing, too, as the Colts aren’t exactly sure when Mathis will be able to return from his Achilles injury, which ended his season last year.

Still, with a commitment to five potential bodies, a major move at outside linebacker in the draft may be unlikely, especially considering the top edge-rushers will likely be off the board by the time the Colts pick at No. 29.

But where the Colts could desperately use some attention is the interior defensive line, where a playmaker would add a previously unseen threat. The Colts have had edge-rushers before, like Mathis’ Defensive Player of the Year-worthy 2013 season, or even the 2012 season with Mathis, Dwight Freeney and Jerry Hughes.

Even those teams, however, weren’t efficient in pressuring the quarterback, in large part because the Colts lacked any force in the middle of the line. Without a threat in the interior, opposing offensive lines could focus on pushing edge-rushers wide and leaving quarterbacks with intact pockets.

You can see a difference on teams with elite pass defenses.

Team	DVOA Ranking	Pass Defense DVOA	Interior Rusher	Sacks	PFF Grade
BUF	1	-18.1%	Kyle Williams	5.5	+19.0
CLE	2	-9.8%	Desmond Bryant	5	-0.8
SEA	3	-9.3%	Jordan Hill	5.5	+1.9
SF	4	-7.4%	Justin Smith	5	+2.1
DEN	5	-7.5%	Malik Jackson	3.0	+12.1

Pass rush is critical, and it can come from the edge or the interior, but the best teams have at least some form of pass rush from the inside. Last year, the Colts really didn’t have either, and it showed in critical games. Having edge-rushers again will help in 2015, but the Colts need more help if they really want to have an above-average defense.

That's not to say the edge-rushers are completely fixed for the Colts, but at least there are bodies, whether it be experienced veterans or developmental youngsters. On the interior, the Colts are gasping for air.

It doesn’t need to be an elite, top-end defensive tackle, but they at least need a respectable playmaker. Cory Redding was the only Colts interior lineman to grade positively in pass rush from Pro Football Focus last year, and now he’s going to Arizona.

The Colts have plenty of needs to address in the 2015 draft, but finding an interior playmaker in the first few rounds has to be a priority.