Colts position review after minicamp: Zaire Franklin, Jaylon Carlies and the LBs

USA Today

6 days ago

With offseason programs now behind us, let's take a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Indianapolis Colts. Next up are the linebackers.
With offseason programs now behind us, let's take a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Indianapolis Colts. Next up are the linebackers.
If you missed our other positional reviews, you can find them below.
After an All-Pro season, what's next for Zaire Franklin?
Last season, Franklin made his first Pro Bowl, and he was also named a second-team All-Pro. Franklin led the NFL in tackles last season. He also forced four fumbles, which was tied for the second-most among all linebackers, and came away with two interceptions as well. Combined, the six forced takeaways were among the most at his position group.
Now, like any player, there are areas of growth that still exist. Quarterbacks were efficient when targeting Franklin in coverage, and missed tackles--which comes with the territory when making as many as Franklin does--did pop up at times. According to PFF, Franklin missed 11.6% of his attempts, which ranked 24th out of 53 eligible linebackers.
However, this new defensive scheme under Lou Anarumo could really benefit Franklin. For one, he's going to have more opportunities to get after the quarterback. In addition to that, with Anarumo relying more heavily on defensive backs, that can help take some of the coverage responsibilities off the linebackers' plates, not to mention that starting alongside of Jaylon Carlies--who played safety at Missouri--can add a coverage element alongside of Franklin.
All of that should allow for Franklin to see more opportunities closer to the line of scrimmage, where he is at his best and can make the biggest impact.
A big opportunity ahead for Jaylon Carlies
As Carlies himself said, "everybody's competing," but on the outside, he is the presumed starter next to Franklin.
A fifth-round pick in 2024, Carlies was the Colts' third linebacker last season and appeared in 10 games as a rookie, which also included missing time on injured reserve. Carlies proved to be a sound tackler, and he was very good at limiting opponents in coverage, holding pass catchers to only 6.0 yards per reception.
His background as a former college safety makes him an ideal fit for Anarumo's defense where, as mentioned, there will be an emphasis on having coverage defenders on the field.
'It's a matchup league,' Anarumo said, via the Indy Star. 'If the offense puts out a certain personnel group, you want to be able to match it with what they're doing. Especially on third down. You want to try to get cover guys covering receivers and, nowadays, these tight ends … The days, to me, of putting linebackers on tight ends is not ideal for the defense.'
With that said, with Carlies having just 242 career defensive snaps under his belt, he is still a relatively inexperienced player, and with that can come some ups and downs and he still navigates the NFL's learning curve.
An inexperienced linebacker unit
Outside of Franklin, this is a very inexperienced linebacker room that the Colts are going to be relying heavily on.
Carlies' 242 career defensive snaps are the second most on the team right now. Joe Bachie has played 238, and Segun Olubi 136.
With inexperience comes unknowns, but as GM Chris Ballard pointed out earlier this offseason, the Colts have a strong track record of developing the linebacker position.
'We've had a lot of success at linebacker, I believe, with drafting and players we've brought in that we think can ascend,' Ballard said, via the Indy Star. 'We think (Jaylon Carlies) can really ascend.'
The Colts have gotten a good look at these players during offseason programs with Franklin sidelined with an ankle injury and Carlies out with a shoulder injury.
Watch the special teams snaps
Linebacker is a special teams-heavy position. Olubi, Bachie, and Cameron McGrone are all experienced in this regard, and that likely gives them an upper hand when it comes to competing for the final roster spots.
Of course, there will be a prerequisite that these players have to meet from a defensive perspective, but how they perform on teams could be a differentiator when it comes to building out the depth chart order, and therefore playing time.
Indianapolis Colts' linebackers