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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 01: Robert Mathis #98 of the Indianapolis Colts waves to the crowd after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colts are about to finish the offseason with some post-draft free agency moves, marking the 10th offseason under Chris Ballard. The decade of Ballard’s management has been a wild rollercoaster ride, albeit not all of it due to Ballard himself. But after this Ballard decade, how does the Colts roster stack up from 2026 compared to 2016, the last year of the Grigson era?
In this position by position series, we breakdown each spot of the Colts roster to see if the Colts are better or worse than their counterparts from a decade ago. If you want to find our previous entries of this series, you can find them below:
We are finally getting to the Defense, starting off with Edge Rushers!
2016 EDGEs: Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Trent Cole, Akeem Ayers, Curt Maggitt, Levar Edwards, Chris Carter
2026 EDGEs: Laiatu Latu, Arden Key, Jaylahn Tuimoloau, Michael Clemons, Caden Curry, George Gumbs Jr.
The 2016 Colts Edge room was filled with veterans. The trio of Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, and Trent Cole sharing a combined 31 years of NFL experience heading into 2016 at ages 35, 31, and 34 respectively.
Meanwhile the Colts top 3 edge rushers of 2026 have just 11 years of experience between them, 8 of which with Arden Key alone, heading into the year. Which will win out: the growth of youth or the last embers of great veterans?
The 2016 Defensive Ends have experience and impressive resume’s with Trent Cole being a former 2nd Team All Pro and 88.5 career sacks and Robert Mathis being the Colts All Time Sack Leader at 118 and a former First Team All Pro (was the Defensive Player of the Year runner up in 2013), but it was clear that their best years were behind them by 2016.
Robert Mathis 2016 Pass Rushing Stats
- 26 Pressures (7.5% Pressure Rate)
- 1 QB Hit
- 5 Sacks (3 Strip Sacks with Forced Fumbles)
Mathis had his worst pressure rate of his career by a wide margin. His previous career low (from 2007 and 2015) was 10.6%. Two years removed from a torn Achilles (and its subsequent bacterial infection) along with nagging foot issues that both required 10 surgeries in the span of 8 months and at age 35, it was clear Mathis’ storied career was coming to a close.
The NFL’s All Time Forced Fumble leader still made a big impact when he did get home with his strip sacking prowess, with his 54th and last one of his career coming in his final NFL game against Jaguars QB Blake Bortles. His final season might not have been the greatest one, but he still found a way to continue to embody his career even at the end.
Trent Cole 2016 Pass Rushing Stats
- 17 Pressures (11.9% Pressure Rate)
- 4 QB Hits
- 2 Sacks
Cole was only able to play in 7 games in 2016 due to a devastating bulging disc in his back. He suffered the injury in Week 2 and was feared to be out for the season, but had a borderline miraculous recovery to return to the team in December.
Despite the injury, Cole was the Colts most consistent pressure generator in 2016. While he didn’t finish many rushes with sacks, he compromised pockets consistently when on the field and helped make QBs feel much less comfortable. 2016 ended up being his final NFL season as well, but for his time with the Colts he showed flashes of his old form when on the field.
Erik Walden 2016 Pass Rushing Stats
- 32 Pressures (8.9% Pressure Rate)
- 7 QB Hits
- 11 Sacks (3 Fumbles Forced)
The most impactful Edge Rusher of 2016 for the Colts was not the two proven veterans, but Erik Walden. Walden had a career high 11 sacks and was the team’s most reliable outside run stopper with just 13.9% Missed Tackle Rate and 26 Run Stops.
However that high sack total was masking a below average pressure rate of 8.9% (for reference Kwity Paye’s career pressure rate is 9.1%), and his slow time to pressure was reflected in his Colts Edge Rusher position-low 7.3% Pass Rush Win Rate (ranked 90th/116 Edge Rushers, Mathis was 8.4%, Ayers was 9%, Cole was 12.5%). His high sack numbers were predominantly due to either coverage sacks where the QB had to hold on to the ball longer due to strong coverage, or as cleanup sacks after another pass rusher got the initial pressure but wasn’t able to finish the sack.
11 sacks is still a high number that is tied for the most by a Colts player since 2016 (with 2019 Justin Houston), but his lack of consistency hurts his overall impact.
Akeem Ayers | Lavar Edwards | Curt Maggitt 2016 Pass Rushing Stats
- 12 Pressure (8.5% Pressure Rate) | 8 Pressures (7.4% Pressure Rate) | 2 Pressures (2.9% Pressure Rate)
- 2 QB Hits | 1 QB Hit | 0 QB Hits
- 2 Sacks | 1 Sack | 0 Sacks
Ayers was the final Edge Rusher to have a qualifying amount of snaps for the Colts in 2016, as Edwards just missed the threshold to be ranked and Maggitt played sparingly.
Ultimately the trio added 20 Pressure at a very low rate, 3 QB Hits, and 3 Sacks at the end of the rotation.
As far as run defense goes for the Edge unit in 2016, it was an unremarkable unit. Walden led the way in run stops with 26, with Mathis following up with 13, Ayers with 11, Cole with 10, Edwards with 8, and Maggitt with 1. Their Run Defense graded ranged from Robert Mathis’ 41.7 (Tied 115th out of 119 Edge Rushers) to Ayers’ 63.8 (Tied 56th), showing their struggles in defending the run by setting a hard edge outside. Ayers was decent, but the rest of the aging unit had issues in this regard.
And while the Colts defense was a base 3-4 in 2016, the outside linebackers were rarely asked to drop back into coverage due to most of the unit struggling in this area. Ayers was the only one to record a pass breakup, and even got an interception on his 89 coverage reps. The rest of the unit allowed 15/16 passing for 173 yards and a TD with low coverage grades.
Fast forward to 2026, and the Colts DE unit is one filled with young players, but with questions of how they will grow with bigger roles. Led by 2024 1st Round pick Laiatu Latu who has shown growth in his 2 pro years, can he take the next step forward to stardom?
Laiatu Latu 2025 Pass Rushing Stats
- 61 Pressures (14% Pressure Rate)
- 9 QB Hits
- 8.5 Sacks (1 Forced Fumble)
Laiatu Latu took a major step forward in 2025, doubling his rookie sack total and emerged as one of the better edge rushers in the NFL. His 14% Pressure rate is a top 20 Rate (out of 121 qualifying Edge Rushers), and had a respectable 15.4% Pass Rush Win rate showing he was winning reps quick enough to not be counted as losses or coverage pressures on a vast majority of his pressures. During the first half of the season he ranked in the top 10 in Pressures as well, showing extended flashes of him being a high end pass rusher.
Latu hasn’t taken the step to superstardom yet among edge rushers in the NFL, as his 2nd half of the season regression showed there still needs to be another level for him to get to consistently, but he was very close to eclipsing the 10 sack threshold that holds some notoriety in NFL circles. On tape there was constant reps of pressures, but a lot of them were just a hair away from sacks (and potential strip sacks with attempted swipes at the QB mid passing motion). If he can win just a hair quicker in 2026, the sky is the limit for this former Bruin.
Arden Key 2025 Pass Rushing Stats
- 33 Pressures (11.2% Pressure Rate)
- 7 QB Hits
- 4 Sacks
Arden Key is the veteran of the Colts Edge rotation, with 116 games under his belt in his 8 year career. He’s primarily been a high rotational snap DE3 in his career behind a pair of clear starters like superstars Maxx Crosby with the Raiders, Nick Bosa with the 49ers, and Jonathan Hines-Allen with the Jaguars along with their respective run stopping DE2s like Clelin Ferrell, Arik Armstead/Samson Ebukam, and Travon Walker respectively.
The past 3 years with the Tennessee Titans Key stepped into a DE2 role with 33 starts in 45 games, earning 16.5 sacks in that span and getting a career high pressure rate in 2025. His sacks regressed in 2025 to the lowest mark of the last 5 years, but that was due to being limited to just 12 games due to an October quad injury and a December hip/back injury that ended his season. Arden Key missed just 3 games from 2021-2024 due to injury, so the 30 year old has been very healthy prior to 2025.
Still when on the field Key presents an upgrade in pass rushing over a post-Achilles tear Samson Ebukam and Kwity Paye, his predecessors opposite of Laiatu Latu. As of now Key is projected to be the other starting DE barring someone else emerging to earn the job or another Free Agent addition, as there are active rumors of the Colts interest in a few veterans and the Colts did pursue other big name trade target DEs like Trey Hendrickson even after signing Key.
Time will tell whether Key is the Colts DE2 or slides down the depth chart, but he figures to have a significant role in the rotation.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau 2025 Pass Rushing Stats
- 14 Pressures (10.8% Pressure Rate)
- 6 QB Hits
- 0 Sacks
Jaylahn (formerly known as JT) Tuimoloau’s rookie season for the Colts didn’t live up to expectations as a middle of Round 2 pick. He struggled to get on the field and was a repeated healthy scratch from the gameday roster early on in the season. As such he didn’t play Weeks 1, 3, 6, 16, and 17 in 2025, and didn’t record a pressure in the first 6 weeks of the schedule.
But that isn’t to say he didn’t have flashes. Tuimoloau finally got his first NFL pressure in Week 7 and from then until Week 15 he had a solid stretch as a rotational rusher. He earned all 14 of his pressures in that 8 week stretch, with an impressive Colts Edge rusher high 13.6% pressure rate.
Tuimoloau is a strong athlete with a powerful build to be a pocket collapser, and flashed being a high end pass rusher in his final collegiate season at Ohio State. There is still optimism in the Colts facility that he can grow into a solid Defensive End for the team at age 23. He’s slimmed down a bit in the offseason to try and gain a bit more burst off the edge and with his first step, hoping to show more of his pass rusher acumen in Year 2.
While the young DE is searching for his first career sack still, there is tangible optimism in him growing into a more reliable presence in the Colts edge rush rotation in 2026. Still, that is a low bar to clear when considering how little we saw of him in 2025.
Micheal Clemons 2025 Pass Rushing Stats
- 22 Pressures (6.8% Pressure Rate)
- 4 QB Hits
- 1 Sack
Clemons was the Colts other foray in free agency at DE this offseason, previously spending his entire rookie contract on the New York Jets. The soon to be 29 year old had a regression as a pass rusher after a 4.5 sack season in 2024, but has never been considered an average or above average pass rusher. Clemons 6’5 and 270 lb frame is moreso useful as a run defender with 28 run stops the last 2 years and prior run defense grades of 86.4 and 66.3 in his first 2 years of his career.
The Colts likely see Clemons as a potential Kwity Paye replacement, with his primary competition as the Colts edge setting strong DE being the aforementioned Tuimoloau. He is an older player for one with only 4 years of pro experience, so it’s hard to expect much development as a pass rusher after playing the position at various levels for so long.
Still, the Colts gave him a decent sized contract of 3 years and $17 million, so there is an expectation he will have a part to play in the rotation over at least the next 2 years.
Caden Curry and George Gumbs Jr. 2025 Pass Rush Stats
- 46 Pressures (15.3% Pressure Rate) | 13 Pressures (9.6% Pressure Rate)
- 14 QB Hits | 5 QB Hits
- 11 Sacks | 2.5 Sacks
To round out the look at the Colts 2026 Edge Rushers Pass rushing resume, we have the pair of Day 3 rookies in Round 5 pick George Gumbs Jr. and Round 6 pick Caden Curry. Both of whom have very different scouting reports and resumes.
Caden Curry was one of the most productive Defensive Ends in college football making an impact as a run defender (40 Run Stops, 86.7 Run Defense Grade) and in coverage (76 Coverage Grade) alongside his pass rushing acumen. He was a career backup at Ohio State from 2022-2024 before his 2025 breakout, where he was the highest graded Defensive End in the Big10.
The 6’3 and 260 lb. End is a local Hoosier, as he is Center Grove High School alum. Curry has solid size and a good power profile with constant high effort showing up throughout his tape. But he is lacking in the explosive athleticism that the best pro Defensive Ends have, along with having some of the shortest arms ever at the position.
The question of how far effort, technique, and polish can get you at the position could be answered with Curry. He projects to be a pro ready player who could push Clemons and his old teammate Tuimoloau for snaps as a run stopping Edge in the rotation.
Meanwhile his fellow draft mate George Gumbs Jr. is on the polar opposite end of the athleticism-production spectrum. Recruited initially as a WR/TE out of high school to Northern Illinois, Gumbs switched to Defensive End just prior to the 2023 season. As such he is still very raw when it comes to developing his pass rush arsenal, deconstructing blocks, tackling, and setting a hard edge. Still Gumbs is a tantalizing ball of traits at 6’4 and 245 lbs with 33.625” long arms and excellent testing in explosiveness, agility, and speed.
Gumbs Jr. regressed in pass rush stats in 2025 compared to his first year with the Gators in 2024, but showed growth in his bend and flexibility to attack the outside shoulder of Tackles, as well as improved his hand usage/moveset variety to disengage from blockers. In 2024 he had a 13.8% Pressure Rate with 26 Pressures and 5 sacks, impressing scouts in his first opportunity against top level collegiate talent.
Still the young pass rusher might be a back of the roster/practice squad player early on in his career as he learns the ins and outs of being an Edge. For 2026 expect his impact to likely be minimal, but the Colts could trust in their staff to develop him over the years on the roster fringes and see what impact he could make in future years.
Advantage: 2026 Colts
For this exercise remember, it’s the 2026 Colts vs 2016 Colts, not the peak of whatever the 2016 Colts had done prior to that season. This isn’t Jay Robins declaring Laiatu Latu will have a better season in 2026 than 19.5 sack season Robert Mathis (as much as we would all love to see that). Sadly for this decade vs decade comparison the days of Robert Mathis being one of the best Defensive Ends in football were behind him by 2016, and the regression of himself and Trent Cole (along with Erik Walden’s inconsistency) made the 2017 Colts have to move on from all three and look to address the position from scratch in Year 1 of Ballard’s tenure, as well as lose this 2016 vs 2026 battle.
The 2016 Colts Edge rushers combined for:
- 97 Pressures (8.3% Pressure Rate)
- 15 QB Hits
- 21 Sacks
Meanwhile the non-2026 rookie Colts DEs in 2025 combined for:
- 130 Pressures (11% Pressure Rate)
- 26 QB Hits
- 13.5 Sacks
The 2026 Colts have the clear advantage in Pressure rate (which tends to be a pretty stable metric year to year) as well as QB Hits. 2016 has the edge in sacks, but most of them were Erik Walden’s, which were predominantly clean-up/coverage sacks with a very low win rate as discussed earlier. Considering the expected growth from Laiatu Latu in Year 3, Jaylahn Tuimoloau in Year 2, and any contribution from the rookies at all, and the sack gap likely looks less wide in 2026.
Latu was already so close to breaking into one of the top tiers of pass rushing in the NFL in 2025 and was one of the most polished and productive pass rush prospects to come out of the last decade. It’s hard not to believe in him especially taking that leap soon.
UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu has INCREDIBLE stable metrics via @PFF
100th percentile pass rush grade
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) February 23, 2024
Let’s say the pressures and QB hits weren’t enough for a fan, as some might have the ideology of “sacks or nothing” when it comes to pass rush metrics. The 2026 unit still has the advantage in both run stopping and coverage.
The 4 non-rookie Edges for the 2026 Colts had 52 Run Stops and an average run defense grade of 65.6 in 2025 (Laiatu Latu the highest at 27 and 72.4 respectively).
The 2016 Colts Edges? The 4 qualifying DEs (Mathis, Cole, Walden, Ayers) had just 37 Run Stops and an average run grade of 54.1 (Walden with a team high 12 Run Stops, Ayers with a team high 63.8 Run Grade).
And coverage I could go on about coverage grades, completion percentage allowed, and pass deflections (all of which favor the 2026 Colts > 2016 Colts). But this article is long enough of a read as is (thank you once again to all the readers who have followed along so far), so I will keep it short with this one note…
Laiatu Latu in 2025 tied 2022 Aiden Hutchinson and 1990 Richard Dent for the most INTs by an Edge Rusher in a season in the last 40 years! Yeah, no 2016 Colts DE is matching the ball hawking Latu’s resume in dropping back reps.
Laiatu Latu on the Chiefs 2nd offensive play
Deflection
(via: @NFL)pic.twitter.com/KukFqQbT3L
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) November 23, 2025
More consistent pass rush, better run defense, and better coverage? Yeah, the 2026 Colts take this win over their aging 2016 counterparts. How much so, we will have to wait and see. But if the 2026 Colts Defensive Ends stay healthy and continue to play at their usual level, they should have the edge by a good margin come end of season.
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