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Between Years 1 and 2 in the NFL, players frequently make the biggest developmental leaps, resulting in greater production. The Indianapolis Colts need defensive end Jaylahn Tuimoloau to make that jump.
A second-round pick by the Colts in the 2025 NFL draft, Tuimoloau's role as a rookie was relatively small. He played just 215 total defensive snaps the entire season, according to PFF.
"He's a long athlete," said defensive line coach Marion Hobby. "He's got quickness, but he's got all the natural ability that you want. Just seeing him fine-tune his game is the key to the drolls. He's got to feel comfortable playing, and that's probably the thing from last year, I saw him, he didn't look very comfortable sometimes. But him getting comfortable playing, but long, got good weight."
So how do the Colts ensure that Tuimoloau is more comfortable this season?
"Repetition," Hobby added. "Just giving more reps, putting them in the situations in practice, then getting them in the scrimmage situations, then in the game experience over the preseason, early part, that's when they get more comfortable. Repetition is the best teacher."
As a collective unit, the Colts need more pass rush juice in 2026. Last season, Indianapolis ranked 30th in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric.
There was quite a bit of roster turnover at defensive end this offseason, with GM Chris Ballard addressing this position heavily. That said, whether or not the Colts found an impact starting presence to pair with Laiatu Latu remains to be seen.
Most likely competing for that role will be veteran Arden Key and Tuimoloau.
"We're expecting him to make a big jump," Hobby said. "He's got to help us win. That's the bottom line."
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Why Colts believe Jaylahn Tuimoloau can make big jump in second season
Continue reading...
A second-round pick by the Colts in the 2025 NFL draft, Tuimoloau's role as a rookie was relatively small. He played just 215 total defensive snaps the entire season, according to PFF.
"He's a long athlete," said defensive line coach Marion Hobby. "He's got quickness, but he's got all the natural ability that you want. Just seeing him fine-tune his game is the key to the drolls. He's got to feel comfortable playing, and that's probably the thing from last year, I saw him, he didn't look very comfortable sometimes. But him getting comfortable playing, but long, got good weight."
So how do the Colts ensure that Tuimoloau is more comfortable this season?
"Repetition," Hobby added. "Just giving more reps, putting them in the situations in practice, then getting them in the scrimmage situations, then in the game experience over the preseason, early part, that's when they get more comfortable. Repetition is the best teacher."
As a collective unit, the Colts need more pass rush juice in 2026. Last season, Indianapolis ranked 30th in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric.
There was quite a bit of roster turnover at defensive end this offseason, with GM Chris Ballard addressing this position heavily. That said, whether or not the Colts found an impact starting presence to pair with Laiatu Latu remains to be seen.
Most likely competing for that role will be veteran Arden Key and Tuimoloau.
"We're expecting him to make a big jump," Hobby said. "He's got to help us win. That's the bottom line."
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Why Colts believe Jaylahn Tuimoloau can make big jump in second season
Continue reading...
