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PHOENIX — For the moment, Colts general manager Chris Ballard isn’t tipping his hand about the team’s plans at defensive end.
Indianapolis headed into the 2026 season in need of a renovation at the position. The Colts let starter Kwity Paye leave for Las Vegas, allowed former starter Samson Ebukam to go to Atlanta and haven’t brought back Tyquan Lewis, leaving open a chance for an overhaul.
The Colts replaced Ebukam and Lewis by signing veterans Arden Key and Micheal Clemons in free agency.
But there is no clear starter to fill Paye’s spot and elevate the edge rush, a weakness that was exposed when defensive tackle DeForest Buckner suffered a neck injury.
“As a group right now, I feel pretty good about it,” Ballard said at the NFL’s annual meeting on Monday. “Does that mean we won’t add? No. We’ve got time. There’s some free agency stuff still left, we’ll see if we do anything else. The draft, and then, end of the summer and into training camp. Look, would we love a 20-sack guy on the team? Absolutely. I think every team would sign up for that.”
Indianapolis tried to get that type of player in free agency.
The Colts were one of the teams in the mix for former Bengals star Trey Hendrickson until Baltimore swooped into the fray to sign him.
“He’s on the Ravens team,” Ballard said. “We looked at a lot of good players. He ain’t the only one.”
For the moment, Ballard wants to focus on the players the Colts have on the roster.
Indianapolis believes 2024 first-round pick Laiatu Latu is on the verge of a breakout, the kind that would transform the pass rush by giving the Colts a true difference-maker off the edge. Latu led the Colts with 8.5 sacks in 2025, but a lot of his pressures were late in the down, and Indianapolis needs immediate pressure off the edge.
“We still think Latu has more upside, and I think we’re starting to see it,” Ballard said. “There were some close-but-no-cigar plays where he didn’t finish them. The difference between 8.5, 9 sacks and 14 sacks is some of those finishing plays. We think we can help him get over the hump there.”
Ballard also remains high on 2025 second-round pick JT Tuimoloau. Buried on the depth chart behind Paye, Ebukam and Lewis, Tuimoloau played 215 defensive snaps as a rookie, making 17 tackles, six quarterback hits and a tackle-for-loss while producing a pressure rate of 12.2%, second on the team only to Latu.
“We think he’ll take another step,” Ballard said.
The two veteran defensive ends the Colts signed in free agency profile as rotational players.
“Key, we’ve played against him a bunch, and Shane said he was disruptive, always a guy they had to game-plan against,” Ballard said. “Clemons is just tough, tough, hard-playing. Kind of the same role as what Tyquan had.”
Indianapolis has depth.
What the Colts need is a player who can inject every-down life into the pass rush. Buckner is expected to be back, but Indianapolis needs more pressure off the edge. The Colts had 26 sacks in the eight games they played with a healthy Buckner; Indianapolis recorded only 13 in the nine after he suffered his neck injury.
Without an obvious upgrade like Hendrickson available — Vikings star Jonathan Greenard is expected to stay on Minnesota’s roster, head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Monday — Indianapolis may have to take an “all hands on deck” approach like 2023, when the Colts broke the Indianapolis-era record for single-season sacks with 51, even though Ebukam’s 9.5 was the highest individual mark.
Ballard believes the Colts have a handle on what defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo needs.
“Schematically, after being with Lou for a year, understanding what he needs to be successful, is a big part of it,” Ballard said. “Understand the question, especially when you’re going with unproven guys.”
Another unproven guy might be the key.
The 2026 NFL Draft is deep at defensive end, and even though the Colts do not hold a first-round pick, Ballard has not been shy about using the second round to add defensive ends. Indianapolis has drafted Kemoko Turay, Lewis, Ben Banogu, Dayo Odeyingbo and Tuimoloau in the second round, and even though that’s a mixed bag of results, Ballard will likely be unafraid to try again.
“We like the depth we’ve acquired,” Ballard said. “Now, we’ll see going forward what we need to do.”
The Colts need to add another defensive end.
Where that player ends up coming from is the big question.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts pass rush: How GM Chris Ballard is trying to improve the unit
Continue reading...
Indianapolis headed into the 2026 season in need of a renovation at the position. The Colts let starter Kwity Paye leave for Las Vegas, allowed former starter Samson Ebukam to go to Atlanta and haven’t brought back Tyquan Lewis, leaving open a chance for an overhaul.
The Colts replaced Ebukam and Lewis by signing veterans Arden Key and Micheal Clemons in free agency.
But there is no clear starter to fill Paye’s spot and elevate the edge rush, a weakness that was exposed when defensive tackle DeForest Buckner suffered a neck injury.
“As a group right now, I feel pretty good about it,” Ballard said at the NFL’s annual meeting on Monday. “Does that mean we won’t add? No. We’ve got time. There’s some free agency stuff still left, we’ll see if we do anything else. The draft, and then, end of the summer and into training camp. Look, would we love a 20-sack guy on the team? Absolutely. I think every team would sign up for that.”
Indianapolis tried to get that type of player in free agency.
The Colts were one of the teams in the mix for former Bengals star Trey Hendrickson until Baltimore swooped into the fray to sign him.
“He’s on the Ravens team,” Ballard said. “We looked at a lot of good players. He ain’t the only one.”
For the moment, Ballard wants to focus on the players the Colts have on the roster.
Indianapolis believes 2024 first-round pick Laiatu Latu is on the verge of a breakout, the kind that would transform the pass rush by giving the Colts a true difference-maker off the edge. Latu led the Colts with 8.5 sacks in 2025, but a lot of his pressures were late in the down, and Indianapolis needs immediate pressure off the edge.
“We still think Latu has more upside, and I think we’re starting to see it,” Ballard said. “There were some close-but-no-cigar plays where he didn’t finish them. The difference between 8.5, 9 sacks and 14 sacks is some of those finishing plays. We think we can help him get over the hump there.”
Ballard also remains high on 2025 second-round pick JT Tuimoloau. Buried on the depth chart behind Paye, Ebukam and Lewis, Tuimoloau played 215 defensive snaps as a rookie, making 17 tackles, six quarterback hits and a tackle-for-loss while producing a pressure rate of 12.2%, second on the team only to Latu.
“We think he’ll take another step,” Ballard said.
The two veteran defensive ends the Colts signed in free agency profile as rotational players.
“Key, we’ve played against him a bunch, and Shane said he was disruptive, always a guy they had to game-plan against,” Ballard said. “Clemons is just tough, tough, hard-playing. Kind of the same role as what Tyquan had.”
Indianapolis has depth.
What the Colts need is a player who can inject every-down life into the pass rush. Buckner is expected to be back, but Indianapolis needs more pressure off the edge. The Colts had 26 sacks in the eight games they played with a healthy Buckner; Indianapolis recorded only 13 in the nine after he suffered his neck injury.
Without an obvious upgrade like Hendrickson available — Vikings star Jonathan Greenard is expected to stay on Minnesota’s roster, head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Monday — Indianapolis may have to take an “all hands on deck” approach like 2023, when the Colts broke the Indianapolis-era record for single-season sacks with 51, even though Ebukam’s 9.5 was the highest individual mark.
Ballard believes the Colts have a handle on what defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo needs.
“Schematically, after being with Lou for a year, understanding what he needs to be successful, is a big part of it,” Ballard said. “Understand the question, especially when you’re going with unproven guys.”
Another unproven guy might be the key.
The 2026 NFL Draft is deep at defensive end, and even though the Colts do not hold a first-round pick, Ballard has not been shy about using the second round to add defensive ends. Indianapolis has drafted Kemoko Turay, Lewis, Ben Banogu, Dayo Odeyingbo and Tuimoloau in the second round, and even though that’s a mixed bag of results, Ballard will likely be unafraid to try again.
“We like the depth we’ve acquired,” Ballard said. “Now, we’ll see going forward what we need to do.”
The Colts need to add another defensive end.
Where that player ends up coming from is the big question.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts pass rush: How GM Chris Ballard is trying to improve the unit
Continue reading...
