The hair speaks. Tip to Kuharsky
Crucial influx: At 30 years old, and given the thousands of reps he’s piled up, you’d think Dwight Freeney might be slowing down some. But witness his 13.5 sacks last year, and his impressive performance on a bad ankle in the Super Bowl, and you still see a player capable of changing game plans. Now, the Colts have added Jerry Hughes, arguably the best pure pass-rusher in the entire draft. He could be an effective pinch-hitter in lots of situations for either Freeney or Robert Mathis. Even with the loss of Raheem Brock, the Colts should have a chance to improve on the 34 sacks they racked up in 2009, which left them tied for 16th in the league. But Hughes might be less important than the corner depth the team added well after he was selected.
The question mark: Jerraud Powers was a surprise as a rookie contributor last year, performing well beyond his years and pretty dependably from early in the season. But both he and Kelvin Hayden dealt with injury hiccups in 2009, and the secondary depth remains a question. Kevin Thomas was largely seen as an underachiever at USC, and he would have been needed to be able to play well in nickel situations early in his career, but now he’s out with an ACL. (The Colts also liked later pick Ray Fisher, out of Indiana.) And if the Colts face what seems like a routine injury to Bob Sanders — he’s played in six or fewer games in four of six NFL seasons — this secondary will look soft. Indy was in the middle of the pack against both the pass and the run, and after years of consistently low draft slots — a product of success — the roster isn’t quite as deep as it has been.
Next April’s pick, now: Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
A fluid talent out of Texas, expect to hear more about a guy who helped make Earl Thomas‘ job easier in that secondary.
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