Given the outcome of the 2024 season, the Indianapolis colts seem to give the head coach Shane Steichen one last blow to straighten the ship in 2025. Steichen responded by hiring a new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Allusion to major changes in alignment during the NFL 2025 interval.
Anarumo passed the previous six seasons as a defensive coordinator of the Bengals of Cincinnati. He played a major role in the appearance of the Super Bowl in 2021 of Bengals, closing Patrick Mahomes during the AFC championship match. Anarumo replaces Gus Bradley, which the colts pulled at the end of 2024 after a regressive season.
While the mini-reconstitution of the colts focuses mainly on the increase in the third year quarter-year Anthony Richardson, Steichen clearly emphasizes defense. Richardson’s difficulties periodically harm the team, but the defense of Indianapolis was their main problem all season. After a solid defensive year in 2023, the defense of Bradley classified in the last 10 In total of the points and yards authorized in 2024 while showing nothing that did it elite the previous year.
Steichen and the director general Chris Ballard seem to be content to build around young talents on the offensive list of the colts. However, the same cannot be said about the defense of the team. Anarumo’s hiring signals the start of a new era, probably leading to an abundance of personnel turnover. Indianapolis will have most of its current Hit Free Agency list in March, but the front office could take an additional look at its balance sheet to reduce and eliminate additional weight.
CB Kenny Moore II
The colts have been in the hearth difficulty for almost a decade, but almost none of this blame has never been on Kenny Moore II. Since its breakup as a recruit not drafted in 2017, Moore has become one of the best corner half of the team, winning pro Bowl recognition in 2021.
Given their secondary shortcomings, it would seem absurd for the colts to release a veteran cornerback, in particular the one that has been their highest option for years. However, Moore will be 30 years old in August, when he entered the second season of his current extension of $ 30 million over three years.
While Moore excelled in 2024 – receiving the Grade of the team half -corner players of the team Pro Football Focus – which all came to the Bradley system. Under Bradley, the colts ran the coverage of the area to a bonus. Conversely, Anarumo likes to mix her plans but tended to promote more man to man to his mandate of Bengals.
Throughout his career, Moore has always performed better in the coverage of the area than in the sets of man to single man. His 9 -inch 5 -inch frame does not allow him to line up a lot outside, and he does not have the speed to follow the fast -slunger receptors at the bottom. In particular while he enters the golden years of his career, Moore is not the player to observe the best passers -by in the League as anumo wishes.
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While the loss of Moore would hurt, the young Secondary of Indianapolis exceeded expectations in 2024. They played most of the year without the corner of the high -level corner projected Juju Brent but received unforeseen jumps by Samuel Womack III and Jaylon Jones. The colts have always ranked 26th during the passage authorized by match, but Anarumo has rooms with which to work in 2025.
Even at 29, Moore is still an asset that any defense could use. However, his talent does not correspond to the anarumo system as a player with his salary should.
Potential replacements in the list of colts in 2025 NFL Dissessment
Whether they release Kenny Moore or not, the colts will almost certainly seek a defensive help in the offseason of the NFL 2025. This could come in the project or the free agency, but the search for aid to the cornerback must be a priority from Hook or Crook.
The free agency will probably be the best bet in Ballard, in particular with the high -value names available on the market. If the colts have cut Moore, they will need a new nickelback, whose next free agency course is filled.
If Anarumo wants consistency, longtime Bengals Nickelback Mike Hilton is at the top of the list of free agents available. Hilton prospered in the anarumo system when he is healthy. Despite its advanced age – Hilton is 31 years old in March – it would be much cheaper to acquire than the current Moore contract.
Charvarius Ward and Carlton Davis III highlight the list of available contracts, but several other slightly more affordable options could better suit the colts. Byron Murphy Jr., Rasul Douglas, Kristian Fulton and Jourdan Lewis are only a handful of names that will be available in March and proven himself in similar systems.
