Indianapolis Colts

Colts rookie Parry making push for starting nose tackle job

Published Aug. 24, 2015 2:44 p.m. ET

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If Saturday's preseason game was any indication, Indianapolis Colts nose tackle Josh Chapman shouldn't feel overly comfortable in his role as a starter.

Although Chapman got the start in the loss to the Chicago Bears, rookie David Parry also saw snaps with the first-team defense as the Colts search for an anchor for the middle of their defensive line.

As ESPN's Mike Wells notes, not only did Parry replace Chapman with the starters, Chapman also played in the second half while the other starters rested.

“There's a lot of competition out there,” Indianapolis head coach Pagano said of Chapman, per ESPN. “So we're going through this preseason and evaluating everybody."

Chapman, in his fourth season in the NFL, started 15 games last season, but failed to make a major impact, finishing with 21 tackles and once forced fumbles. Indianapolis is trying to improve a run defense that finished 18th in the NFL in 2014.

Pagano said he's been impressed with what he's seen from Parry, a fifth-round pick out of Stanford.

“You get a guy that's smart, he's tough and he understands the scheme and he plays with really good technique,” Pagano said. “He's doing a nice job. He's got good movement skills. He plays square. He plays with heavy hands. He can get some knock ‘em back. When we put him on the move, he's got some quickness and some twitch about him to make some offensive guys miss. He has the ability. He had a chance to make a play in the backfield (Saturday) and the guy put a little move on him, and that's tough on any D-lineman. But he's progressing well."

(h/t ESPN)