Johnathan Hankins will help anchor the Indianapolis Colts defense in 2017, but should slow down a bit when assessing the unit.
As Chris Ballard took his post as the new general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, it was clear that improving an abysmal defense was first on the to-do list. He's made a concerted effort to bring in solid veterans, high-caliber rookies and even signing one of the better free agents on the market in defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins.
It'd be ludicrous to say anything other than the Colts will be markedly improved on defense in 2017. That's not a particularly impressive feat, it should be said. After all, Indianapolis were one of the worst overall units in the league a season ago. They were bad against the pass and atrocious against the run. So adding any type of quality will help them take a step forward.
However, taking a step forward from the basement of the league on defense and being a good-to-great defense are entirely different things. That's obvious to most, but apparently not to one of the Colts big additions, Hankins. In an appearance on NFL Network on Monday morning, the new arrival in Indianapolis went off the rails a bit, saying this (per NFL.com):
"Right now I feel like we got probably the best defense in the AFC," Hankins said. "On paper, it looks good, but we've got to go out there and prove it."
There's nothing wrong with being confident. And it's actually nice to see him say that they have to prove their quality on the field. However, it seems a bit absurd to say that the Colts are the best defense in the entire AFC, even on paper.
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When you look at their defensive depth chart — making a few assumptions of course — it's quite clear where the strengths of the unit lie. Hankins up front playing the nose is one of those areas. What's more, the secondary is young, but highly talented with Quincy Wilson and Malik Hooker joining Vontae Davis. Then John Simon on the edge is an underrate pass rusher that could shine in an increased role.
However, the rest of the unit is passable, not great. Some might argue that Jabaal Sheard is a plus, but he was just in New England and was a situational player for a team that was lacking consistency on the edge. Though in different situations, that's somewhat of a theme for many of their other new starters. Guys like Sean Spence and Margus Hunt aren't exactly needle-movers. They're solid veterans, but also players that weren't in high demand for a reason.
This isn't at all a damning statement on the Colts. An improved defense that gets somewhere close to league average would be huge for Indy. With what their offense is capable of with Andrew Luck, they simply need to be that. Ballard has done a great job of stepping up and helping build the team in that regard.
With that said, Hankins needs to slow his role a bit. Not only is this Colts defense unproven, but they don't have the talent of other units in the conference. Heck, they probably aren't the best defense in the AFC South. Yet, they are improved, which may be enough to get the Colts scratching at the door of the playoffs again.
