Indy star 10/4

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Insider: Colts will choose between inexperienced CB options to replace injured starter

INDIANAPOLIS — When Dallis Flowers went down with a torn Achilles tendon in overtime Sunday, the Colts lost a starter at a cornerback position that was already thin and short on proven depth.

But the team’s plan at cornerback this season has always been to go young, and it appears the plan hasn’t changed in the wake of the injury to Flowers, who will miss the rest of the season.

Former starter Darrell Baker Jr. will compete with rookie Jaylon Jones to step into the starting lineup next to Kenny Moore II and JuJu Brents, the team’s two remaining cornerbacks, banking that the talent of the youngsters will play dividends as the season progresses.


“We’ve always felt pretty good about the youth at that spot,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “Now, it’s just the experience, where we felt like we had to bank knowledge.”

This is already the second time the Colts have been forced to change a starting cornerback spot.

Baker, a former undrafted free agent in his second NFL season — like Flowers — won the job in training camp and opened the season as the team’s starter, playing 71.4% of the snaps in the first two games.


But he struggled, allowing opposing quarterbacks to average 11.5 yards per attempt and a rating of 143.01 when throwing in his direction, according to Sports Info Solutions. As soon as the Colts felt Brents was up to speed after missing most of the offseason due to injury, the team’s second-round pick replaced Baker in the lineup. Baker has been inactive the past two weeks.

“D.J. is a true pro,” Bradley said. “It’s hard, right? You start for a couple of games, and then you’re out, but his mentality, I don’t think there was anybody more excited for JuJu when he made the play in Baltimore than D.J. He’s very mature, and he knows, just like anybody who’s a backup, you could be up in no time.”


Baker has the experience, but the struggles were impossible to ignore, leaving the door open for Jones, a seventh-round pick out of Texas A&M who has played just seven defensive snaps so far but has logged 77 snaps on special teams.

“We’re going to take a good look at Jaylon, too,” Bradley said. “And see what plays out this week.”


Barring an outside signing this week — a distinct possibility, given the team’s lack of depth at the position — the Colts coaching staff doesn’t have any other options. Veterans Tony Brown (on the 53-man roster) and Chris Lammons (practice squad) are primarily special teams assets. Indianapolis did re-sign former Falcons starter Darren Hall to the practice squad Tuesday after releasing him last week.

The Colts are going to have to find answers quickly.

Defensively, Indianapolis has played solid football through the first four weeks by relying on its pass rush, but Sunday’s 29-23 loss to Los Angeles showed the limits of that approach, particularly if key players like Pro Bowl-caliber defensive tackle DeForest Buckner are injured.

When quarterbacks have been given time to throw, they have found plenty of open receivers.

Indianapolis is giving up 7.6 yards per attempt and ranks 28th in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

“At our level, we’ve got to match what (the defensive line is) doing,” secondary coach Ron Milus said. “We’re a secondary on the come, at least in my mind. We’re young, we’ve just got to go out and do it.”

Losing Flowers hurts.

While inexperienced on his own end and inconsistent as a tackler, Flowers had been making a few plays. Flowers broke up two passes against Los Angeles, and he’d held opposing quarterbacks to 53.3% completions and just 6.1 yards per attempt throwing in his direction.


A full season might have given Flowers a chance to establish himself as a bona fide NFL cornerback.

“Nowadays, you hear about guys coming back from that and they do well, but it does check your spirit,” Bradley said. “He gets his chance, he’s starting, he’s learning, he’s playing some good ball, and then this happens. … It’s a long process. His spirit is very important.”

The Colts will have to continue to rely on the experience of Moore, who plays outside cornerback in the base, slides inside in nickel and is holding opposing quarterbacks to a rating of 67.7 despite giving up a few big gains this season.

Brents, to his credit, has provided a physical presence through two starts, but he remains a rookie, has allowed seven completions on eight attempts in his direction and made a key mistake on the final play of Sunday’s game, sticking with Moore’s receiver on the quick out rather than covering Rams star Puka Nacua, who caught the game-winning touchdown.

In Brents’ defense, Bradley believes he shouldn’t have called a blitz in that situation, and overall, Moore has done plenty to help Brents make the adjustment.

“He was communicating with JuJu, through motion and jets and everything,” Bradley said. “JuJu’s pretty sharp, now. He’s bright. … If we say, 'Hey, here’s some formations, here’s what you’ve got in this formation, it’s an automatic front and coverage,' he has no issue with that. JuJu, it’s just experience playing in those situations.”

Flowers didn’t have much more experience than Brents after playing 174 defensive snaps as a rookie, but he’d already played 304 snaps through the first four games when he went down on Sunday.

Whoever wins the battle between Baker Jr. and Jones will have considerably less experience.

And they’re going to have to get up to speed quickly to give the Indianapolis defense a chance.