07-14-2023, 07:45 AM
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Most essential Colts No. 6: Shaquille Leonard is hungry to return
https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...s/70348863007/
Quote:
Most essential Colts No. 6: Shaquille Leonard is hungry to return to All-Pro level
IndyStar Sports
In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be ranking the 10 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2023. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?
2. What does the Colts' 2023 ceiling become if this player hits his?
The elephant in the room for 2023, of course, is the presence of a rookie quarterback. The growth of Anthony Richardson will matter more than the win-loss record, so this year's list will focus more on future value than it has in other years.
Today, we continue with No. 6, Shaquille Leonard.
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard was a three-time first-team All-Pro before he missed most of the 2022 season following back surgery.
Here's the list so far:
10. JuJu Brents, cornerback
9. Jelani Woods, tight end
8. Bernhard Raimann, left tackle
7. Quenton Nelson, left guard
6. Shaquille Leonard, linebacker
Position: Linebacker
Age: 27
Experience: 6th NFL season, 6th with Colts
Accolades: 3-time Pro Bowler, 3-time first-team All-Pro, 2018 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, 15 sacks, 12 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles
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2022 stats: Started 1 of 3 games with 11 tackles and one interception
Last year's rank:No. 6
Why he's here: At this point, there's not much debate about what Shaquille Leonard's impact on a football game can be, even from his off-ball linebacker position. The last time the three-time first-team All-Pro was healthy in 2021, he picked off four passes, forced eight fumbles and recovered two more, leading the league in forced turnovers.
The question now is whether he can get back to that outrageous athletic ceiling -- and how soon.
The 2022 season didn't go to plan for many Colts players, but it was perhaps most painful for Leonard. He underwent back surgery in June to correct a nerve issue that was affecting his calf, and admitted he rushed back to try to lift a team that was slumping out of the gate. He lasted just three games, split up between an incident that landed him a brain injury and broken nose, before the team shut him down so he could get the surgery redone.
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When Leonard is right, he's the most impactful off-ball linebacker in football. In a sport where turnovers fluctuate often year-to-year, "The Maniac" has found a way to produce them with consistency, totaling 35 over his four healthy seasons. He lives on recovery speed and instincts in coverage and a ferocious punch of the ball when players are in the open field. With his play and voice, he became the identity of the best turnover-forcing defense in football under Matt Eberflus.
Leonard didn't get to test out much of his skill set in Gus Bradley's Seattle-style scheme last year, but it could play to his range and ball skills at times. Indianapolis received career years out of Zaire Franklin and Bobby Okereke in Leonard's absence, and with Okereke gone, the Colts could use the return of their most impactful back-seven player. One of the youngest secondaries in the NFL would benefit from that play and that fire. He just breathes confidence into other players.
Whether or not he'll get back there can't be known yet. Leonard missed the offseason program as a precaution to the second surgery he underwent last November. He's intentionally taking this one slower so he can get back to his full speed, which was never on display last season.
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If he can, the Colts could have the turnovers to overcome their youth in the secondary, and those short fields could be a nice assist to a rookie quarterback and a run-centric offense. If he can't, E.J. Speed will see a big role, and the Colts could have too much inexperience on defense to overcome.
The unknowns with Leonard right now cap him a little on this list, but he'll soar back into the top five when he gets back to the player he was the day he showed up in Indianapolis.
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