Former UCLA Bruins cornerback Alex Johnson impressed in his performance for the Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens this past weekend. Now comes the big question: Can he ensure a spot on the 53-man roster, due to the Colts’ current corner situation? Johnson had an athletic interception to start the preseason for the Colts. Despite being a former undrafted free agent, has a chance to make the roster and become a success story for the Colts’ 2025 season.
His best chance of doing that is taking advantage of his opportunities. Due to the amount of injuries Indianapolis has faced in the secondary, he has more chances to do so.
According to Colts Wire, the Colts faced an injury to their third-round rookie cornerback that will have Justin Walley miss the upcoming season with an ACL injury.
Now Kenny Moore II, the starting nickelback on the Colts’ unofficial depth chart, suffered a knee injury in practice on Sunday, but it isn’t expected to be serious, according to Colts Wire, which went on to state that Jaylon Johnson and JuJu Brents are both sidelined with hamstring injuries, leaving the Colts’ secondary extremely thin. Due to the uncertainty, multiple corners are getting starts across from their 2023 NFL Second-Team All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward.
Johnson needs to take advantage of the situation and show an understanding of the scheme. His willingness to tackle is important, especially for a nickel getting opportunities on the outside due to injury.
He needs to use this time getting starts on the outside as a way to show he can move to the outside and play across from Ward or, at the very least, show he is one of the best options they have on their current active roster. Ward was on the San Francisco 49ers last year. Across from him was Deommodore Lenoir, who stands at 5-foot-10, according to ESPN.
The Colts have Johnson listed at six feet tall. With Lenoir proving to be a starting corner in the NFL, especially in 2023 when he and Ward helped the 49ers get to the Super Bowl as the starting corners, his height should not limit him.
As stated in UCLA Wire’s previous article about Johnson, “If he for some reason does not make the 53-man roster, he will have a chance to make it on another team’s roster.”
For that exact reason, as long as he continues to battle and show understanding of the roster, his height should not limit him to just being a nickel, although he has already shown a lot of promise in a short time and should make an NFL roster this year.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: What does UCLA’s Alex Johnson have to do to make the Colts’ roster?
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
