The Indianapolis Colts’ linebacker unit was named among the most improved units following the 2026 NFL draft.
Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker selected 10 position groups from across the NFL that improved the most during this year’s draft, and not surprisingly, the Colts’ linebacker unit was selected.
The Colts entered the draft extremely short on experience at this position. Outside of Akeem Davis-Gaither, the next most experienced player was Jaylon Carlies, who has played 244 career snaps, almost all of which now came two years ago during the 2024 season.
So GM Chris Ballard would invest multiple picks into this position and rather early one as well, taking Georgia’s CJ Allen with the Colts’ first pick in Round 2, and then Oregon’s Bryce Boettcher in Round 4.
Locker summed it up well, saying, while we don’t know how good Allen and Boettcher will be as rookies, their presence on the depth chart greatly changes the outlook of the Colts’ linebacker room.
“How effective Allen and Boettcher are as rookie linebackers remains to be seen, but it’s undeniable that Indianapolis’ unit is in a much better place after the draft,” Locker wrote.
Allen is positioned to be the Colts’ starting MIKE linebacker from Day 1. He ranked among the best in run defense over both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, according to PFF’s metrics. He’s been a very sound tackler. In coverage, he allowed 10.6 yards per catch in 2025, with three pass breakups.
Boettcher, meanwhile, should be able to compete with Davis-Gaither for the WILL linebacker role right away. He was quite good at limiting plays in coverage last season, surrendering only 6.0 yards per catch. In part, that success comes from his reliability as a tackler, and also being positioned well to make plays on the pass catchers.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts position group among most improved units in NFL following draft
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
