With offseason programs now behind us, let’s take a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Indianapolis Colts. Next up are the defensive tackles.
If you missed our other positional reviews, you can find them below.
DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart form one of the better tackle duos
Both Buckner and Stewart made Pro Football Focus’ ranking of the top-32 defensive tackles in the NFL this season. Buckner fills more of the pass rusher role, although he can stop the run as well, while Stewart’s bread and butter comes against the run.
Buckner, compared to his position group last season, ranked seventh in pass rush win rate, 12th in pass rush productivity, and he was also ninth in run-stop rate.
Stewart, meanwhile, ranked seventh among all tackles in PFF’s run defense grade in 2024. He also logged the seventh-most run defense tackles and was sixth in stops.
When a defense has a steady push being produced by the interior defensive line, every other player on the field benefits from it.
The depth behind Stewart and Buckner is a question mark, however
As good as Buckner and Stewart are, the depth behind them is a big unknown, and at a position like defensive tackle, where four or sometimes five players see snaps in a game, depth is crucial.
Last season, Taven Bryan and Raekwon Davis, who filled those depth roles, each ranked near the bottom of the NFL in PFF’s pass rush win rate and run top rate metrics.
To help remedy that, GM Chris Ballard reshaped the middle portion of the depth chart by letting Bryan and Davis go, along with adding Neville Gallimore, Tim Smith, and bringing back Eric Johnson. Lou Anarumo’s more aggressive defensive scheme, which will feature more movement up front, should hopefully provide a boost as well.
This trio of new additions joins Adetomiwa Adebawore, with the four of them competing for playing time behind Buckner and Stewart. Competition is a good thing; however, questions will linger and we won’t know if the play of these rotational defenders has improved until we see otherwise on Sundays.
A big year for Adetomiwa Adebawore
I don’t want to quite call this a make-or-break year for Adebawore, but he’s entering his third NFL season and has played a very minimal role on defense up to this point.
During his first two seasons, Adebawore has played just 269 total defensive snaps, most of which have come during more obvious passing situations.
This year more than last, there seems to be more playing time that is up for grabs at this tackle position, and seeing Adebawore capitalize on that opportunity would be a great step in the right direction.
Impact from a late Day 3 draft pick?
The expectation in the NFL isn’t that a late Day 3 draft pick is going to come in and make an immediate impact. However, Smith has the opportunity to do that.
As already mentioned, there is playing time up for grabs, and Smith, with his skill set and what he was asked to do at Alabama, could earn some of those opportunities as a backup run-defending presence behind Stewart.
Smith also lined up across multiple gaps while at Alabama, and that element is an important aspect of playing along the defensive line in Anarumo’s defense.
“I think what’s unique about him is his ability to play blocks,” said assistant director of college scouting Jamie Moore via the Indy Star. “It’s something that (defensive coordinator) Lou (Anarumo) talked about when he got here, explaining how this defense is going to operate up front.”
What to know about free agent addition Neville Gallimore
A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Gallimore played his first four seasons with Dallas and was then with the Rams in 2024. The majority of his playing time has come lined up as a 3-technique, but he has experience playing across the defensive line.
Compared to other defensive tackles last season, Gallimore ranked 51st out of 120 eligible defenders in PFF’s pass rush productivity metric. He was also 133rd in run-stop rate.
Gallimore flashed his playmaking abilities during the playoffs last year with the Rams, totaling three sacks and five run-stops while only being on the field for 45 snaps over those two games.
“You do what’s asked of you, and sometimes you’ve got to be a jack of all trades,” Gallimore said in his introductory press conference. “And I feel like what I brought in the playoffs, I’m looking to expand on that, to bring that coming out through the start of the season and to carry it forward. I was given an opportunity to contribute and make impactful plays, and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing here.”
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Indianapolis Colts position review after minicamp: Buckner, Stewart and the DT depth
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
