Following the 2024 NFL draft, there are still some notable free agents available, including former Miami Dolphins cornerbck Xavien Howard, who the Colts were picked as a best fit for.
Recently, Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports picked out the best landing spots for each of the top remaining free agents. Here is what he had to say about Howard and the Colts:
“The Colts could use some veteran help in the secondary with Julius Brents and Dallis Flowers as the projected starters. While it was surprising to see Indianapolis emerge from the draft without selecting a cornerback until pick No. 201, the team is primed to add one over the next month.”
From 2020 through 2022, Howard had elite-level ball production, totaling 17 interceptions and 29 pass breakups during that span. This past season with Miami, he recorded only one interception and eight pass breakups but would hold his own in coverage, allowing a completion rate of 62 percent at a career-low 11.4 yards per reception.
The cornerback position was considered one of, if not the biggest need that the Colts had entering the draft. However, they wouldn’t add to the position until the fifth and sixth rounds, selecting Jaylin Simpson and Micah Abraham, who help elevate the competition, but as of now, the expectation from the Colts shouldn’t be that they can rely on them heavily either.
Last season, the Colts weathered the ups and downs that come with leaning on an inexperienced secondary. In short, too many big plays were given up, and there just wasn’t enough ball production.
However, during his pre-draft press conference, GM Chris Ballard sounded very bullish about the Colts’ secondary, which is perhaps why they waited until the latter portion of Day 3 to add to that group.
“I think getting Dallis Flowers back will help,” said Ballard. “I think, looking back on it, when I made that statement, the injury part of it played into it, and then we gave him a bunch of rookies. Well now, they’re no longer rookies anymore. Jaylon Jones is no longer a rookie. JuJu (Brents) is no longer a rookie. Dallis Flowers we’re hoping to get back healthy. We got back Kenny (Moore) back in the mix. I think anybody within in the grand scheme of things would tell you that he’s one of the top nickels in the league.
“It’s not like these guys don’t have enough talent. Do we want to add some more? Of course. We always want to add competition. What we did was we gave him a bunch of young players without a vet presence back there other than Kenny and Julian (Blackmon).”
From a salary cap perspective, the Colts easily have the ability to make this signing work with $28.4 million in available cap space following DeForest Buckner’s extension.
Ballard also didn’t shut the door on exploring free agency either:
“Between now and the start of the season – there are still some good players out there,” Ballard said after the draft. “There’s some veterans out there that can still play. We’ll dig and investigate all of them and then make a decision if we think they are the right fit for us as we go along.”
At this stage, the Colts shouldn’t expect to get the 2020-2022 version of Howard, but he would provide some stability at a premier position and could start on the boundary opposite of JuJu Brents.
For a closer look at nine other potential cornerback or safety additions the Colts could make, click here.