The Indianapolis Colts defense was a unit that showed immense promise throughout the season and even enjoyed a nice stretch that featured them leading the way into the second half.
However, there was a lot of inconsistent play from the unit in 2019. That mostly comes from being an extremely young unit. The group is heading in the right direction and should benefit from some new additions this offseason whether they come through free agency or the NFL draft.
[lawrence-related id=38170]
The Colts had 1,034 total snaps on defense and 425 total snaps on special teams during the regular season. All snap count information is courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
We took a look at the offensive snap counts. Now, let’s take a look at the defensive and special teams snap counts for the 2019 season:
| Name | Position | Defense | % | Special Teams | % |
| Justin Houston | DE | 674 | 65.2% | 1 | .24% |
| Grover Stewart | DT | 626 | 60.5% | 157 | 36.9% |
| Denico Autry | DT | 620 | 59.96% | 79 | 18.6% |
| Jabaal Sheard | DE | 569 | 55.0% | 29 | 6.8% |
| Al-Quadin Muhammad | DE | 482 | 46.6% | 135 | 31.8% |
| Margus Hunt | DT | 450 | 43.5% | 158 | 37.2% |
| Ben Banogu | DE | 271 | 26.2% | 27 | 6.4% |
| Tyquan Lewis | DT | 225 | 21.8% | 17 | 4.0% |
| Kemoko Turay | DE | 81 | 7.8% | 10 | 2.4% |
| Trevon Coley | DT | 68 | 6.6% | 16 | 3.8% |
| Jihad Ward | DT | 28 | 2.7% | 4 | .94% |
| Carl Davis | DT | 7 | .68% | — | — |
While there are a few surprises, this group was essentially the same throughout the season. Houston led the way thanks to a strong season while Stewart emerged as a solid early-down interior defensive tackle against the run.
It was a bit disappointing for Banogu and Lewis, both of which struggled to get on the field much—one due to a limited role and the other due to injuries. Turay likely would have been near the top had he not suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5.
This is a group that could undergo some major change this offseason.