Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.
Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.
I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is second-year cornerback JuJu Brents. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.
2023 Season Review
Brents was a second-round pick by the Colts in 2023, and unfortunately, from the start of his time in Indianapolis, Brents was dealing with injuries, forcing him to miss offseason programs and part of training camp. Not having that valuable practice time as a rookie left him playing catchup for much of the year.
“That part is challenging,” said Gus Bradley about Brents’ missed time. “There’s still a little bit where we’re looking at him, and you can see that he’s had some experienced play, and now when you’re going through this phase of it, you’re looking back at it, and you’re saying, ‘boy, let’s start over with him here, and let’s get him back to the fundamentals and the basics.’
“It’s not so much the technique at the line of scrimmage, it’s more what are the formations, the motions, the jets, the things like that, that I think for JuJu, that’s going to be the learning curve. He missed a lot of that, even in walkthroughs and training camp.”
In-season, Brents was limited to nine games as he continued to deal with injuries. When on the field, Brents allowed a completion rate of 67 percent on 48 targets, 14.2 yards per catch, and forced one interception and five pass breakups. His passer rating when targeted was 109.1.
The Colts really like the skill-set that Brents brings to this defense as a long, rangy defender who can be physical and is comfortable playing press-man.
“At the end of the day with JuJu, he’s very talented,” GM Chris Ballard said after the season. “He cares deeply. We think he’s going to really be an excellent player, but he’s got to be healthy, and he’s got to practice – that’s how you get better. He’s a great kid and he cares. When he played, he played well.”
2024 Season Preview
There are few young players on this Colts team who can make as big of an impact as Brents can with a Year 2 leap, given the uncertainty at the cornerback position. A strong season from Brents on the boundary, coupled with having Kenny Moore in the slot and Julian Blackmon at safety will provide the Colts’ secondary with some needed stability.
Fully healthy this offseason, Brents has a massive advantage compared to where he was this time a year ago, now able to apply what he’s learning in the meeting rooms on the practice field. Brents has also leaned heavily on Moore and other veterans on this Colts’ team this offseason.
“You just piggyback and learn from all the vets, for real,” said Brents during OTAs. “The one guy I did just follow behind was K-Mo. Just trying to figure out his daily routines, even like off the field. How he goes about his daily stuff, taking care of his body. That’s big for me. Just continuing to learn how to be a pro in that aspect.”
In addition to that, Brents has focused on his diet since the season ended, and has been very “intentional” with everything he does this offseason to ensure that he is available on Sundays.
When it comes to making a jump in his sophomore season, there is also something to be said for having the continuity of being in Bradley’s system for a second year and knowing not only what his responsibilities are, but the responsibilities of his teammates as well.
“Last year, I feel like I was getting pretty comfortable,” added Brents, “just getting those experiences early on. Like even now, this year, like I said, just continuing to carry on the habit. This offseason, having these reps, which are vital, like I said, they’re like game reps the way I’ve been approaching them. So just having those reps are important, it’s big to carry on into this upcoming year.”
Earlier this offseason, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley would call the boundary cornerback positions “wide open,” but at least through offseason programs, Brents appears to be locked into one of those starting spots, with Jaylon Jones and Dallis Flowers competing for the other.