Tag: juju brents

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.

The Indianapolis Colts’ secondary unit is near the of Pro Football Focus’ latest rankings heading into the 2024 season.

While PFF does acknowledge that Kenny Moore is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the game, and that Julian Blackmon is coming off a career year, it’s the uncertainty beyond those two that lands the Colts’ secondary unit at No. 28 in these rankings.

The only teams ranked lower than the Colts are Jacksonville at No. 29, followed by Washington, the New York Giants, and Arizona.

In part due to injuries, this was a Colts secondary in 2023 that had to rely heavily on several inexperienced players. This resulted in inconsistent play, specifically, surrendering too many explosive plays while also not making enough plays on the football.

However, the only outside additions to either the cornerback or safety positions this offseason came on Day 3 of the draft when the Colts selected two cornerbacks. Internally, they appear to be much more bullish about this unit than the outside is.

A healthy secondary, with JuJu Brents and Dallis Flowers on the practice field for offseason programs, along with the experience gained last season will need to be two catalysts towards improved play in 2024.

“I think they’ve grown up,” said GM Chris Ballard earlier this offseason. “It’s been fun to watch them. Once you play 16-17 games in this league, you’ve grown up to the fact where you’re no longer a rookie. So I think we’ll see better play out of them.”

There will be two starting spots up for grabs this summer during training camp in the back end of this Colts’ defense. Moore will be at the nickel, Blackmon as the strong safety, and Brents appears to be locked into one of the boundary roles, however, the free safety spot and the boundary position opposite of Brents are up for grabs.

Through offseason programs, we’ve seen Jaylon Jones getting the start over Dallis Flowers—although there is still a long way to go before anything is determined—while Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas have been sharing starting reps at safety.

“I think all those guys, obviously, we drafted two young guys, but I think with Jaylon Jones, Dallis, and JuJu, they’re long, rangy guys that are physical when they get up and press,” said Shane Steichen during minicamp.

They got good vision. I love those guys. It’s a good room. A good competition there. It’s going to be a good competition, obviously, in minicamp and OTAs, but going into training camp is going to be big for all those guys.”

Given the unknowns that the Colts face in the secondary, Brents can have one of the biggest impacts on the entire team this season by making that Year 2 leap that so many successful NFL players make.

Perhaps more so than any other young player on this Indianapolis Colts roster, a breakout season for second-year cornerback JuJu Brents would carry a massive impact.

Coming into the upcoming season, cornerback is one of the bigger question marks that the Colts have–a position group that defensive coordinator Gus Bradley called “wide open.” But a strong sophomore season from Brents would provide some much-needed stability to the position, which, when coupled with the Colts’ defensive front, could result in a formidable unit overall.

A second-round pick by the Colts in 2023, Brents dealt with injuries during his rookie season. He would miss offseason programs and a portion of training camp and then appeared in only nine games in-season.

When on the field as a rookie, Brents surrendered a completion rate of 67 percent and 14.2 yards per catch with one interception and five pass breakups.

This missed time put Brents behind from the start and left him playing catchup throughout the year.

“That part is challenging,” said Gus Bradley about Brents’ missed time last offseason. “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.”

However, now fully healthy, Brents already has a massive leg up this year compared to last because he’s able to be on the practice field, applying what he’s learning in the film room.

In addition to being healthy and focusing on his diet, contributing to what hopefully becomes a breakout year for him is the continuity of being in the same defensive system for a second season. Specifically knowing the playbook, his responsibilities, and the roles of his teammates.

Brents has also relied heavily on fellow cornerback Kenny Moore this offseason and his veteran experience:

“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.”

From the outside looking in, cornerback was perceived to be a big need for the Colts this offseason. This was a unit that gave up too many big plays and didn’t make enough plays on the football last season.

However, with GM Chris Ballard not adding to the position until Day 3 of the NFL draft, he and Shane Steichen showcased the confidence that they have in Brents – and the rest of this unit – to bounce back in 2024.

“I think all those guys, obviously, we drafted two young guys, but I think with Jaylon Jones, Dallis, and JuJu, they’re long, rangy guys that are physical when they get up and press,” said Shane Steichen during minicamp.

“They got good vision. I love those guys. It’s a good room. A good competition there. It’s going to be a good competition, obviously, in minicamp and OTAs, but going into training camp is going to be big for all those guys.”

Following Wednesday’s OTA practice, Indianapolis Colts cornerback JuJu Brents spoke with the media.

In case you missed it, here are the highlights from that conversation. To watch the full interview, click here.

– Last offseason, Brents missed OTAs due to wrist surgery he had after the 2023 NFL combine. This is his first time in the NFL being able to have a full offseason to work.

– “It’s big,” said Brents about being healthy. Brents adds that he felt behind last year during training camp because he didn’t have the banked reps from offseason programs.

– While injured last offseason, Brents was still diving into the playbook but says getting the on-field reps is what was missing.

– Heading into Year 2, Brents said he leaned on Kenny Moore, specifically, how he goes about the day-to-day, takes care of his body, and watches film. Brents also went outside of his position group for advice, talking with DeForest Buckner and Quenton Nelson.

– “We always competing,” said Brents about the cornerback room. That’s no different than last offseason. “When it’s your time, just go out there and compete to the best of your ability.”

– The way last season ended lit a fire under Brents after working back from injury but not being able to finish the season healthy. “Just making sure I’m on top of my game off the field so I can just be out there and be available for the team.”

– Brents says he’s focused on his diet and being very “intentional” with everything he does this offseason to make sure he stays healthy.

– Brents feels like he was getting comfortable last season with the defense and what opposing offenses were doing. This offseason, building upon that with reps in OTAs will be “vital.” Brents adds that he’s approaching each practice like it’s a game.

Pro Football Focus recently picked their breakout player in 2024 for each NFL team. For the Indianapolis Colts, they selected second-year cornerback JuJu Brents.

Here is what PFF had to say about Brents and why they picked him:

“There was considerable thought that Indy would add a corner early in the draft, but general manager Chris Ballard didn’t go that route until the fifth round. As a result, it’s fair to assume that the Colts have lofty goals for Brents in his second season. The former Kansas State Wildcat was up and down throughout his rookie campaign, but he should get more consistent with regular playing time.”

Injuries were an unfortunate part of Brents’ rookie season with the Colts. In-season, he was limited to nine games and eight starts. In those games, Brents allowed a completion rate of 66.7 percent at 14.2 yards per catch with an interception and five pass breakups.

As expected for a rookie who also missed time, there were ups and downs for Brents, but his upside flashed as well. He was particularly good in press-man coverage, along with his length and physicality routinely showing up on the football field.

A key aspect in Brents making a Year 2 jump will be having a healthy offseason, where he can go through OTAs, minicamp, and training camp.

It wasn’t only during the season that Brents missed time in 2023, but as a rookie, he wasn’t on the field for OTAs or minicamp and missed part of training camp as well.

As defensive coordinator Gus Bradley mentioned recently, that missed time put Brents in a difficult spot, and to a degree, this offseason, they are starting over with what they are teaching him.

“That part is challenging,” said Bradley of 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.”

Bradley also added that outside of Kenny Moore in the slot, the two starting boundary cornerback spots are ‘wide open.’ Competing for that playing time will be Brents, Dallis Flowers, and Jaylon Jones. Ultimately, it will be consistency that determines who those starters are.

Behind what should be a very disruptive front seven, the Colts have some major question marks in the secondary. This was a unit that gave up too many big plays while not making enough plays on the football.

As GM Chris Ballard mentioned, a catalyst behind what hopefully is improved play in 2024 will be the experience that this relatively young unit gained last season, along with the return of Flowers. A breakout year for Brents would be a huge development for this Colts’ defense.