Pro Football Focus is putting together weekly rankings of each team’s defensive line unit. So, where do the Colts land on this list heading into Week 4?
After entering last week as No. 17 in these rankings, a strong performance against the Chicago Bears this past Sunday now as the Colts’ defensive line at No. 12 ahead of their matchup with the Steelers.
Despite the struggles against the run the first two weeks, PFF remains fairly high on the Colts’ overall defensive line unit, which in these rankings, has been elevated by the play of those at the front end of their defensive tackle and end rotations.
The Colts were able to generate 21 pressures and five sacks in there game versus the Bears, along with holding the Chicago run game to under 3.0 yards per carry. They’ll now face a more difficult challenge this week against the run-heavy Steelers.
These rankings are determined by the collective PFF grades for the players who are top five in snaps on each unit. For the Colts, that is Kwity Paye, Tyquan Lewis, Laiatu Latu, Grover Stewart, and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Out of 110 eligible defensive ends, Paye and Lewis both rank inside the top 30 in total pressures. Latu, meanwhile, is 14th in PFF’s pass rush win rate and is coming off a five pressure performance.
Then there is Stewart who continues to grade out extremely well as a run defender, ranking fifth among all defensive tackles in that metric from PFF. The issues that the Colts have faced against the run have often come when Stewart hasn’t been on the field.
This is a position group that GM Chris Ballard has invested heavily into because he believes that success for a defense begins in the trenches.
This offseason alone, we saw the team re-sign Stewart and Lewis, extend DeForest Buckner, draft Latu in the first round, and pick up Paye’s fifth-year option for 2025. In order for this defense as a whole to perform well, the defensive front has to be a dominant unit.