One of the best in the business when it comes to the NFL draft is Daniel Jeremiah, who was recently asked about the Indianapolis Colts and their need at cornerback.
“There’s some interesting names there that I think would fit
what they’re doing,” said Jeremiah.
As GM Chris Ballard said after the season, the Colts’ play in the secondary–at both cornerback and safety–has to get better.
Last season, Indianapolis would rank 20th or worse in completion rate, passer rating, pass deflections, and yards per pass attempt allowed–giving up too many big plays.
The first two early-round options at cornerback that Jeremiah mentioned for the Colts were Ole Miss’ Trey Amos and Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish.
This past season, Amos’ first at Ole Miss, he allowed a completion rate of only 52% and just 8.8 yards per catch. He also had three interceptions with an impressive 10 pass breakups.
Parrish, meanwhile, is a two-year starter for the Wildcats and during that span, allowed a completion rate of 53% and saw his yards per catch allowed in 2024 plummet from 14.9 yards per catch to just 9.3. He also tallied five interceptions and 10 pass breakups over those two seasons.
A prospect who has the tools, as Jeremiah put it, but may need some time to develop is Iowa State’s Darien Porter.
“In terms of having some tools,” Jeremiah said, “some raw tools to work with, but you have to be a little bit patient, Darien Porter from Iowa State, height, weight, speed. He can play the ball down the field. He just is a little bit tight, but you have some things to work with there.”
Porter has just 694 career defensive snaps, 425 of which came this past season. He would allow only five completions on 17 targets and had excellent ball production given the lack of opportunities with three interceptions and two pass breakups.
The last prospect Jeremiah mentioned was Cal’s Nohl Williams–a more ready to play cornerback option for the Colts.
“Another Cal kid, Nohl Williams, who has a ton of
production, and I think is ready to play right away,” added Jeremiah. “You can watch the Auburn game with him. I think he had three picks in that game. Picked off Cam Ward. A pick-6 against Cam Ward in that game. Feisty, physical. Maybe a little quicker than fast. We’ll see what he runs, but he is another one kind of in that third, fourth round range.”
Williams is a very experienced player with over 3,300 career snaps on defense and surrendered a completion rate of just 57% over his career. As Jeremiah notes, Williams ball production was superb, with 14 interceptions and 21 pass breakups.
With versatility and the ability to disguise coverages vital to Lou Anarumo’s scheme, a more experienced player in the secondary could provide a bigger impact right away. So for this reason, the Colts attempt to address cornerback in free agency is very much in play as well.