Following the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the New York Jets, we have Sunday’s snap count figures. So what stood out.
At this stage of the season, now over the halfway mark, there isn’t going to be a lot that stands out from a playing time stand point, given that we have a good idea of where things stand playing time-wise and rotation-wise for most of the position groups.
But even so, each week, there are still a few noteworthy takeaways to make from these figures.
With help from Pro Football Focus, here are the Colts’ snap count figures from Week 11, along with a few quick thoughts:
Colts snap count figures on offense
| Quenton Nelson | G | 70 |
| Braden Smith | T | 70 |
| Dalton Tucker | G | 70 |
| Matt Goncalves | T | 70 |
| Anthony Richardson | QB | 70 |
| Tanor Bortolini | C | 70 |
| Jonathan Taylor | HB | 63 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | WR | 61 |
| Alec Pierce | WR | 56 |
| Josh Downs | WR | 48 |
| Kylen Granson | TE | 32 |
| Mo Alie-Cox | TE | 28 |
| Andrew Ogletree | TE | 25 |
| Ashton Dulin | WR | 16 |
| Adonai Mitchell | WR | 12 |
| Trey Sermon | HB | 5 |
| Tyler Goodson | HB | 2 |
| DeForest Buckner | DI | 1 |
| Grover Stewart | DI | 1 |
Quick takeaways
– The Colts chose not to bolster their running back depth during the offseason. Last week, we saw the impact of that as the Colts wanted to utilize their backs in the passing game, but it wasn’t all that effective. This week we are seeing the ramifications of that decision in Jonathan Taylor’s workload, with him playing 63 snaps, while Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson combined for seven. Even over the course of the rest of the season, that’s a lot of snaps on Taylor’s plate if this is maintained.
– Yes, you read that correctly–Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner each had an offensive snap. At the Jets’ one-yard line, Buckner and Stewart lined up in the backfield on a play where the ball was handed off to Taylor. Unfortunately, Taylor didn’t find the end zone, but Anthony Richardson ran it in on the next play.
– I wrote about this prior to the game, but Mitchell needs more than 12 snaps. I get it, Ashton Dulin provides more stability, but as we saw on Mitchell’s catch and run, he provides added juice to the offense. Like any young player, Mitchell needs reps to improve, and right now, the Colts are elongating that learning curve.
Colts snap count figures on defense
| Julian Blackmon | S | 52 |
| Zaire Franklin | LB | 52 |
| Nick Cross | S | 52 |
| Jaylon Jones | CB | 52 |
| Kenny Moore II | CB | 50 |
| E.J. Speed | LB | 50 |
| DeForest Buckner | DI | 42 |
| Dayo Odeyingbo | ED | 41 |
| Samuel Womack III | CB | 41 |
| Kwity Paye | ED | 37 |
| Laiatu Latu | ED | 36 |
| Grover Stewart | DI | 25 |
| Raekwon Davis | DI | 11 |
| Grant Stuard | LB | 11 |
| Taven Bryan | DI | 10 |
| Isaiah Land | ED | 5 |
| Rodney Thomas II | S | 3 |
| Chris Lammons | CB | 2 |
Quick takeaways
– The Colts played a heavy dose of nickel in this game. We know this because Grant Stuard–the defense’s third linebacker–played only 11 snaps while Samuel Womack played 41.
– The defense has been much better at generating pressure since DeForest Buckner returned from IR. Gus Bradley has also had Buckner out there for a large number of the defensive snaps. He played 81 percent of the snaps on Sunday, which is a higher amount for a more heavily rotated position.
– Laiatu Latu saw a larger workload as well. Typically, he has been the third defensive end in terms of snap counts–and he still was against the Jets–but that difference was negligible.
– Raekwon Davis played just 11 snaps.