Pro Football Focus’ initial top 50 list of 2025 free agents included two Indianapolis Colts players in Will Fries and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Since the regular season has ended, PFF has gone and expanded that list to the top 100 free agents this offseason, and now included are two more Colts players.
Coming in at No. 81 is center Ryan Kelly and at No. 92 is safety Julian Blackmon.
Kelly appeared in 10 games this season, missing time at various points with a neck injury and then being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
When on the field, he was again a steady presence for the Colts’ offense. In ESPN’s pass block win rate metric, Kelly ranked 10th among all centers.
In the run game, Jonathan Taylor averaged 5.0 yards per rush with six touchdowns when running to the direct right or left of the center this season, according to PFF’s metrics.
Blackmon, meanwhile, transitioned back to free safety from the strong safety spot early in the 2024 season after he had a career year at strong safety in 2023.
The reason for this was because he suffered a shoulder injury in the Colts’ Week 1 matchup against Houston, and there is less contact at free safety. The hope was that this move would keep Blackmon on the field this season, which it did. He will, however, now require surgery on the shoulder this offseason.
Compared to his 2023 season, Blackmon’s production took a step back in several categories, which in part, came with moving from strong safety to free safety, but we would be naïve to think that the shoulder injury didn’t also play a role as well.
Blackmon finished the year with 84 tackles, three interceptions, and one pass breakup, while allowing 16.8 yards per catch in coverage.
If I had to guess, I would say that neither Kelly nor Blackmon returns to Indianapolis in 2025. The Colts seemingly planned ahead for Kelly’s free agency when they drafted Tanor Bortolini, who performed well when called up. When it comes to Blackmon, the safety position as a whole needs a revamping.