Insider: A sleeper emerges on Colts defensive line

WESTFIELD — R.J. McIntosh is trying to focus on the task at hand, trying to keep the big picture out of his mind.

But he has been in the NFL long enough to know that he has to make good on this chance, this opportunity to finally play in a defense that suits his talents.

Maybe his best chance.

“Every day in the league is a blessing, but this year, I think is a turning point in my career,” McIntosh said. “Last year, I was on the (practice) squad, and this year, I’m praying and hoping that’s not the case. I’m doing everything I can to make that not the case.”

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McIntosh has spent most of his career playing in systems that didn’t necessarily feel natural.

A fifth-round pick by the Giants in 2018, McIntosh found himself thrown into a 3-4, a defense New York likely believed would fit McIntosh perfectly because of his length. The big defensive tackle stands 6-5 and has 34-inch arms, the sort of dimensions long coveted by 3-4 teams because long arms can help defensive linemen occupy multiple blockers.

McIntosh hadn’t played in that style of defense before.

When McIntosh was at Miami, the Hurricanes played an attacking, penetrating style up front, asking defensive tackles like McIntosh to knife into the backfield and make plays. New York needed McIntosh to hold up blocks.

The young defensive lineman tried to make the transition.

But it was far from a perfect fit. McIntosh played in six games as a rookie, 12 in his second season and didn’t play in his third despite spending the entire season on the 53-man roster. Three years into his Giants career, McIntosh had just two sacks, both in 2019, and the Giants cut him halfway through training camp last year.

McIntosh spent the rest of training camp with defensive line-rich New Orleans, only to be released in the team’s final cutdown, then caught on with Green Bay’s practice squad in late September and spent the rest of the season with the Packers, another 3-4 team.

Fighting back the frustration, McIntosh tried to keep his eyes on the prize.

“When I was with Green Bay, I wasn’t thinking about anything else, I was thinking about where I was,” McIntosh said. “I was thinking about what I had to do to get on the field. That’s what my mindset was when I was there.”

Free to sign elsewhere in the offseason, McIntosh choose the Colts in February, days after Indianapolis hired Gus Bradley to be the team’s new defensive coordinator.

Bradley brought in the attack front, a penetrating style of defensive line play based on getting off the ball and into the opposing backfield. Under Bradley and position coach Nate Ollie, the Colts defensive line isn’t supposed to worry about reading blocks or occupying blockers.

The goal is to get off the line of scrimmage and go.

The way McIntosh played when he made himself into an NFL prospect in the first place.

“Played this style of defense in college at Miami, so I was excited,” McIntosh said. “The system, the playing style, getting up the field, a penetrating defensive line.”

He spent his offseason getting ready.

For four seasons, he’d played at 305 pounds, intent on being too heavy for double teams to move. McIntosh dropped more than 10 pounds this offseason, slimming down to 292, getting back some of the first step that first caught the NFL’s eye.

“It’s not a big difference,” McIntosh said. “But it is a difference.”

McIntosh felt sharp, fresh. For the first time in years, he didn’t feel sluggish coming out of his stance, and he started realizing that his length could be used for more than just occupying blockers.

“I took things for granted,” McIntosh said. “But that’s a plus. A lot of defensive tackles don’t have these long arms.”

DeForest Buckner has them.

Buckner’s arms are actually 3/8 of an inch longer, and he’s always been a disruptive, penetrating force, but never more effective than he was while playing in Robert Saleh’s attack front in San Francisco.

McIntosh finally had an example to follow.

“Using my hands and using my length has been the No. 1 thing I’ve been trying to learn,” McIntosh said. “Like Buck, for instance, he’s always coaching me on using my length and my hands. I’m still learning, but that’s the thing I’m trying to master.”

McIntosh has been a surprising development for the Colts this offseason.

When Buckner opened training camp with a back injury, it was McIntosh stepping into the starting lineup at defensive tackle next to Grover Stewart. He built momentum fighting for a roster spot in a crowded battle at tackle that includes a pair of rookies (Eric Johnson and Curtis Brooks), a former Patriot (Byron Cowart) and a long-time developmental Colt who made the roster as a sleeper last season (Chris Williams).

McIntosh has been able to hold that role so far, teaming with Johnson as the first two tackles up after Buckner and Stewart left Saturday’s preseason opener against Buffalo.

“He knows how to play in the 3-(technique), he can play the 1, he can play end,” Stewart said. “R.J., that’s my dog.”

McIntosh has been quick off of the ball, relentless in his pass rush in 1-on-1 drills, battling for the roster spot he needs.

Whatever he looked like in the 3-4 defense, McIntosh has looked like a great fit in Bradley’s scheme at Grand Park.

“Sometimes you’ve got to have a system you believe in,” defensive line coach Nate Ollie said. “I think he just has faith in the system, believing in it, and you see him showing up.”

McIntosh is hoping it’s enough to get him back on a 53-man roster this season.

Back on the field, chasing after quarterbacks.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: R.J. McIntosh emerges as a sleeper on defensive line