Most essential Colts, No. 6: Darius Leonard has a penchant for impactful plays
In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They bring security and relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be ranking the 10 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2022. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?2. What does the Colts' 2022 ceiling become if this player hits his?
Today, we're on to No. 6, Darius Leonard.
Here's the list so far:
10. Braden Smith, right tackle
6. Darius Leonard, linebacker
Position: Linebacker
Age: 26
Experience: 5th NFL season, 5th with Colts
Accolades: 58 starts in 58 games, 11 INTs, 17 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 15 sacks, 3 Pro Bowls, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections
2021 stats: 16 games, led the league with 15 forced turnovers, Pro Bowl, First-Team All-Pro selection
Top Colts players:Stephon Gilmore can take Colts defense to a place it's never been
Why he's here: The identity of the Colts' defense for the past four years has been forcing turnovers. Historically, it's the hardest stat to produce year after year, but Indianapolis has ranked in the top 10 in all four seasons, and it has so much to do with No. 53.
In four seasons since the Colts took him in the second round out of South Carolina State, Leonard has picked off 11 passes. He's forced 17 fumbles. He's recovered seven more fumbles. Again and again, Indianapolis' emotional leader has come up with the types of momentum-shifting plays that most often decide who wins or loses. He's helped them survive quarterback purgatory and remain a competitive team.
That's because he has a mix of elite speed and savvy instincts that make him a threat that opponents still have a hard time accounting for. As much as they prepare for him, Leonard is able to disguise one responsibility and float to another. He lives in the eyesight of quarterbacks in the middle of the field, and even when they throw elsewhere, he becomes a bullet after the receiver with a forceful punch of the football.
It's a tactic that just keeps working. He led the NFL with eight forced fumbles last year, and he also led it with 15 total turnovers forced. He helped a defense with barely any pass rush finish in the top 10 of Football Outsiders' DVOA metric by serving as the eraser of mistakes. And he did it all while hobbling through an ankle that just wouldn't heal.
More on Darius Leonard: 'I needed to work on me': Colts' Darius Leonard took on mental health in offseason
Leonard's play did fall off in the final two weeks, along with just about everyone on the team. He gets a pass on some level since it was largely health-related, but the ankle is also becoming a consistent concern, as it knocked him out this spring, and he had back surgery to fix a nerve connecting the two. Until the ankle is fully healed, he's at risk of missing time or being less than himself.
He should fit like a glove into Gus Bradley's Seattle-style defense, adopting the coverage roles that Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright once made famous. To maximize his value, he'll have to get back to blitzing and affecting the quarterback, like he had before last season.
If he can do that and stay healthy, he could rise to the top defensive spot on this list, which is quite a statement for a linebacker.
Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Why Darius Leonard is No. 6 among most essential players
