After GM Chris Ballard reshaped the Indianapolis Colts’ secondary this offseason, Pro Football Focus thinks very highly of this unit entering the 2025 season.
PFF’s John Kosko recently ranked all 32 secondary units heading into the new year, and the Colts came in at No. 10 on his list.
“The Colts are expecting bounce-back seasons from free-agent additions cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Camryn Bynum,” wrote Kosko. “Ward had consistently graded as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks before a down year in 2024, while Bynum has proven capable of steady play at the pro level.
“Cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Kenny Moore return as dependable contributors, and safety Nick Cross posted a 70.3 grade in his first season as a full-time starter.”
Why fans should be optimistic about the Colts’ secondary in 2025
This was a Colts’ secondary that ranked in the bottom third of the NFL last season in completion rate allowed, opponent passer rating, pass deflections, and yards per pass attempt surrendered.
To remedy this, Ballard spent big in free agency to bring in cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Cam Bynum. Beyond the individual production that each player brings to the Colts’ secondary, both are excellent fits for Lou Anarumo’s defensive scheme.
Ward is more than comfortable operating on an island and can match up with a variety of different wide receiver skill sets. Anarumo has already mentioned the possibility of Ward shadowing the opponent’s top wideout this season.
Bynum, meanwhile, can operate in a number of different roles and be moved around the secondary. This ability fits well with what will be a more disguise-heavy scheme under Anarumo.
“Another guy that’s got a bunch of different skill sets that can help us,” Anarumo said of Bynum. “He started out as a corner, so he’s got some coverage ability. He’s always been able to take the ball away. He’s been a consistent tackler. He’s super smart. He’s played in a few systems, so he has a good feel for a little bit of everything, just in terms of not one particular defense.”
New Colts’ defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo can help improve the play of the secondary
While those additions will be what stands out most about this new-look secondary, not to be overlooked is the boost that Anarumo and his scheme can provide.
This will be a more aggressive and, as mentioned, disguise-heavy defense that will hopefully put defenders in better positions to make plays on the ball, not to mention that the variety of looks that Anarumo will throw at quarterbacks can cause some chaos.
“Really the aggressive mindset,” Bynum said of Anarumo’s defense when asked how it compares to Brian Flores’ defense. “That’s one thing that they share and they have in common, and that’s the mindset that I love to have on defense.
“That we’re going to send pressure, that we’re going to mix things up, variations of everything, but at the end of the day we want to go down with our best guys being aggressive and that’s the mindset I like to have. I don’t want to sit back and just let things happen in front of us, I want to be able to command the offense to be able to do what we want them to do.”
Along with these additions that the Colts made this offseason, there will also be improved competition on the back end as well, particularly at cornerback, where Ballard also brought in veteran Corey Ballentine, along with drafting Justin Walley and Hunter Wohler, who can fill a hybrid safety/linebacker role.
Increased competition can often elevate urgency, which then lifts the level of play throughout a position group.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts’ new-look secondary ranked among best in 2025 by PFF