The Colts have enough problems in the middle of their defense without adding another one.
That’s why Mazi Smith should not be on Indianapolis’ radar, even after the Jets cut him loose ahead of Sunday’s final cutdown. Smith was a first-round pick in 2023, taken 26th overall by Dallas in an effort to firm up a shaky run defense.
He got 20 starts over his first two seasons with the Cowboys before becoming part of the trade that sent Quinnen Williams to Dallas. New York took a swing on him, hoping a change of scenery could revive a career that had gone quiet.
Instead, the Jets ended that experiment after Smith was mostly invisible at the end of 2025.
There’s no mystery about why another team will take a look. Smith is 6’3”, 337 pounds, only 25, and still carries the kind of physical traits that once made him a first-round pick.
He was a force at Michigan, where his size, power, and lateral agility pointed to a player who could wreck run games. The issue is that none of that has really carried over to the NFL.
His Pro Football Focus grades as a run defender in his first three seasons tell the story, and they tell it brutally. His best grade came in 2024, when he started for the Cowboys, and even that was 35.9 against the run.
That’s not just underwhelming. That’s rough, and among the worst in the league.
Indianapolis doesn’t need to chase that kind of project. The Colts’ preseason has already shown how fragile the defense looks behind its starters.
The backups have been shaky almost everywhere, and the defensive tackles have been especially exposed. Opponents have run right at the Colts through three preseason games, and the interior has not held up even against second-string competition.
Chris Ballard has already signed veteran bodies like Jerry Teillery and Derrick Nnadi to fight for spots, but neither has clearly separated from the younger players. That’s where the focus should stay.
Adetowima Adbawore looks like the best depth option on the interior right now, while Colby Wooden, acquired in the Zaire Franklin trade, is another young piece the Colts have hopes for. Both are quicker tackles who are better suited to rushing the passer than stuffing the run, but they’re part of the group Indy needs to evaluate.
And that’s the point. The Colts need to develop their own talent before they start taking fliers on players who’ve already had one or two chances elsewhere. That’s how teams build depth in the salary cap era, how they create continuity, and how they avoid overpaying for someone else’s castoff.
There’s also a more immediate reason to stay away from Mazi Smith: the Colts already have a young defensive tackle named Smith of their own. Tim Smith, a sixth-round pick in 2025, hasn’t made his mark yet, but he did show improvement in the preseason, especially as a run defender. He’s one of the bigger players on the roster, and while he’s nowhere near as imposing as Mazi Smith, he at least looks like a player moving forward instead of standing still.
That makes the choice pretty clear. Mazi Smith would be a detour for Indianapolis, not a solution. If the Colts are going to invest in a defensive tackle, they should keep betting on the player they drafted and developed rather than handing another shot to a former first-rounder who still hasn’t shown he can deliver.
In Other News...
Colts Just Put Two Bubble Players In A Tough Spot
With the Colts closing in on their 2026 roster cut deadline, the front office quietly added another piece to the interior offensive line by dealing a 2027 sixth-round pick to Buffalo for center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. The move gives Indianapolis a deeper answer behind Tanor Bortolini and adds a player the team clearly views as capable of handling backup center duties if needed.
The timing of the trade makes the ripple effect hard to miss for the players fighting to stay on the bubble. Dalton Tucker and Jimmy Morrissey were already trying to carve out a place in a crowded competition, and Van Pran-Grangers arrival only tightens the squeeze as the Colts sort through their final decisions. For players on the margin, a late addition like this can change the math quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Have A Serious Offseason Addition Problem
Keenan Allens arrival was supposed to give the Colts a proven veteran target and a quick boost to a passing game looking for reliability. Instead, just days after being signed following his release from the Chargers, the receiver is now at the center of an offseason problem the team did not need, with his arrest on preliminary charges of DWI and DWI endangering a person coming shortly after he played in a preseason game.
The Colts have acknowledged the incident and are gathering more information, leaving the organization in an awkward spot with a player it brought in earlier this month to help steady the offense. For a team trying to make one of its late-summer additions count, the next steps matter just as much as the reason Allen was added in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Trade Gamble Raises Bigger Questions About Chris Ballards Defensive Plan
The Colts made a surprising swap this week, sending linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Packers in exchange for defensive lineman Colby Wooden. On paper, it looked like a straightforward roster reshuffle, the kind of move a front office makes when it thinks it can address one spot while trimming another.
But the real intrigue is what comes next for Indianapolis. Reports indicate Wooden is expected to be released as part of roster cuts, which would leave the Colts with no lasting return for Franklin and add more uncertainty to a defense already facing questions about how it plans to rebuild the inside linebacker group and strengthen the line. For a team trying to define Chris Ballards defensive blueprint, the trade only deepens the conversation. [Read more 🡒]