Cam Bynum may not be getting the national shine he deserves, but the Indianapolis Colts safety has done plenty to earn it.
While players like Jonathan Taylor and Sauce Gardner are expected to land near the top of their positions in leaguewide rankings, Bynum didn’t show up in a recent poll of NFL scouts, coaches and executives naming the best safeties in the NFL. He wasn’t in the top 10. More strikingly, he didn’t appear to draw a single vote.
That’s a miss.
Across five NFL seasons - four with the Minnesota Vikings and one in Indianapolis - Bynum has been steady in every phase of the job. His best work may have come last season, when he missed on only 6.1 percent of his tackle attempts, a strong number for a defensive back. He also posted a quarterback rating allowed of 66.3, gave up just one touchdown pass, and picked off four passes while continuing to deliver the kind of run support that has long been one of his calling cards.
What makes Bynum so valuable is the way he blends roles. He’s a safety who can hold up against the pass, but he’s also trusted to play close to the line of scrimmage and bring an aggressive edge.
Last season, he missed on just five tackle attempts, and never more than once in any game. That kind of reliability matters, especially for a defensive coordinator trying to keep the back end clean.
It also helps that Bynum is still very much in his prime. He won’t turn 28 until July 19, which leaves plenty of runway for more high-level seasons.
And the Colts aren’t going to be moving on anytime soon. Bynum signed a four-year contract last offseason that runs through 2028 and can be worth as much as $60 million. His $15 million average annual salary now looks increasingly reasonable as the safety market keeps climbing.
That number places him 10th among NFL safeties, though Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant is right behind him at $13.33 million per year. Bryant has only two seasons of strong play on his résumé, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll match what Bynum has already shown in Indianapolis and what he should continue to provide.
Bynum is also part of the reason the Colts’ defense could take a real step forward this season. If Sauce Gardner and DeForest Buckner stay healthy and rookies like CJ Allen make an immediate impact, Lou Anarumo’s unit has a path to finishing in the top half of the league. That kind of jump would go a long way toward helping Indianapolis reach the playoffs.
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Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks and Anthony Gould are the names available to fill out the rotation, and that group may not be enough if Indianapolis wants to keep pace in a tougher passing environment. It is easy to see why the Colts would at least be linked to veteran help such as Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen or Deebo Samuel, because the front office still has a lot to sort through before this position feels like a strength. [Read more 🡒]