The Colts went into the offseason with a clear aim on defense: get younger and more athletic in the front seven. That mission didn’t fully land across the board, but Indianapolis did make changes, and now the bigger question is whether those moves actually made the unit better.
One of the more curious additions is Jerry Tillery, a former first-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019 who joined the Colts as a free agent this year. He last played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025, and his path around the league has reflected the same issue over and over: he hasn’t been very good.
That makes the decision by general manager Chris Ballard to bring in Tillery, along with Derrick Nnadi, hard to read. Neither player has been efficient in his career, and one or both are expected to serve as a quality backup for the Colts in 2026. Tillery, though, may be the one most in danger of being squeezed out when roster decisions are finally made.
The problem starts with what Tillery has been on defense. He has been especially rough against the run, in large part because of his tackling.
His career whiff percentage is 15.8 percent, which is a brutal number for an interior defensive lineman. He also hasn’t brought much pressure on the quarterback, finishing with 19 or fewer pressures in three of his last four seasons.
Ballard clearly sees something others haven’t, and maybe that ends up working for Indianapolis. But Tillery’s track record hasn’t shown much reason to believe he’ll be a player who helps a team win, and he doesn’t look like an upgrade on a Colts defensive line that at least held up well against the run in 2025.
The issue for Indianapolis is that the depth chart behind Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner looks crowded with players who are, at best, in a similar tier. Along with Nnadi and Colby Wooden, who arrived in the trade that sent inside linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers, the Colts have several middling options battling for backup roles. If Stewart or Buckner were to miss significant time, the defense would be in serious trouble.
There is some optimism in the group, but it doesn’t center on Tillery or Nnadi. Undrafted free agent Cameron Ball could emerge as a hidden gem.
Adetomiwa Adebawore has the tools to become an elite pass rusher and improve against the run. And Buckner and Stewart remain the sure things in the room.
For Tillery, that leaves a tough path. Indianapolis needs to make the playoffs this season, and he doesn’t look like someone who will move the needle much in that chase. When final roster cuts come at the end of August, he may be searching for another team.
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For a Colts offense that could use Pierces vertical presence, the uncertainty matters as much as the injury itself. The surgery was meant to fix something he had managed during the season, and now the real question is how much time it will take before he looks like himself again. Even with the opener circled, there is still no clean answer on when hell be back in full football shape. [Read more 🡒]