What will Colts' Ballard spend to address defensive end in free agency?
· Yahoo Sports
If the Indianapolis Colts want to address the defensive end position in free agency, what might GM Chris Ballard have to spend?
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This is arguably the Colts' biggest position of need this offseason.
In one respect, the Colts simply need depth here. Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis, and Kwity Paye. Beyond that, as GM Chris Ballard said when discussing the defensive front, the Colts need "more fuel" up front.
Particularly from the defensive end position, the Colts struggled to generate steady pressure beyond Laiatu Latu. As a unit, Indianapolis finished the season ranked 30th in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric.
Latu was the only Colts' defensive end to rank in the top 50 in quarterback pressures and in the top 65 in pass rush win rate, according to PFF.
In part, the Colts' overall pressure numbers look okay because of the sheer number of opportunities they had to get after the quarterback with the defense playing with multi-score leads throughout the first half of the year. But from an efficiency standpoint, or when pressure was needed at a key moment late in a game, the Colts weren't effective enough.
So, to get an idea of what the defensive end market might look like for the Colts, using Pro Football Focus' free agency big board, below are some free agent options at this position, along with some contract projections.
Contract projection for free agent defensive ends in 2026
- Trey Hendrickson: One year, $21M
- Odafe Oweh: Four years, $77M
- Jaelan Phillips: One year, $15M
- Boye Mafe: Three years, $49M
- Joey Bosa: One year, $11M
- Khalil Mack: One year, $14M
- Jadeveon Clowney: One year, $10M
- Dre'Mont Jones: Two years, $20M
- Arnold Ebiketie: Two years, $16M
- Cameron Jordan: One year, $7.5M
- K'Lavon Chaisson: Three years, $45M
- Kwity Paye: Two years, $20M
- Dante Fowler Jr.: One year, $6M
The Colts are positioned fairly well from a salary cap perspective to again be more aggressive this offseason in free agency, which it sounds like is the approach that Ballard will take.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: NFL free agency: Defensive end contract projections for Colts