Most essential Colts, No. 10: JuJu Brents will have a massive role for a rookie

[JAFF]

Most essential Colts, No. 10: JuJu Brents will have a massive role for a rookie

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...s/70345956007/

In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be ranking the 10 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2023. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.

To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:


1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?

2. What does the Colts' 2023 ceiling become if this player hits his?

The elephant in the room for 2023, of course, is the presence of a rookie quarterback. The growth of Anthony Richardson will matter more than the win-loss record, so this year's list will focus more on future value than it has in other years.

We kick off the list today with No. 10, JuJu Brents.

Julius Brents was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection at cornerback last season for Kansas State.
10. JuJu Brents, cornerback

Position: Cornerback

Age: 23

Experience: 1st NFL season

Why he's here: It's not easy for a rookie to crack this list at a position other than quarterback, or when he comes outside of the first round. Upside is limited for first-year players, and teams usually try to cultivate environments where they aren't asked to carry that much of the team. But that is not going to be the case with second-round pick JuJu Brents.


Partly due to choices like trading Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys and partly due to unforeseen circumstances like Isaiah Rodgers Sr.'s suspension and release due to violating the NFL gambling rules, Brents has absorbed the highest expectations at a premium position before he's stepped on a practice field. The Kansas State product and Warren Central graduate is easily the favorite to be the Colts' No. 1 outside cornerback, which is an enormous responsibility in a passing league -- one they filled with a five-time Pro Bowler like Stephon Gilmore just a year earlier.

The Colts are on a different timeline now, and it's about growing young players at core positions and building out a defense around them. Brents is going to become one of those if he can live up to his talent. At 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds, he has the length and physicality to fit like a glove in Gus Bradley's Seattle-style defense that features heavy press-man coverage. With vertical jump, broad jump and three-cone times in the top 3% of all cornerback prospects since 1987, he has the potential to become more than just a scheme fit, too. He has the upside to become a star in his hometown.


He's only a rookie, and he's missing parts of the offseason program with a wrist injury. He can't be expected to hit that upside right away, and the lack of 2023 upside caps him on a list like this.

But if Brents doesn't perform well in this spot, it's hard to see how the Colts will hold other passing games in check. Right now, Indianapolis' other options at cornerback are fifth-round rookie Darius Rush, seventh-round rookie Jaylon Jones and second-year undrafted players Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker. None of those players offer the size, speed and playmaking ability of Brents, who picked off four passes as a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection on a Kansas State team that won the league title.



RELATED: Julian Blackmon has a new role -- and it's much bigger than the safety position

He'll be placed in some island situations, too. A veteran nickel like Kenny Moore II will help, but Indianapolis' safeties include a second-year player in Rodney Thomas II and a strong safety in Julian Blackmon who is trying a new position. Brents will see one of the toughest tasks in the NFL: guarding No. 1 receivers like Ja'Marr Chase, Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans and DaVante Adams.

Like with the other rookie who will wind up on this list (spoiler alert), what matters more for Brents than the performance will be the growth, maturity, experience and upside he's able to gain. If he hits, he'll skyrocket up this list in coming seasons.T