Most essential Colts No. 9: Can Kenny Moore II save the most vulnerable position?
Nate AtkinsIn 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 few weeks, we'll be ranking the 15 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2024. 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' 2024 ceiling become if this player hits his?
With the return of Anthony Richardson from shoulder surgery, the Colts’ outlook is on the future but also on the present after a 9-8 season fell a fourth-down conversion short of winning the AFC South. This list will primarily look at 2024 value, but certain players' development for the long-term can help to break ties along the way.
Here's the list so far:
12. Laiatu Latu, defensive end
14. Zaire Franklin, linebacker
Today, we look at No. 9, Kenny Moore II.
Position: Cornerback
Age: 28
Experience: 8th season
2023 stats: 93 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, 6 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks with 16 starts in 16 games
Last year's rank: Did not make list
Why he's here: Kenny Moore II's rise from an undrafted free agent to a Colts every-down cornerback has been impressive, but perhaps just as impressive is his newfound staying power through the changes.
Moore was on top of the world late in the 2021 season, when he reached his first Pro Bowl after picking off four passes and playing all 17 games. At that point, he was entering his prime after a nearly impossible rise from a waiver claim as a released undrafted free agent of the Patriots out of Division II Valdosta State.
The 2022 season was wretched for Moore, as it was for many Colts. He missed five games and did not corral a single interception. But his track record was so strong that the Colts kept believing, and he bounced right back to that Pro Bowl play with three interceptions, two defensive touchdowns and 16 games played last season.
That created the staying power of a three-year, $30 million deal, the highest in history for a nickel cornerback. And suddenly Moore is the second-most experienced starter the Colts have behind Ryan Kelly, though he's still in his prime at 28 years old.
Moore can play on the outside in base settings but is a nickel otherwise. It's a position not everyone can fill because of the run fits and discipline required, which Moore showcased last season with 92 total tackles and an average tackle depth of 1.2 yards, per Sports Info Solutions. He plays in a way that makes it nearly impossible for teams to try screens or tosses to his side.
When the Colts have had injuries on the outside, they have opted against moving Moore there, which limits his ultimate upside. Though the nickel spot can be overlooked in its value in run defense and handling traveling wide receivers, it isn't the position that can lock up an offense on the high end when the top task is defending Ja'Marr Chase, Stefon Diggs or Tyreek Hill, which will happen if the Colts reach the playoffs.
Moore has shown a lower floor than some, between injuries and that dip in play in 2022.
If Moore isn't on his A-game this season, the Colts could be in trouble. They are putting their faith in two outside cornerbacks with a combined 18 career starts, and they have nothing proven behind Moore, who has 89 career starts. Moore operates like a third safety, and losing him is a problem when there's such a mystery already at the free safety spot in addition to the second outside cornerback position.
The Colts are putting plenty on Moore in his eighth season to raise the boats of a secondary with two second-year outside cornerbacks. His impact doesn't have the highest ceiling on this list, but the Colts have learned not to take it for granted.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.