In recent years, the Indianapolis Colts have trotted out young and inexperienced defensive backs to start at their safety positions. Dating back to the 2020-21 season, there have only been a few instances where a veteran safety starts in the Colts’ defensive backfield.
The unit in question has featured better-than-expected outputs from a number of the following players, though plenty’s been left to be desired. Since 2020, here’s how Indy’s starting safety tandem (or group) has looked each year:
2020: rookie Julian Blackmon, second-year Khari Willis
2021: third-year Khari Willis (10 starts), eleven-year veteran Andrew Sendejo (10 starts), fourth-year special teamer (7 starts), second-year Julian Blackmon (6 starts)
2022: ten-year veteran Rodney McLeod (15 starts), third-year Julian Blackmon (11 starts), rookie Rodney Thomas II (10 starts)
2023: fourth-year Julian Blackmon, second-year Rodney Thomas II
2024: fifth-year Julian Blackmon, third-year Nick Cross
Fast-forward to the 2025 off-season and the Colts have three rostered safeties in Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas II, and Daniel Scott.