Film Room: Nick Cross, Isaiah Rodgers Star in Preseason Opener
Preseason football is fairly difficult to gauge, as teams like to stick to very vanilla and basic play-calls/designs. One thing that we can actually look at, and takeaway from these games, is one on one match-ups between individual players.
With that, these games can be somewhat valuable for players in the trenches and/or players out at wide receiver or cornerback. The Indianapolis Colts have some positional battles going on at every one of those spots, so the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills provided a little clarity as to how those battles are going.
Today, we are going to focus on the defensive backs and dive into which players stood out on Saturday.
Nick Cross Excels in Limited Action
Rookie strong safety Nick Cross will likely be the Colts' starter come week one against the Houston Texans. The third round pick out of Maryland has been impressing in camp, and those strong camp performances certainly carried over to the preseason opener.
In limited action, Cross finished the day with a big run stop on third down to force a punt and two snaps where he was the main coverage man on incomplete passes. He looked fast and confident on the backend, as the rookie safety looks ready to go for week one.
While he may still rotate a bit with veteran Rodney McLeod, it is safe to say that Nick Cross will see a ton of snaps in 2022:
Isaiah Rodgers ELITE Interception
Third-year cornerback Isaiah Rodgers is the true definition of a gamer. When the lights come on for gameday, it is becoming an expectation that Rodgers will make some plays in the secondary. The preseason opener was no different.
Exactly one play after Nick Foles threw an interception, Rodgers went out and took possession right back. This was a phenomenal play, as he baited the Buffalo Bills' quarterback all the way.
Rodgers starts the rep by shading the inside of his receiver. He diagnoses the fade route quickly, and is able to get his eyes back on the quarterback as he starts to shuffle. Once Rodgers sees the ball release from the quarterback's hand, he turns and makes a wonderful pick along the sideline.
Isaiah Rodgers is an outstanding playmaker that needs to see time with the starters this season. His skillset is too valuable to keep on the bench.
Dallis Flowers Flashes in Debut
Undrafted rookie cornerback Dallis Flowers caught my eye a few times in his preseason debut. The Pittsburgh State product hardly looked out of place on Saturday, and he showed why the Colts are, internally, quite high on his athletic ability.
Flowers is still a work in progress, as his technique at the line of scrimmage could stand to improve quite a bit. The perfect example of this is on the deep catch he allowed to Bills' receiver Isaiah Hodgins (second clip in the video). Flowers is knocked off balance in press, giving Hodgins just enough space to make a diving catch along the sideline.
Still, Flowers bounced right back and made an impressive one-handed interception on a two-point conversion try just two plays later. I'm not fully buying into Flowers being a 53-man roster lock by any means, but I'm certainly intrigued by his skillset.
Marvell Tell III's Struggles
Fourth-year cornerback Marvell Tell III has had quite the interesting NFL career. After flashing as a rookie in 2019, Tell III opted out of the 2020 season. When he came back for the 2021 offseason, he just didn't look like that same promising player. He ended up missing out on the 53-man roster, and he spent a majority of last year on the practice squad.
Flash forward to this offseason and it is effectively Tell III's last chance with the Colts. He has had a strong camp up until this point, but the Bills went after him quite a bit in this game. He was beat a few times on key downs, and he looked shaky in press coverage against the Bills' backups.
This game alone isn't enough to sink Tell III's chances of making the roster, but he really needs to bounce back strong in the joint practices with the Detroit Lions this week.
Other News and Notes
Some quick notes to add before closing out this DB piece:
Cornerback Tony Brown was running as the first-team punt gunner in this game. He also appeared to be the primary backup at slot corner, which could help his chances at making the roster come cutdown day.
International defensive back Marcel Dabo only played in one snap in the preseason opener. The Colts appear to be slow playing the young DB's development in camp.
UDFA safety Trevor Denbow shined on special teams in this one, but he was less than impressive on defense. The lowlight of his day coming on a long completion allowed to the Bills' fourth-string tight end in the fourth quarter (Denbow was also flagged for a facemask call on the play).
Stock Up
- Isaiah Rodgers
- Nick Cross
- Tony Brown
- Dallis Flowers
Stock Down
- Marvell Tell III
- Anthony Chesley
- Chris Wilcox
- Trevor Denbow (on defense)
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