Colts' Johnathan Edwards Slowly Earning Role on Defense

The Indianapolis Colts' cornerback room has been decimated by injuries and poor play this season. A position that seemed like a strength coming into the year has been worn down to a nub just over a month into the year.

Luckily, undrafted cornerback Johnathan Edwards has been a bright spot in his very limited role through five games.

The Colts' cornerback situation looked promising coming into the summer. Charvarius Ward was the big ticket free agent signing, Jaylon Jones was coming off a strong second season, Justin Walley looked like a steal in the third round, and players like JuJu Brents and Samuel Womack III looked poised to fill out the depth on the roster. Unfortunately, from there, disaster struck the room.

Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Cam Bynum (blue and white uniforms) greet each other after a big play is made. — Oct 5, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts safety Cam Bynum (0) high fives cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) after an interception against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

While Ward has remained healthy at the top of the roster thus far, the rest of the room hasn't been as lucky. Jones went down with a hamstring injury late in camp and reaggravated the injury in week one against the Miami Dolphins.

Walley went down with a torn ACL early in August and went on season-ending injured reserve. Womack and Brents were deemed to not be scheme fits, as both players were waived in final cutdowns.

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With the entire room essentially being reworked (and I didn't even mention the Xavien Howard signing and retirement in that group of players), the Colts are now relying on Mekhi Blackmon and Edwards to hold down the fort on the outside. Blackmon has been up and down as the starter, but Edwards has shown real promise in his limited, sub-package role thus far.

Colts UDFA Johnathan Edwards is a player that caught my eye in the pre-draft process. Insane H/W/S specimen at 6'1" 200 pounds 32.5" arms and a 4.39 second forty time.

He has the goods, just needs time to develop. Long term project with fun upside pic.twitter.com/uyDsZ67WQl
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 1, 2025

Edwards has appeared in 28 snaps over the past three weeks, logging a season-high 17 in the win over the Raiders. He may be the Ashton Dulin of the defense, a specialist designated to a handful of snaps per game, but he has been clutch in those snaps.

He has already logged two pass break-ups on third down this season and has been outstanding in man coverage when called upon.

Another notable factor in all this is how difficult it is for young, inexperienced players to find a role on Lou Anarumo's defense. He is infamously strict with young players and won't hesitate to pull the plug if a role players struggles. Even when asked about Edwards' play as of late, Anarumo had cautious praise for the young cornerback:

"Johnathan (Edwards), knock on wood, has done some good things as well. He's a young guy, undrafted guy, who's still trying to find his way in the league. Super, super young. He's a talented guy. So, I'm happy he had a big pass breakup on a deep ball. So, that position requires a lot of things, but confidence is at the top of the list. So, I'm happy that those guys did well."

While Anarumo may be mincing about how he feels about Edwards, he can't hide the fact that the young player is doing everything asked of him so far this season. Even if he hasn't fully gained the trust of the coaches quite yet, they clearly see a long term role for him with this team.

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