Colts Defender is on Track to Break NFL Records
The Indianapolis Colts are sitting at a 2-1 win-loss mark through the first three weeks of the NFL season, which puts them atop the AFC South as the only team with a winning record.
The credit is deserved all over. When healthy, quarterback Anthony Richardson looks solid. Also, the young and rookie players are making positive contributions, as well as taking prominent steps in their development. The offensive line is also playing well, already making fans and pundits fade the empty performance they had in 2022 from their memories.
However, it’s been a stout and persistent defense that has shined, putting constant pressure on opposing QBs and being efficient with tackling. One player who has had a meteoric rise in only three games is linebacker Zaire Franklin.
Last season, Franklin broke out, setting a new Colts single-season tackle record with 167, which was previously held by Shaquille Leonard (163 in 2018). Now, Franklin is playing even more tenacious and is on track to break both the NFL single-season total and solo tackle records.
Let’s discuss each one, the all-time leaders, and what Franklin’s numbers are in line to get to with his current trajectory.
Total Tackles (214): All-Time Single-Season Leader – Hardy Nickerson (1993 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Total tackles are a hustle stat where angles and team pursuit are key.
Hardy Nickerson was a 16-year NFL vet who had 1,586 career tackles, four Pro Bowl nominations, and two first-team All-Pro selections. He would set the current NFL record for most total tackles in a season in 1993 with 214.
This equates to 13.4 tackles per contest. This is a motor-like type of play style, which Franklin also plays.
On the season, Franklin leads the NFL with 45 total tackles. This is 15 per game, which, with an additional game since 1993 on the schedule, puts him on pace for an insane 255 for the year. If Franklin does this, he’ll have back-to-back record-breaking seasons for the Colts when it comes to total tackles. He’d also have his first-ever Pro Bowl nod and likely an All-Pro selection if Indy can keep up their winning momentum.
Look for Franklin to continue to be aggressive and efficient in his tackling along with his fellow defenders, which will accumulate this stat more and more as the games roll along.
Solo Tackles (156): All-Time Single-Season Leader – Ray Lewis (1997 – Baltimore Ravens)
Hall-of-Famer Ray Lewis is the cream of the crop when discussing any decade or tier of NFL linebacker. He dominated in 1997 with a blistering 156 solo tackles (184 total). This is still the NFL’s record for individual stops in a season.
In my humble opinion, solo tackles are more difficult to achieve than total tackles. While it’s important to tackle as a team and help fellow defenders, there’s also something to be said about a linebacker who puts a ball carrier down on his own.
Currently, Franklin also leads the league in solo tackles with 29 through three games. On average, he’s tallying 9.7 per game. This puts him on pace to stack up an unprecedented 165 solo tackles. This would almost best his total tackle numbers from last season (167).
If Franklin can somehow keep up this level of play, or exceed it, his 2023 campaign could be talked about as one of the greatest ever by a defensive player in NFL history when putting all of the stats together with his tackles.
Outlook
Franklin hasn’t just broken out, he’s arrived and is lighting up the NFL with his razor-sharp consistency.
Franklin isn’t just tackling like a madman, he’s also playing the ball well in coverage and getting into the backfield for big stops (1.0 sack and 2 tackles for loss).
Franklin’s momentum has only picked up as the games pass and shows no signs of stopping soon. Could he break both the total and solo tackle records held by some of the greatest to ever play? We’ll have to watch as the rest of the regular season lays out.
