Colts' James Bettcher Likes What He's Seeing From His Rookie Linebackers

The Indianapolis Colts entered NFL Draft weekend with almost nothing to write home about when it came to their linebacker room.

After trading the room's longtime leader and biggest contributor of the past few seasons in linebacker Zaire Franklin earlier this offseason, the Colts were left with a massive hole in the middle of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's defense.

General manager Chris Ballard did replace Germaine Pratt for Akeem Davis-Gaither via free agency, maintaining the status quo of having one former Anarumo linebacker on the roster at all times, but outside of Davis-Gaither, the Colts had little to no starting experience at the position as they entered the draft.

That sentiment remains true as the Colts have only added to their room via the 2026 NFL Draft, a haul that included two picks in the Top 150 and two undrafted free agent signings. Despite no change to the experience side of things, Colts linebacker coach James Bettcher said during his offseason media availability on Wednesday that he's excited about what the group of youngins has to offer.

CJ Allen

At 6:30 a.m. the morning after being drafted 53rd overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, linebacker CJ Allen texted Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo asking for the defensive playbook so that he could get to work.

Linebackers coach James Bettcher said this is a microcosm of what made Allen so intriguing as an NFL prospect. Allen's constant communication as Georgia's leader of the defense was evident throughout the Colts film study of him.

"Yeah, I think when we were evaluating CJ and kind of going through the process, something that you heard everyone that had watched him on tape say is he's like the first guy on tape to communicate," Bettcher explained.

"He's the first guy that's making adjustments. Whether it's a coverage check, slide in the front, whatever it is, when you watch his tape, it's it's hard to miss him as a communicator. And that's him."

This ready-made aspect of Allen's game, paired with his instincts, is why he's projected to be Lou Anarumo's green dot in his rookie season. Earning said role would be the first time that Anarumo has given such responsibility to a rookie, but Bettcher further explained why, outside of his on-field ability, Allen feels like a perfect fit for what the Colts need.

"When he's in the room, it's high intelligent questions. The foundation of his play is his football intelligence. The foundation of his play is his work ethic," Bettcher said.

"All the people that were with him at Georgia, I think they would rave and the first thing they would talk to about is the character of the man and the way he goes about work. He's relentless about it. And that's, you know, that being one of our core values here that we have in our culture is the word relentless. And I think CJ epitomizes that."

Bryce Boettcher

James Bettcher has joked throughout the process that the Colts' fourth-round pick (135th overall), Bryce Boettcher, is his nephew because of their similar last name, but jokes aside, Bettcher thinks he can be something special.

"The thing that everybody loves about Bryce is like when you watched his tape at Oregon, you saw the edge, the way the guy played the game, like hair on fire, fast, violent, physical," Bettcher explained.

"Then you look at rookie mini camp, the first play, what does he do? He forces a fumble at rookie mini camp. That's Bryce like a guy that's gonna be around the ball. He is really smart."

Boettcher brings a ton of special teams upside to the mix, but he is also a plus coverage defender who will likely get run in pass defense formations.

He will compete for the opening at WILL linebacker with veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither, and James Bettcher believes he can play alongside fellow rookie CJ Allen, whether that be as a starter or a sub-package defender.

"Absolutely, they could play together. I think Bryce [Boettcher] could play backer, Dime, Mike, or Will, you know. I think he's kind of you've seen you saw that on tape at Oregon. Kind of played in the box some, played out overhang a little bit."

A big reason Bettcher believes both backers will get run as rookies is based on their day-one readiness which comes from their experience in similar defenses, both of which are among the college rank's top options as far as preparing for the next level goes.

"You know, CJ himself played in space at times at Georgia. You know, Georgia and Oregon, like very, you know, very similar defensive systems. The head coach at Oregon was at Georgia at one point in time. Like that's the same family of coaches, same family of systems," Bettcher explained.

"It's funny because we'll be in meetings at times. I'll say something, and they can look at each other and say, 'Oh, that was just this.' Because they played really in similar, not exactly the same, but similar types defensive systems."

West Weeks and Tahj Chambers

The Colts' two undrafted free agent linebackers, West Weeks and Tahj Chambers, were added to the mix as potential depth pieces to fill out Indianapolis' overhauled linebacker room.

James Bettcher explained that the two linebackers in question are made up of similar things they coveted in the two they drafted. Both Weeks and Chambers have a strong chance to make the roster, with the former having the inside track based on early impressions from rookie minicamp.

"Ultimately, you look at our couple undrafted guys with Tahj [Chambers] and West [Weeks] like both of those guys are kind of cut from the same cloth. You know they're both like really engaged in the meeting room," Bettcher said.

As a whole, Bettcher is excited about the Colts' addition of these four rookie linebackers. They still have to earn their projected roles, but the linebackers coach is liking what he has seen thus far.

Each backer fits what the Colts have been looking for, and has traits that could ultimately find roles for all four as rookies.

"I think we knocked it out of the park with the people we drafted." We drafted high-character guys who are smart, and they love ball. So, when you come in the room, I think that's the first thing anybody would recognize," Bettcher explained.

"There's a great level of balance of competition and camaraderie between those four guys of trying to have spots, trying to earn jobs, trying to earn respect and trust at the same time, trying to elevate each other."

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