Colts Linebacker Darius Leonard Keeps Offseason Workouts Ultra-Competitive

INDIANAPOLIS — In the beginning, when the shut-down NFL offseason routine confined players to their homes, Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard ran around fields in the rural Lake View, S.C., country and pushed a lawnmower.

“The Maniac” Man Cave was converted into a workout room with weightlifting equipment borrowed from his high school.

But keep in mind how intense this third-year pro can be about preparing properly. Workouts have become daily competitions, albeit remotely through video communication, with Colts linebacker Anthony Walker.

Who gets up earlier? Whose monitored heart rate is higher? Which player completes a run quicker?

Leonard, 24, is still fired up about how Walker edged him as the Colts’ No. 1 tackler last season — although Walker played in all 16 games to make 124 while Leonard missed three games due to injuries and finished at 121.

“Me and ‘A-Walk,’ we always go at it,” Leonard said in a Wednesday Zoom video conference call. “Just like I’m still upset that he beat me by (three tackles) last season. Now we always talk about who is going to have the best heart rate when we do our two minute and three minutes. We always talk about who is waking up first to go get their workout. Just doing stuff to always compete because if he’s going to be playing beside me every single play, we have to compete because I’m going to try and make every play before he does.”

Who’s winning those competitions? Leonard can’t resist providing motivation for his teammate.

“I’ll say because he loves distance running and he is in the sun every day, he might have me on the two minute, three minutes,” he said of the runs. “But who’s waking up earlier? I’m waking up earlier. I think I’m getting my workout in before he does and being a competitor of saying, ‘Who is working out harder?’ I’m going to say I work out harder than he does. He’s going to be upset when he sees that.”

Leonard has always been hard on himself and used everything as motivation, be it the suggestion that his 2018 second-round selection was a reach because he came from a smaller school at South Carolina State, being snubbed for the Pro Bowl as a rookie despite leading the NFL in tackles, or not meeting enough of his rather demanding season goals.

How high has he set the bar for 2020? Incredibly high.

“Super Bowl MVP, league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year,” he said. “I think I wrote down maybe 15 goals last year and only met maybe three or four. That is unacceptable in my book. So I have to write those same goals down and the ones I met, bump them up a little bit, just strive to reach every goal that I have instead of three or four.”

He’s been selected All-Pro in both seasons, first-team as a rookie and second-team last year. From day one, Leonard has been the Colts’ defensive leader whose intensity translates to more than just 284 total tackles. He consistently provides impact plays, which have included 12 sacks, seven interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, six forced fumbles, and 15 passes defended.

The offseason acquisition of All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has Leonard sounding even more anxious for the upcoming season. He knows that Buckner will command a lot of attention, which keeps him free to do what he does best.

“We always say that the d-line is the engine of our defense,” he said. “If we’ve got all the dogs up front, there is no way that the offensive line can climb up as quick because they have to focus on the guys up front. So that is going to allow the linebackers to hopefully run free and make more plays.”

When Leonard watches game film, it’s the plays he didn’t make. When asked about being a team leader despite his youth, he reiterates it’s about setting the example on the field with actions, not words.

Retired NBA star Ray Allen spoke to the Colts on a video conference call last week, and Leonard appreciated the insight.

“I have to continue to be me, man,” Leonard said. “I can’t change anything up. … (Allen) talked to the team last week about being a young leader because he came into the NBA as a young leader. Talking to him, the only advice he could give me on being a young guy and having to talk to other men who are way older than you, the only thing you can do is continue to do what you can do and that is go out and show that you are a leader. Go out and play as if you are a leader and the rest of it will fall into place.

“I’m not going to go in and try to say, ‘Okay, I’m this guy. You have to listen to this.’ Or, ‘I’m this guy, you have to do that.’ No, I’m going to continue to do what I do and that’s go out, make plays and lead by example.”