Daniel Scott Injury Opens the Door for Two Young Safeties

The Indianapolis Colts placed rookie fifth round pick Daniel Scott on season-ending injury reserve last week. Scott, 24, was a promising young safety that had impressed coaches in camp with his blend of athleticism and versatility.

With Scott being lost for the entire 2023 season, the attention now turns to the rest of the Colts' depth at the safety position. We have seen in the past how a lack of quality safeties can hamper a defense (Andrew Sendejo's 2021 season will forever haunt us), so it is important for the team to figure out this key position.

The de facto starters, at the moment, are Rodney Thomas II (free safety) and Julian Blackmon (strong safety). These two saw a decent amount of action a year ago and should remain as the top players on the depth chart for the remainder of camp. The third safety in this equation is Nick Cross, a 2022 third round pick that sparingly played a year ago but will certainly make the team due to the daft capital allocated to him.

The interesting debate now centers around which player will fill that fourth safety role for the team in 2023. Daniel Scott figured to be a shoo-in for this spot, but his season-ending injury has opened the door for two 2022 UDFA's that impressed last year in training camp.

The more flashy of the two options is Marcel Dabo. Dabo, 23, is a German-born citizen that signed with the Colts as part of the NFL's International Pathway Program a year ago. He was a standout in the European Football League in 2021, where he compiled 28 tackles and one interception. He also earned a spot on the 2021 ELF All-Star team and won the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Dabo caught the eyes of Colts' scouts at the NFL's International Combine, where he ran a strong 4.52 forty yard dash while also posting elite explosive numbers in the jumps. Dabo made his way over to Indy a year ago and even worked his way up to second team free safety on occasion throughout the offseason. He ultimately landed on the practice squad for the entire year, but the Colts are extremely optimistic about his future.

While Dabo was signed with the expectation of being a long-term project, that project timeline could be accelerated with the injury to Daniel Scott. He is the only player in the safety room, besides Rodney Thomas II, that can play the free safety position, and he has consistently been getting those priority snaps with the second team in OTA's.

Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard talking to DB Marcel Dabo 🇩🇪 who joins the Colts roster via the 2022 International Player Pathway Program (IPP)

Ballard says Jon Shaw (Director of Pro Scouting) was pressing hard to get Dabo to Indy pic.twitter.com/gBeMWui7gY
— René Bugner (@RNBWCV) May 4, 2022

The other player to keep an eye on with this new vacancy in the safety room is Trevor Denbow. Denbow, 24, was a strong training camp performer a year ago, and that performance carried its way on over to the preseason games. Denbow led the entire NFL in special teams tackles during the 2022 preseason as a rookie.

His offseason play was so strong that he actually made the opening day 53-man roster despite dealing with an injury when the final cutdowns were occurring. The Colts valued him so much that they pushed him through the final cuts and then placed him on IR afterwards in order to keep him on the initial roster.

Denbow finished his rookie season on the practice squad in the end, but he did rack up 31 special teams snaps on the year as an occasional call-up player. Interestingly enough, since Denbow was on the practice squad at the end of the season, he did have a chance to sign with a contender in the offseason prior to the Colts handing out futures deals.

Ultimately, General Manager Chris Ballard and (then) Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone were able to convince Denbow to stay in Indy for a chance at making the team in 2023. That right there should speak volumes as to how the team views this young player.

Looking ahead to this offseason and OTA's, Denbow has already made some plays in camp. He has seen some time with the second team safety group (even ahead of Nick Cross at times) and he has made his fair share of highlight plays in practice thus far.

Denbow had the play of the day last week in minicamp, where he snagged a one-handed interception against Sam Ehlinger over the middle of the field. The entire team erupted in cheers as the whole defense flooded the field to congratulate the young player. Of the two players mentioned in this article, Denbow seems to be more of glue guy to keep an eye on this offseason.

Trevor Denbow with a one-handed INT in 11-on-11 against Sam Ehlinger. Outstanding catch. Brought the entire defense off the sideline to celebrate. #Colts
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) June 14, 2023

Overall, the stage is set for guys like Denbow and Dabo to make their mark this offseason. These two young players couldn't ask for a better opportunity in the NFL, and the next step is seeing what they can do with the extended look at their play.

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