Unsung Hero Big Reason for Colts' Upward Trajectory on Special Teams

To begin his head-coaching career, Shane Steichen brought in Brian Mason to become his special teams coordinator in his first coaching staff with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the 2023-24 NFL season.

Mason didn't have to go very far as he was Notre Dame's special teams coordinator in South Bend, IN, but while he had plenty of experience running the show at the collegiate level, this was his first experience as an NFL coach.

As expected for a first-time coaching staff, the Colts' special teams struggled out of the gate under Brian Mason, ranking as one of the league's worst-performing special teams units for the 2023-24 season. We will be using special teams DVOA rankings via FTNFantasy to give an idea of how Mason's units have performed in each season as the Colts' coordinator.

A deeper explanation for DVOA can be found on their site, but in short, this metric is all-encompassing and strives to incorporate nuance that is otherwise lost from standardized stat-tracking, especially as it relates to special teams.

With that being said, here's how the Colts' special teams units have fared under Brian Mason's leadership using special teams DVOA:

2023: 29th (-3.1%)
2024: 21st (-1.1%)
2025: 4th (4.2%)

The Colts struggled immensely in year one under Mason, but have since rebounded into an upward trajectory that suggests that the fourth-year special teams coordinator belongs in the NFL.

Placekicking woes were at the forefront of their early-tenure struggles, while Rigoberto Sanchez's consistency has been as important as ever, but it's been the guy who snaps the ball on special teams who is largely responsible for keeping them afloat and providing dependability on a per-snap basis.

The Unsung Hero

Luke Rhodes is entering his eleventh season with the Indianapolis Colts, with 2026 officially making it a decade straight of long-snapping duties.

Rhodes is a former college linebacker who has developed into one of the league's most consistent long snappers. He appeared in four games as a linebacker in his first season for the Colts before taking over for longtime LS Matt Overton ahead of the 2017 season.

Almost a decade later and Rhodes has two All-Pro nods (Second Team in 2020; First Team in 2021) and a Pro Bowl nod (2021) to his name.

Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason recently explained just how much of a luxury it is having a guy like Luke Rhodes around, despite the disregarding nature that surrounds his position.

“It’s unbelievable. And I tell those guys – just today and yesterday because some of the new guys don't understand, this is a guy that played linebacker in college. He played linebacker in the league to start off, was a linebacker with the Buccaneers. So, for him to have the experience of being a MIKE linebacker, being a green dot guy that is a good athlete, is really strong, he's kind of got a unique presence and leadership to him, in addition to being the longest tenured Colt on the roster," Mason explained how valuable Rhodes is as a player.

"It's kind of invaluable to have because you know okay hey, we're going to have another new PP this year, but we know that Luke Rhodes, if something’s screwed up, isn't going to snap the ball. He's going to look back there. He's going to get things corrected. He's going to have the poise and presence like a MIKE linebacker would as a long snapper, which you don't see very often. He’s going to be able to fix things for us. So, it's certainly really unique and a great privilege to be able to have.”

His consistency as a snapper and subsequent blocker is the biggest reason why he's valued so highly, but Rhodes's background as a linebacker is what sets him apart from a typical long snapper. Rhodes has totaled 18 tackles (14 solo) over the past eight seasons, proving that he's more than someone who snaps the football.

This luxury resulted in the Colts making Luke Rhodes the highest-paid long snapper in league history ahead of the 2023 NFL season. His 4-year, $6.465 million contract made him the highest-paid player at his position until the Buffalo Bills narrowly bested this mark after paying Reid Ferguson $6.5 million over four years in the 2025 offseason, according to Spotrac.

“Bad snaps? I can't think of a single one," Mason said when asked if he's seen Rhodes whiff any snaps during his three seasons with him. "Some slight little miscommunication or issue in protection happens once or twice a year, which from the perspective of other situations or other teams, is extremely minimal."

"But what I would define or you would define or a layman's eye would define as a bad snap – like right outside the strike zone, certainly that'll happen at times. Strike zone being the hip to the top of the number within the body frame. We would love if we're punting to the right, him put it on the right hip, which he'll do majority of the time. But from what you would all see as a bad snap, I can't recall one off the top of my head.”

Long snappers are hardly viewed as a legitimate positon by most casual fans, but the diehards understand just how unsung their jobs are.

From snapping and blocking to coverage and tackling, long snappers are almost seen as a fake roster spot given how little they show up on the broadcast copy, but ask anyone associated with special teams on the Colts, and they'll make sure you know how important Luke Rhodes is to their overall success.

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