AFC South power rankings: Who’s defense is tops?

The Colts were at the top of the division in many defensive categories, placing 16th in the league in total yards allowed, and they made some major improvements, giving away a first-round pick to acquire elite defensive tackle DeForest Buckner from the San Francisco 49ers.

Buckner with his had in the dirt and the maniacal Darius Leonard flying all over the field from his middle linebacker spot will help Indianapolis keep offensive coordinators up at night.

Leonard and Bobby Okereke should have Indy set at linebacker for the next 10 years. Justin Houston can still get to the quarterback after all those years, and Malik Hooker, despite all the contract hullabaloo, is a legit ballhawk back there.

There isn’t much to find fault with as it pertains to Indy’s front seven, but their secondary is so porous that it could torpedo and playoff chances they have in 2020.

Losing Pierre Desir and Quincy Wilson, who themselves weren’t exactly shutting people down, and replacing them with T.J. Carrie and a guy in Xavier Rhodes who allowed an absurd 81.5 percent completion rate on passes thrown his way is a recipe for disaster.

Rock Ya-Sin and Khari Willis showed promise for Matt Eberflus last year, but they will be thrust into roles of prominence in 2020, and faltering in key situations next year might drive the nail into Indy’s coffin.

The secondary is a very real problem for Indianapolis, and until they show signs that it is starting to move towards respectability, they can’t claim to have the best defense in the league despite all of their depth on multiple levels of that defense.