According to head coach Shane Steichen, recently acquired Indianapolis Colts cornerback Mekhi Blackmon could be poised for a bigger role this Sunday, hosting the Denver Broncos (via the radio voice of the Colts Matt Taylor):
It’s worth noting that Blackmon was recently acquired in a final 53-man roster cut trade from the Minnesota
Vikings on August 25th in exchange for a 2026 Colts’ 6th round draft pick.
The Colts once again feature a depleted cornerback room as both CB1 Charvarius Ward (concussion) and key rotational reserve Jaylon Jones (hamstring) suffered significant injuries during this past Sunday’s Week 1 win, and their status for Sunday’s game is in serious jeopardy respectively.
Neither injured Colts cornerback practiced on Wednesday, per the team’s official injury report.
With those injuries to his teammates last week, Blackmon surprisingly played a big role off the bench, appearing in 46% of the defense’s total snaps. Blackmon recorded 3 tackles and per PFF, earned a +58.3 overall grade during his Colts debut.
Following his impromptu ‘Next Man Up’ performance, despite having only been with the Colts for a few weeks, he earned some high praise from new Indianapolis veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo—particularly regarding his ‘sticky speed’ in coverage (via The Athletic’s James Boyd):
It’s quite possible that joining veteran Xavien Howard, Blackmon could find himself starting along the outside as the Colts new CB2 in relief of his injured teammates in the short-term future. Blackmon will be hoping to build off his first career performance with the Colts where he largely held his own out there on rather short notice.
