Recent addition shines in Colts preseason opener

The secondary has been a focal point of the Colts’ offseason. They brought in two big free agent signings in Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum, while also drafting a pair of defensive backs for depth. 

But as training camp has trudged along, Indy’s cornerback position has been badly banged up. Rookie third-round choice Justin Walley is out for the season with a torn ACL and third-year players Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents both haven’t practiced in over a week due to hamstring injuries. 

The mini crisis forced the Colts to sign some new faces, and one recently put together an impressive outing in Indy’s 24-16 preseason loss to the Ravens. 

Sports Illustrated’s Zach Hicks highlighted Duke Shelley as a bubble player who stood out.

“Duke Shelley is far from the biggest cornerback, but he played much more physical than his size would suggest on Thursday. Shelley finished the game with four run stops, and his run fits were stout on a defense that struggled to make tackles all night long,” Hicks wrote, praising Shelley’s run defending. 

“There is more to playing cornerback than making plays in the run game, but this was a good step forward for the veteran cornerback. The Colts are banged up at the position, so they need a few of these bottom of the roster players to step up. If Shelley can build on this strong showing, he could be a sneaky bottom of the roster player for week one.” 

Shelley, a 28-year-old who’s been in the NFL since 2019, is still a long shot to make the roster. But putting on display an impressive tackling performance could be enough to allow him to stick around on the practice squad.