The Colts have signed Stephon Gilmore, and I'm more and more intrigued by their defense this season. Gilmore is 31 years old and has missed 5 and 9 games the last two seasons, but he looks like another solid component for what should be a really good fantasy defense.
Gilmore made the Pro Bowl in those last two seasons anyway; All-Pro the two years before that. He apparently had enough of a market that he was able to get two years and $23 million from Indianapolis, so presumably multiple suitors. He been a part of excellent, opportunistic secondaries for most of his career.
Setting aside Carolina last year (when he missed half the season), Gilmore had played the previous eight seasons with New England and Buffalo (4 years each). Six of those eight defenses ranked in the top 6 in interceptions.
| GILMORE DS, 2013-2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | INTs | Rk |
| 2013 | 23 | 2nd |
| 2014 | 19 | 6th |
| 2015 | 17 | 6th |
| 2016 | 12 | 18th |
| 2017 | 12 | 18th |
| 2018 | 18 | 3rd |
| 2019 | 25 | 1st |
| 2020 | 18 | 1st |
Gilmore wasn't the only player in those secondaries (he had 24 interceptions those seasons, so 3 per year), and doesn't deserve all the credit. But he was part of them, and the Colts already have some ability in this area (they've ranked in the top 10 in interceptions four years in a row; 3rd last year, with 19).
Indianapolis already looked like they'd be improved for sacks (they added Yannick Ngakoue last month) and be strong for fumble recoveries (they were 1st last year, with Darius Leonard one of the league's best at forcing those). Now Gilmore joins the secondary. Should be one of the league's better defenses.
--Andy Richardson