Stampede Blue
“I think if you can hang your hat on, as I mentioned earlier, the guys up front,” Anarumo told reporters at his introductory press conference in January.”
Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart will enter his ninth campaign as the longest-tenured defensive player drafted by the Colts. Stewart has exceeded any expectations from when he was just a massive NCAA Division II prospect barely on the NFL radar.
If a football player gets the opportunity to showcase his abilities on the gridiron, talent scouts can recognize and discover a hidden gem from just about anywhere. The Colts first examined the 6-foot-4. 300-pound mammoth out of Albany State, a historically black university in Georgia. Scouts took interest after watching Stewart pulverize opposing linemen, without using much technique. Instead, the 3-tech prospect relied on his enormous arms to strike first with brute force, then used his instincts to disengage from blocks and tackle opponents. Stewart was initially viewed as a developmental project who boasts all the traits to thrive against NFL competition when Indianapolis selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Eight years later, Stewart is known for being one of the best run-stop specialists in the entire league. Stewart posted an 80.0 run defense grade per Pro Football Focus, which ranked fourth among defensive tackles. He started all 17 games and collected 74 tackles in 2024, which was second among defensive tackles behind only Titans’ Jeffery Simmons. Stewart racked up 38 defensive stops, which was tied for fifth among defensive tackles.
In the Colts Week 9 Sunday Night Football matchup in Minnesota, Stewart recorded a season-high 2.0 sacks. Early in the second quarter, Stewart bulldozed over Vikings’ center Garrett Bradbury, then strip-sacked quarterback Sam Darnold and slammed him to the turf like a rag doll before cornerback Kenny Moore II scooped up the fumble and returned it 38 yards to the house for the sole defensive touchdown of the Colts’ 2024 season.
Colts new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo may ultimately bring the best out of a defensive unit that has struggled together for the past few seasons. Behind its elite interior tandem, Indianapolis finished eighth in the NFL allowing just 4.22 rushing yards per play and tenth with 88 tackles for loss. The Colts led the NFL with six red zone takeaways and finished tied for third with 17 forced fumbles.
“I think if you can hang your hat on, as I mentioned earlier, the guys up front,” Anarumo told reporters at his introductory press conference in January. “Then certainly you always want guys that can process and be smart, forward thinkers and problem solvers out there. You don’t want robots.
That is something that we pride ourselves on is we’re going to come to the sideline and we’re all going to be working at this together. The guys are out there. So, the linebackers talking to me, DBs talking to linebackers, linebackers talking to d-line, and always trying to solve problems, always trying...
