Indianapolis Colts: Darius Leonard
With Andrew Luck back to his normal self after missing a year and an excellent offensive line in front of him, there shouldn’t be too many concerns about the Indianapolis offense. That means the team’s success will be determined largely by the play of the defense. Obviously, that requires several players having strong seasons, but Leonard is arguably the most important.
Leonard burst onto the season in 2018, leading the NFL in tackles and being named a First-Team All-Pro as a rookie. But now he has to prove that he can play at that same level from one year to the next. If there’s a significant regression in Leonard’s play, the Colts can still be good defensively but not great. There’s a lot riding on Leonard being able to replicate last year’s productivity, as difficult as that may be for him.