E.J. Speed has ‘great opportunity’ with Darius Leonard out
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By: Kevin Hickey
Indianapolis Colts star linebacker Darius Leonard is currently working his way back from offseason ankle surgery that has kept him off the field during the first week of training camp. This has given E.J. Speed the chance to show off his development.
A fifth-round pick with the Colts during the 2019 NFL draft, Speed was known to be a project. Coming from a Division-II school in Tarleton State, there was plenty of intrigue in Speed’s game when the Colts selected him in the draft.
Now with Leonard out, the young linebacker has a chance to prove his worth in hopes of carving out a bigger role in the defense.
“Yeah, E.J. (Speed) has been in there, we’ve had him in there with the nickel, with the WILL spot. Once Darius (Leonard) comes back, we have to get E.J. some SAM reps along with Zaire (Franklin) so that’s good,” said defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to the media Thursday.
The Colts will be using training camp and the preseason game to determine their depth at linebacker. Leonard will be the starting WILL backer while third-year Bobby Okereke steps into the starting MIKE role following the departure of Anthony Walker, who signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns in free agency this offseason.
Speed is still working through some growing pains during his third training camp with the Colts, but Eberflus noted this is a good time for him to prove his case for a bigger role.
“I think it’s really good for them. Like I said, it’s a great opportunity for E.J. to be in there,” said Eberflus. “He’s had a couple of mistakes and he’s done some good things. So he has to work through that and he’s going to.”
Speed hasn’t seen too much work since being drafted in 2019. He played 33 snaps (3%) on defense in 2019 and just one snap in 2020. However, he’s been a key special teams contributor having recorded 36% and 47% of the snaps over the last two seasons, respectively.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Speed has the athleticism and length the Colts covet at linebacker. Now, it’s all about putting his game together in order to carve out a bigger role in the middle of an emerging defense.
