Zaire Franklin Deserves Praise for His 2022 Season
The Indianapolis Colts are in the midst of a downright terrible season, as the team currently sits at 4-11-1 with a final match-up with Houston Texans this weekend. While there are so many aspects of this team to (rightfully) chastise at the moment, I want to take a second to send praise to one player in particular.
The Colts were suffered a major blow early in the offseason when linebacker Shaquille Leonard had surgery to repair a nerve issue in his back. The void left by the star linebacker could have been catastrophic, as Leonard was/is both a major producer on the field and the vocal leader in the locker room.
Replacing him in both aspects has been career special teamer Zaire Franklin, who has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the 2022 season for the Colts. His leadership and strong play on the field was not enough to keep this Colts' season afloat, but that doesn't mean we should completely ignore what he has done this year.
The Leader This Team Desperately Needs
Franklin is no stranger to a leadership role with the Colts. He has been named a Team Captain every single season dating back to 2020, despite never seeing more than 20% of the defensive snaps (prior to this season). Franklin has been such an important voice in the locker room, that he has earned that captain role.
His leadership has been easy to see for years. When the Colts launched their initiatives and community outreach programs to go along with the Black Lives Matter movement, it was Franklin that led the charge in many ways for the team:
Coming into 2022, however, Franklin had a tough task ahead of him. He not only had to fill Leonard's void on the field, but he had to fill it in the locker room and on the practice field. Franklin had to be the vocal fixture on this team. Despite the team's failures this season, he has certainly filled this role in every way possible.
Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley has talked about Franklin as a leader on numerous occasions this season. Here is how Bradley described Franklin's leadership compared to a veteran like Stephon Gilmore:
I think being around different players in the league there’s different personalities and that’s what I think is great. Just like the players need different personalities as coaches – some days they need Richard Smith sometimes they need Ron Milus or Nate Ollie. I think that’s the same thing with the players. Zaire brings that emotional confidence getting in front of the whole group, ‘This is how it’s going to be done,’ and has no issue with that. Gilly (Stephon Gilmore) does the same thing, but it’s done in a little bit different way. They’re both talking about the standard that is expected.
Bradley also had this to say about Franklin and his leadership ability this season:
Well, I think it’s great because with Zaire, he has no problem challenging guys and I think that’s a unique part. Some guys are really good leaders and they’re supportive leaders and they may not challenge guys just because maybe they don’t have that relationship, maybe they don’t know how the individual will take it. Where I see Zaire, he’ll challenge guys. He’ll challenge guys out on the practice field, he challenges guys on the field, during the game. It’s a good thing.
I think the whole team respects him so much that they know where it’s coming from. His leadership, not only is he an internally-driven person, but I think he elevates the play of everybody around him as well. I think when you have that, that’s what makes him unique, is the challenging. That standard, he has a pretty good idea of what it should look like and he has no issue holding guys accountable to that standard.
Guys like Gilmore and DeForest Buckner are elite players that lead by example, but NFL locker rooms also need guys that will be vocal and that will challenge them. With Leonard out for most of the season, that player has been Franklin. He has stepped up to the plate, and he has never let his team down despite all the turmoil around him.
"Z has been great." said quarterback Matt Ryan. "His leadership in particular, with Shaq being out so much and having to step up and kind of embrace some of that role, he’s been awesome. I think he’s first and foremost, a leader by example. The way that he works every day, the intensity, the focus that he brings to it, guys feel that. I’ve been really impressed with him this year."
In a season with so much drama (for lack of a better word), Franklin has kept this defense playing hard and he has been the lone bright light in a nearly pitch-black tunnel.
Approaching History
His leadership off of the field is one thing, but his play on the field has been nothing short of spectacular as well. To properly paint the picture, Franklin came into this season with just 462 career defensive snaps in four years in the league. This year, with a completely different defensive staff and defensive system, Franklin is up to 1,070 snaps on defense.
With his increase in defensive snaps, Franklin has seen his production skyrocket for the team. He has set new career-high marks in every single statistical category, and he is among the league-leaders in tackles this season. According to Statsmuse, the Colts' single-season record for total tackles in a year is currently 163 (held by Leonard back in 2018).
With just one game remaining on the schedule, Franklin currently sits at 160 total tackles. There is a very real possibility that Franklin sets a new franchise record in his first season as a starter in the NFL. That is pretty awesome stuff for a guy in his fifth year in the league.
When you turn on the film, it is easy to see why Franklin is having the year that he is having. He is a violent downhill thumper that plays the game with so much speed and energy. I can absolutely see him being a Pro Bowl-caliber player in the near future (he was named as a Pro Bowl alternate this season for what it is worth).
Improving in Coverage
The biggest challenge for Franklin coming into this season was how he would perform in coverage. Again, this is his first year as a starter in the league, and he had to deal with a defensive transition to a scheme that puts a lot of stress on linebackers over the middle.
While he has been far from perfect this season, Franklin has taken a lot of positive strides in this area as the year has progressed. Bradley had this to say about Franklin's steady improvements as a coverage backer:
He has a good awareness I think. The more and more he plays – I mean some of the things we saw last night from him, we didn’t see earlier. We were playing some things, more coverages in the back end and I think the more and more we were playing them we were taking out some of the grey area of what we were asking from them. He can quickly adjust. If there was an issue that took place on the field, maybe a route that was un-scouted that we haven’t seen, you can talk to him and he picks it up real quick.
He knows exactly what he needs to do and he does have a really good feel for things. And we’re playing a variety of coverages on the back end. It’s not like we’re playing a few. So, hats off to him for his general understanding of some pass concepts and based on the coverage that we’ve called, what his assignment is and what he needs to do. That has been a great surprise. Just based on coming in – like Mike (Chappell) was asking about Buck, that was one of the things just because he hasn’t played a lot. He’s been very impressive in that aspect.
Franklin is steadily improving in one of the more important areas of playing defense. Here are a few of his best plays in coverage for the Colts in 2022:
The Bottom Line
The Colts are in a bad place as an organization. The front office is a mess, the coaching staff is in turmoil, a lot of top players are under-performing, and the owner is micromanaging everything below him. The Colts need some drastic changes this offseason in order to get everything back on track.
One player that will be a part of the solution going forward is Franklin. In a tumultuous season, Franklin has handled everything with class and leadership. He is a phenomenal personality both on and off the field, and he is producing some great numbers in his new starting role.
The Colts have several major player decisions to make going forward, and we simply don't know who will be a factor for this team in the future. The center of the future culture change in Indy has to be Zaire Franklin. In a completely lost season, Franklin has continually shown that he is the leader that the team needs going forward.
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