The Indianapolis Colts entered 2026 betting heavily on internal growth. Five games in, a few of those bets have already become major concerns.

There is still plenty of season left, but these three have fallen well short of expectations so far.

Laiatu Latu

After what looked like a breakout 2025 season, Laiatu Latu was supposed to take another step toward becoming one of the NFL's premier young edge rushers.

Instead, he has been nearly invisible for long stretches.

Latu finished last season with 8.5 sacks, 45 tackles and three interceptions across 16 starts. Through five games this year, he has just one sack and 14 total pressures, while earning a 58.8 pass-rush grade from PFF.

That grade ranks 72nd among 106 qualified edge defenders.

Indianapolis desperately needs more from Latu because this pass rush has been the worst in football.

The Colts own a 23.7% pressure rate through five weeks, according to Next Gen Stats, making them the only defense in the NFL below 30%. Latu is playing plenty of snaps, and he is supposed to be the guy leading the charge in turning this pass rush around. 

Simply put, Indianapolis needs him to start wrecking games.

Alec Pierce

This one is less about how Pierce has played and more about the fact that he simply has not been available.

Indianapolis handed Pierce a four-year, $114 million extension in March after he posted a career-high 1,003 receiving yards in 2025. Shortly after signing, he underwent surgery on the left heel/ankle issue that had bothered him since 2024.

The expectation was that he would be ready for Week 1, and technically, he was.

Pierce caught four passes for 61 yards against Baltimore, then aggravated the heel against Kansas City after one catch for 11 yards. He has been on injured reserve ever since.

The Colts invested heavily in Pierce because his ability to stretch the field is what helps open up this entire offense, particularly for Jonathan Taylor. 

Through five weeks, Indianapolis has barely gotten to use it.

Colts Rookie Class

The Colts made a pretty significant gamble this offseason when they traded Zaire Franklin to Green Bay and elected to address their linebacker room primarily through the draft.

Through five weeks, that gamble has not paid off.

Second-round pick CJ Allen played just 11 defensive snaps through the first four games before finally seeing 24 against Pittsburgh. Bryce Boettcher has played roughly 80-plus defensive snaps, but his PFF grade sits in the mid-40s.

That lack of immediate impact is hard to ignore considering how badly this defense needed help at linebacker.

Third-round safety A.J. Haulcy has played considerably more, but his start has been rough, particularly in coverage. Still, there have been some flashes of the player Indianapolis believed it was drafting.

There is still plenty of time for this rookie class to turn things around, but the early returns have been anything but encouraging.

And for a general manager in Chris Ballard who entered this season desperately needing results, this rookie group has not given him much help yet.

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