Indianapolis Colts veteran safety Cam Bynum is intrigued by the possibility of teaming up with rookie 3rd round safety A.J. Haulcy in the backend of Lou Anarumo’s freshly revamped defense (via The Athletic’s James Boyd):
The former First-Team All-SEC safety for the LSU Tigers initially projects as an immediate 1st-year starter for the Colts secondary, having recorded 88 tackles (49 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, and a forced fumble during 12 starts this past season.
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While there was some early thought this offseason that returning safety Hunter Wohler, who missed all of his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury suffered in preseason, but shined in 2025 training camp, might be the clear frontrunner for the other starting safety job, it now appears that Haulcy is the new initial favorite ahead of this year’s training camp and preseason.
If nothing else, Haulcy, who has the ability to consistently be both an enforcer against the run and a ballhawk in coverage, should provide the Colts secondary much more versatility and added juice at safety.
Along with fellow Colts rookie CJ Allen, Haulcy was another ‘dawg’ in the SEC, and while I’ll stop well short of calling him a future Hall of Famer by any means yet, he reminds me a bit of former Green Bay Packers great LeRoy Butler as a pro comp as far as playing styles at safety are concerned.
The Colts didn’t show much financial resistance trying to retain departed free agent starting safety Nick Cross, who went to the Washington Commanders on a rather modest free agency deal instead, and it seems as though they were looking for a more well-rounded safety in skill-set as his immediate replacement—whereas Cross seemingly seemed more comfortable in-the-box, playing closer to the line of scrimmage. It’s not that Cross couldn’t cover by any stretch, but he wasn’t entirely consistent and had some lapses here-and-there.
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Instead, the Colts can now hopefully deploy Haulcy as a bit of a chess piece in the backend of their secondary, providing opposing offenses differing, aggressive, and creative looks playing alongside Bynum at starting safety.