The Indianapolis Colts will have to take on the Atlanta Falcons offense without the benefit of All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, who is currently in the league’s concussion protocol.
With Leonard out, the Colts will be turning to rookie linebacker Bobby Okereke to fill his role in the middle of the defense. The third-round pick hasn’t seen much playing time, but that will change Sunday.
“Bobby has been progressing along like the rest of the rookies. They’re all working day by day to get better and I can see that in Bobby,” said Matt Eberflus this week. “He’s maturing as we go. He’s a mature competitor to start and that’s why we brought him in.”
With a desire to beef up a linebacker corps that was pretty thin in 2018, the Colts spent a third-round pick on the Stanford product. They saw a lot of Leonard in his game, and now they will get to see that in a big role on Sunday.
Where Okereke will exactly be working isn’t clear. He’s likely to work both at WILL and MIKE linebacker throughout the game Sunday, playing alongside third-year backer Anthony Walker.
“He’s been working both. He’s been working both spots during the course of the whole time,” Eberflus said. “He’s been working mostly MIKE, but we’ve had him at various spots in walk-thrus and also in practice sometimes.”
The Colts have a difficult challenge in stopping the Falcons potent offense—a unit littered with talent all over the board.
Okereke will be trying to contribute to that cause as the Colts look to grab their first home-opening win since 2012.
