From UFA to team leader, Colts DB Kenny Moore remains

Stephen Holder, ESPNDec 12, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

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INDIANAPOLIS — In the overnight hours of Sept. 3, 2017, members of the Indianapolis Colts‘ personnel department huddled past midnight to debate who they might pursue on the waiver wire following final roster cuts.

Kenny Moore II, a small, little-known cornerback had caught the eye of some of the team’s scouts during the preseason. But general manager Chris Ballard remained unmoved. He generally pushed back on cornerbacks shorter than 5-foot-10, preferring longer body types. Besides, Moore was a Division II college prospect they’d hardly scouted from Valdosta State.

But the persistence of assistant general manager Ed Dodds and personnel director Kevin Rogers proved worthwhile. Ballard eventually relented, and the Colts acquired the longshot Moore after his release from the New England Patriots.

Eight seasons later, that decision is still paying off.

Moore has thrived for the Colts, becoming a cornerstone of their defense and a mainstay in their secondary. Above all, the guy who no one was sure was big enough has also become a huge influence on the young defensive backs surrounding him, a role he embraces and treasures.

“I hope they see that if you work hard, if you stay consistent, if you have good character, the picture can shake out for you to be as great as you want to be,” Moore said.

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It’s players like Moore that the Colts are counting on as they make a late-season push for the playoffs that hinges largely on Sunday’s game against the AFC wildcard-chasing Denver Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).

“At the end of the day, the thing I’m most proud of is that I’m still going,” Moore said. “I know a lot of draft picks who are not in the league anymore. I’ve known guys that I thought were better than me who aren’t in the league anymore, guys who I’ve seen have great careers.”

Moore has outlasted many of those players and now is one of the most tenured players on the Indianapolis roster. Among the team’s defensive players, only nose tackle Grover Stewart (drafted in 2017) has been with the Colts as long. Only long-snapper Luke Rhodes and center Ryan Kelly, both in their ninth seasons, have more time with the franchise.

Having survived this long, Moore has moved into a different phase of his career where he is having a tangible effect on the players around him. Second-year cornerback Jaylon Jones is a good example. The 2023 seventh-round pick has been pressed into a major role for the Colts and is holding his own. He’s tied for sixth in the NFL with nine pass breakups and gaining confidence with each game.

“Man, Kenny is the definition of a pro,” Jones said. “He just comes to work, he does the right things, on and off the field. That’s really what I get from being around him. And I think it helps all of us as young [defensive backs] learn what it looks like.”

Specifically, Jones has come to appreciate from Moore the value of learning the game at a higher level.

“We’ll be in the film room, and before the play even pops up, he’ll call it out,” Jones said. “Or, we’ll be on the field and he might say, ‘J.J.! This is what’s going to happen right now.’ And it happens. His vision, I feel like that’s where I’m trying to get. Kenny’s definitely a mastermind when it comes to X’s and O’s.”

Moore was once like Jones — a fringe player on the day he arrived. Moore still jokes about initially being assigned jersey No. 42, a number he admittedly hated.

“My jersey was so big,” he said. “I mean, my swag was bad.”

But as he continues to demonstrate to his younger teammates, doing all the little things — like film study — helped Moore grow into a player who is now on his third multi-year contract and made the Pro Bowl in 2021.

Third-year cornerback Samuel Womack III saw the results of that work in a Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills. Moore gave up a 14-yard completion to Curtis Samuel on the game’s first play. But late in the third quarter, when the Bills tried to run the same concept again, Moore diagnosed it early and jumped the route to intercept Josh Allen.

“They tried to come back to it, and he made the play on it,” Womack said. “He recognized the formation and everything. I really see how smart he is out there.”

Playing primarily nickel corner throughout his career means there are some key differences for Moore versus perimeter corners. But he’s established himself as one of the preeminent slot defenders in the league, in part because of his willingness to be physical.

Moore has shown himself to be an impressive tackler despite playing near the line of scrimmage and in the middle of the field against much bigger players. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is used to mixed reactions when he warns nickel corners of assignments that might require them to engage bigger players. But not with Moore.

“You might get a couple of guys who roll their eyes a little bit, but they’ll do it,” Bradley said. “Kenny doesn’t even flinch. He just knows that comes with being a nickel, and it doesn’t matter.”

His toughness helps set a tone in the secondary. As usual, Moore is setting an example. His younger teammates best pay heed.

“Being a [Division] II guy, being an undersized guy, being a guy that only had a $2,000 signing bonus,” he said, “I hope they take away to just run their race, no matter the odds. No matter what’s said about you, no matter what you think about yourself, I think the ceiling is always as high as you want to make it.”

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