Colts 2016 player preview: Defensive lineman Delvon Simmons

The Indianapolis Colts will report to training camp on July 26 with their 90-man roster, which will be cut down to 53 players by the end of the preseason. To pass the time until camp, we’re taking a look at every player on the Colts’ 90-man roster. Today, we’re looking at defensive lineman Delvon Simmons.

Who is he?

Delvon Simmons was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent this offseason out of USC, where he played in 27 games (starting 24). During his three seasons at USC (2013-2015), he recorded 101 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and two blocked field goals. He originally began at Texas Tech, where he spent two seasons (2011-2012) and played in 23 games (starting 13). During his entire collegiate career between both Texas Tech and USC, Simmons played in 50 games (starting 37) and recorded 141 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and two blocked kicks.

What is his role?

Simmons is in the unfortunate position (for him, anyways) of joining a very deep group of defensive linemen. The Colts have standout Henry Anderson returning from injury, Kendall Langford returning after a very good year in 2015, Arthur Jones (hopefully) returning from another injury, David Parry back from a solid rookie season, fourth round pick Hassan Ridgeway, and talented depth players Zach Kerr and T.Y. McGill. As you can tell, that’s a crowded group for an undrafted free agent to try to crack, and as such Simmons has long odds of making the roster.

What are his chances?

Due to the depth along the defensive line, he doesn’t have a great shot at making the team.