Stephen Holder

stephen.holder@indystar.com

INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL is an ever-changing enterprise. Players come and go, with roughly a third of a team’s players turning over from year to year.

On most clubs, that change occurs primarily near the bottom of the roster.

Then there are these Indianapolis Colts.

They have gutted their 2016 defense, replacing the castoffs with an assorted group of middle- and low-tier free agents, with plans in place to continue the process in the NFL draft.

Say this for the Colts defense: It’ll be different. But here’s what matters most:

Will it be better? That answer remains elusive.

“Until we line up and play, I don’t know,” General Manager Chris Ballard admitted during the NFL’s owners meetings. “On paper? Yeah. But until they line up and play, we don’t know. That’s the thing about this league. They give us a result every Sunday to tell us how we’re doing.”

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The Colts haven’t and won’t play for several months. So, we won’t have an answer for quite some time. But this defensive makeover is as extensive as any you will ever see.

Using the Colts’ official projected starting lineup released heading into Week 1 of last season, only four listed starters remain on the current roster. And that group includes nose tackle David Parry, whose roster spot is tenuous, at best, after his arrest in an alcohol-related incident in February. Coach Chuck Pagano was noncommittal about Parry’s future when asked during the meetings, saying, “He’s still going through the legal process. I don’t have any details to update at this time. As far as the football side of it, David has played good football for us, winning football for us. But like everybody else, he’s going to be in great competition for a spot.”

That spot, and possibly others, could be re-evaluated after the draft depending on what it yields.

But as things stand now, the overhaul playing out on the Colts defense is eye opening, even by NFL standards. Which is not to say it isn’t completely necessary.

The Colts fielded one of the worst defenses in football in 2016, statistically finishing 30th in yards allowed, in front of only the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers.

Among those no longer on the roster are safety Mike Adams, cornerback Patrick Robinson and linebackers D’Qwell Jackson, Erik Walden and Robert Mathis – all starters. Trent Cole, a key member of the edge-player rotation, is gone as well.

So, again, the defense is different. But is it better?

Based on what little we have to go on, you could argue the answer is yes. It’s certainly younger, with free agent Jabaal Sheard (27) providing an upgrade at outside linebacker after coming over from the New England Patriots. The Colts are also quite high on versatile linebacker John Simon (26), who joins the unit from the Houston Texans.

The Colts still lack a freakish pass rusher – they’re hoping to land one in the draft – but they do think their pass rush has been improved by adding Sheard and Simon.

“The good thing with a guy like Sheard is he’s done it through his career,” Ballard said. “He’s been a consistent, six-, seven-, eight-sack guy throughout his career. Simon on third down, the way Houston was using him – moving him inside, letting him move and rush from an A or B gap and do some line stunts – Simon was able to (generate) more pressure than … the numbers would indicate.

“As far as premium rushers, we are always going to be looking.”

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Inside linebacker Sean Spence, signed from the Tennessee Titans, is no Mike Singletary. But the veteran is also a more proven commodity than the Colts have in Antonio Morrison and Edwin Jackson.

“Sean brings energy, brings speed,” Pagano said. “He’s a playmaker. He’s an undersized backer. He’s played mostly in nickel situations (but) he has scheme familiarity from Pittsburgh (a 3-4 defense). Should be an easy transition.”

The secondary has its problems given the release of Robinson and the decision to not re-sign Adams. But the Colts are banking on the shift of Darius Butler to safety and, they hope, significant development from second-year safety T.J. Green. Pagano said he regretted putting a bit too much on Green’s plate after Clayton Geathers was lost to a neck injury late in the season, saying it might have hampered the growth of the then-rookie from Clemson.

It’s very possible a couple of the team’s top-four cornerbacks could come from the draft given the current lack of depth in the unit.

So, yeah, this defense is different, all right. But the verdict on whether it is also better won’t be in for some time.

This much we do know, however: It can’t be much worse, and the Colts are banking on improvement.

“There’s some good pieces there,” Pagano said. “We have to make a leap because we haven’t done that. That falls on me as the head football coach. Certainly, if we are going to have to have the success that we want to have this year, we are going to have to play really good defense.

“We are going to have to make a move on that side of the ball.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.