Following the Indianapolis Colts' performance in Week 1 of the preseason against the New England Patriots, which players received the highest grades from Pro Football Focus, and which received the lowest? Now, before we dive into all that, I do want to mention that while PFF's grading system is certainly helpful at quantifying a player's performance, it is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to evaluations. It is one tool out of many that are out there and should be treated as such. For some context around these grades, below is the grading scale.
90.0+: Elite 80-89.9: High quality 70-79.9: Good 60-69.9: Above average 50-59.9: Average 40-49.9: Below average 39.9 or less: Poor
Colts top five performers on offense
TE Will Mallory: 90.3 G Josh Sills: 92.5 C Jimmy Morrissey: 80.6 TE Drew Ogletree: 80.1 C Dalton Tucker: 80.0
Mallory was the Colts' top receiver, totaling 80 yards. He has put together an impressive stretch of play as of late. Sills, Morrissey, and Tucker each allowed one pressure, but no sacks. All three linemen graded out well as run-blockers. Ogletree had one reception, turning a screen into an explosive 17-yard gain. Colts top five performers on defense
DE Caden Curry: 89.5 CB Jaylon Jones: 86.5 LB Jaylon Carlies: 82.3 LB Tahj Chambers: 78.6 S Hunter Wohler: 77.3
Curry was terrific. He did a bit of everything defensively, logging batted passes, pressures, and tackles for loss. Carlies and Chambers were both sound tacklers, helping them limit YAC in coverage and earning strong run defense grades. Jones was targeted twice, allowing no receptions, while recording a pass breakup. Wohler's play against the run is what gave his overall grade a boost. Colts bottom five performers overall
CB Johnathan Edwards: 28.1 CB Mekhi Blackmon: 37.0 LB West Weeks: 44.4 DI Colby Wooden: 44.5 DI Derrick Nnadi: 46.8
Edwards was picked on in coverage, allowing four completions on seven targets for 75 yards with no ball production. Blackmon allowed 24 yards on two completions and was penalized twice. Weeks was a reliable tackler and graded out solidly in the run game, but his coverage grade brought his overall grade down. He allowed three receptions on four targets for 36 yards. Wooden had a missed tackle, which hurt his grade. Both he and Nnadi did not grade out well in the run game. This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: PFF grades: Colts best and worst performers v. Patriots