Colts DC Lou Anarumo breaks down CB Charvarius Ward’s film

“He’s a great component,” Anarumo said about Ward. When it comes down to it in this league, guys are gonna have to cover elite receivers, and we’ve got an elite corner to do that.”

The Indianapolis Colts YouTube channel gave fans an inside look at how defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will use Charvarius Ward for 2025 and beyond. In a brief yet jam-packed film breakdown, Anarumo walked through three clips of Ward’s tape and gave not only his analysis of the player but also explained his vision of utilizing the talented cornerback.

Not only that, but Anarumo dropped some nuggets throughout this film breakdown of how his defensive coverage philosophy will be employed for the upcoming season, one that is nearly the polar opposite of what the Gus Bradley years consisted of.

Lou Anarumo begins his mini-film breakdown of sorts with a brief synopsis of what makes Charvarius Ward such a great cornerback. From his length and speed as an athlete to his instincts and ball skills as a football player, Anarumo makes it known that Ward is not only a balanced cornerback by design but an elite one.

As alluded to, Anarumo’s defensive philosophy in coverage will require its defensive backs to play more aggressively than returning Colts from a now-bygone era are used to, some of which only playing under Gus Bradley in their short careers thus far (Nick Cross, Jaylon Jones, JuJu Brents).

“We want to be tight in coverage when we defend people this year,” Anarumo said when propping up Ward’s game. This is pretty typical stuff for most NFL defenses, but the aforementioned Bradley era traditionally consisted of playing off-man or at the sticks on 3rd downs and, in particular, on 3rd and longs.

This was a massive issue during those three seasons due to the fact Bradley’s Colts defenses were among the worst tackling units in the entire league. When one’s defensive philosophy in coverage is to play off so that players can ‘keep everything beneath them,’ execution inevitably lacks and the philosophy in question falls flat.

Perhaps Gus Bradley was restricted in how effective his defense could be due to a lack of resources afforded to him by the Colts front office, regardless, that’s now water under the bridge as Lou Anarumo looks to right the ship that was sunk while Bradley was in town.

Lou Anarumo capped off the film breakdown of his newest CB1 in Charavarius Ward with a few words about why exactly he is excited for the former All-Pro to join him in Indianapolis: “He’s a great component. When it comes down to it in this league, guys are gonna have to cover elite receivers and we’ve got an elite corner to do that — who will not only cover but can also take the ball away and also be a great tackler as well. We got better as a defense [with his addition].”