How Colts decided to use WR Ashton Dulin on defense against Arizona
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INDIANAPOLIS — Colts head coach Shane Steichen played a clip of Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown in the team meeting last Wednesday.
The room was probably surprised.
New England stars aren’t often shown in an Indianapolis film room, but there was Brown, shifting over to the defensive side of the ball and making interceptions for the Patriots.
“Then I threw (Ashton) Dulin’s picture up there and said, ‘You're playing defense this week, dude,’” Steichen said. “The guys were all fired up.”
Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo came up with the idea while preparing his defense to face speedy Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray is Arizona’s leading rusher, a quick, diminutive player who darts around defensive linemen, escaping the pocket and making plays with his feet.
A little bit like a punt returner.
And that got Anarumo’s wheels turning about the kind of player he needed to keep Murray from running wild.
“(Dulin), I think everybody would agree, if not the best, (he’s) one of the premier gunners in our league,” Anarumo said. “We had a couple things set up where, if Kyler would have played, where we would’ve semi-turned it into a gunner rep. We'd flush Kyler one way and here comes Ashton (Dulin) around the edge and all of a sudden it's a punt return for him.”
Murray ended up being held out of the game because of a foot sprain, putting Jacoby Brissett in the Arizona backfield and rendering most of Dulin’s defensive plays moot.
Indianapolis scrapped all of Dulin’s plays except one.
“This was one that we had practiced and thought that would still have a chance for him to come around and potentially make a play,” Anarumo said. “But yeah, he's a great gunner, great tackler, great receiver, smart football player. Why not?”
Dulin lined up at left defensive end, acted like he planned to rush there and then broke right at the snap, racing behind the Indianapolis defensive line and running around the right edge.
Arizona picked up Dulin’s stunt easily.
“I was hoping he’d get a sack there, to be honest,” Steichen said.
It didn't work, not even in the slightest, but I present to you Lou Anarumo's latest concoction: the Ashton Dulin Pass Rush https://t.co/cPp6wxTUi4pic.twitter.com/iMmo8aA2WZ— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) October 13, 2025
Dulin’s foray into the defensive world was brief, but it does beg the question of how many positions the veteran wide receiver could play if asked. Dulin is one of the NFL’s best gunners, and he’s long played a role as the team’s fourth or fifth wide receiver because of his long speed and blocking ability.
Is there anything Dulin can’t do?
“Maybe o-line,” Steichen said. “Anchoring in there against a 300-pound d-lineman, that might be tough. But he'll fight and hold his own. I guarantee you, he'll fight like crazy.”
Almost as crazy as coming up with the idea to rush a wide receiver off the edge.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WR Ashton Dulin was used on defense by the Colts vs Arizona
