Former Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Colby Wooden was part of a blockbuster NFL swap on Saturday. The Green Bay Packers traded the New Orleans native to the Indianapolis Colts for Zaire Franklin.
Indianapolis was trying to get off of Franklin's money, but in the process, Wooden gets the chance to continue growing into a potential long-term starter. Wooden had 50 tackles, six that were for a loss, in 16 starts in Green Bay. He had 37 tackles and 0.5 sacks over his first two years with the Packers.
Wooden brings a defensive mentality to his pro career that was definitely more Kevin Steele-coded than Derek Mason- or Jeff Schmedding-minded. As a former fourth-round pick, he's had to earn every opportunity in the NFL. Discipline was everything.
“My mindset wasn’t to prove people wrong. It was to prove the guys upstairs right,” Wooden said back in October. “Like they made the right call. Prove myself right that I can do this (and) it’s my time. God didn’t leave me here. This is his plan, you feel me? So, I just got to go out, execute, and so far I’ve been doing that. You just do your job. It’s that simple. The coaches do a great job putting together a great game plan. You got to stop the run.
“To me, (playing) inside is all about mentality. You got to love physicality. You got to love just the whole thing. I love being gritty. It’s not a pretty job. We know my name ain’t going to be in the paper. Yeah, I got run stops, cool. You know it’s not going to be in the paper. But let them run for 200 yards and I guarantee they come, ‘Uh, where is he at?’ You know you got to do your job and take pride in that and I definitely do.”
READ MORE: Broncos urged to trade Jarrett Stidham during the NFL's offseason
Colby Wooden won't be starting for the Colts in 2026
Per The Indianapolis Star's Joel A. Erickson, "By trading the 29-year-old Franklin, the Colts get salary-cap relief for the next two seasons, add a young, run-stopping defensive tackle who can play behind Grover Stewart and clear the middle linebacker role for a faster, quicker player who has the range the Indianapolis defense needs."
Though Wooden won't start in 2026, he joins a Colts franchise with hopes of building on a massive surge in run defense success rate as the 2025 season progressed under second-year defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.