Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts re-sign Al-Quadin Muhammad + Potential Anthony Castonzo replacements

Episode Date: April 2, 2021

On today's episode, Evan is joined by Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed to go over the latest signings plus draft news for the Indianapolis Colts. First up, Indy has re-signed one of their as Al-Quadin Muhammed is back on a 1-year, $3.4 million deal. Also, the Colts signed two more pieces who will provide depth at key positions.Who could be the future left tackle for Indy? Using the RAS system, there are six names in the first and second round range who check the athletic boxes Indy covets in offensive line prospects. Could Oklahoma State's Tevin Jenkins be a legit option at No. 21? According to a source, Jenkins is very much in play for Indy.After GM Chris Ballard and HC Frank Reich attended Notre Dame's Pro Day, Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Tremble go under the microscope. Could Tremble be the future at tight end? If you could build the ideal Reich tight end, Tremble checks every box.All of this, plus so much more, in a loaded episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Sattery, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. As we're on a Thursday night to talk about the latest Colts news, first off, we're going to get to the re-signings and also a couple of signings as well.

No surprise so far, Stephen, all one-year deals. They re-signed Al-Qaedim Mohamed, who I think is a very solid rotational depth piece that sets the edge well against the run. He's an underrated pass rusher as well, to a one-year $3.4 million deal on Wednesday. And then on Thursday morning, they signed a couple of other depth pieces. I don't know if they can make the roster, so to say,

but a couple of guys here on the offensive line and at safety as well, that could really play a factor into the Colts' plans heading into training camp. And if they were to make the roster, that's just a bonus. Chris Reed, the offensive guard out of the Carolina Panthers, signed a veterans minimum deal. And then Sean Davis signed a veterans minimum deal,

a safety from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Has three years of starting experience. Hasn't really played much the last couple of years, though. First off, Stephen, to start off the show, let's talk about AQM for a second, because I think he is kind of underrated as far as the role he plays in this Colts defense. Actually played a lot of snaps last year for the Colts as a run-based down player. Gives you a lot of high motor, high energy. He's still very young, too. He's only 25 years old. Really fits the identity of this Colts defense as far as what Matt Eberkluge looks for just never nonstop energy.

What's your opinion on re-signing AQM on a one year, $3 million deal? I really like it, Evan. I thought AQM gave, gave them some versatility on the snaps that he played. I thought that he was productive. He is a rotational guy and it helps, helps the Colt at depth. So then like like they're not like edge is obviously a position need for the cults i don't think anybody is going to question that part um but it is something where it gives them a little bit more uh more uh wiggle room

in terms of what they do in the draft so So like if they don't want to necessarily, or say like a Jalen Phillips or a Quidi Pei doesn't fall to them at 21, it gives them the opportunity to feel comfortable taking a guy like a Peyton Turner or an Ellerson Smith somewhere early day three, you know, Peyton Turner on day two, something like that, where it gives them that opportunity to kind of play around with it. Getting AQM back and signing for a $3.4 million deal, I think that's a fair deal for both the Colts and for Al-Qaidi Muhammad.

I'm really excited for him to be able to get a chance to get a little bit more playing time. As of right now, the Colts haven't re-signed Justin Houston yet or any other edge player. So he's one of their primary guys, along with Kamoku Ture and Van Vaneku at this point, to get a lot of snaps. And so you're looking at this, and Taequann Lewis as well, that I think AQM really fits his defense well.

He's a motor guy. Iberflus loves that type of player. And I think he really fits this scheme very, very well. Let's move over really quickly, just looking at defensive ends for a second with the AQM signing. Interestingly enough, I did the number crunching and it's so intriguing to me how this worked out just exactly the exact figures that I thought it would. But when Danico Autry signed his deal with Tennessee for, I believe, an average of around $7.3, $7.4 million per year on a three-year contract, the Colts now with Al-Qadi Mohammed at $3.4 million, Isaac Rochelle at $2.5 million,

and then Tyquan Lewis on the final year of his rookie deal. That combines the exact same number that the Titans will be paying Danico Autry yearly. So they're kind of going three for one here with the colts are with rochelle aqm and lewis to kind of play the autry role what's your opinion on that kind of going sort of maybe not i mean maybe accidentally kind of really going money ball here to try to replace denico autry yeah i think that that's what they're trying to do or like if one of these guys really does step up so i think they're taking three basically one-year gambles like seeing which guy really comes out and and seizes that opportunity because you've got three of them now um you've got you

know rochelle and aqm there on one of your deals high point lewis is i think his deal is up after this year as well um and so the colts are in that that spot where these three defensive ends really have that opportunity to fight fight it out and earn that roster spot earn that playing time and that's exactly what chris ballard really wants he wants competition And if there's a guy that really, a guy or two that really show out and are able to show that they belong and they deserve it, they're going to get themselves a big contract next year. That's why I think it's always such a good idea at this point in free agency to sign one year contracts with guys because it forces them to prove it. And if they prove it, you're able to cash in on that. Either you get

the player re-signed and it doesn't cost you a compensatory pick, or they sign a bigger deal elsewhere and you recoup a compensatory pick. So I just think these one-year vet minimum deals that the Colts are signing at this point, and AQM obviously was a little bit more, but he was a known commodity for the Colts and somebody that was already on the roster. So it doesn't count against the compensatory pick formula. But I think that's what Chris Ballard is playing at this point, and I think it's a great way to do it. I think getting this depth of three similar style of players

to see if they can fill that Tanika Wachee role makes a lot of sense for this team going forward. Let's say on the two smaller signings here, we can also throw in Joey Hunt into the mix here because he was actually re-signed yesterday, or I believe maybe Tuesday late evening on a one-year contract, less than $1 million. So you now throw into the mix Joey Hunt, Chris Reed on offensive line

at a veterans minimum deal. Those two guys probably battling out for a roster spot in training camp. Julian Davenport was also signed to a Veterans Manoan deal. We know Sam Tevey was signed to like a one-year, two-minute contract. Really, we've seen, I mean, it was a big – the big, I say, bugaboo of the Colts last year, Stephen, with their roster was the lack of offensive line depth and the lack of experience there. They've gone out of their way now getting Davenport, Tevey,

and now Davis on board to the point where it seems like to me that the Colts really are focusing on getting guys in here that have veteran experience, that if something does happen to, let's say, Quentin Nelson or Ryan Kelly or one of the tackles, that they're in a spot where it's not like a guy with no experience walking out there with a starting lineup. These three guys they've signed with Chris Reed, Julian Daubport, and Sam Tevey have over 30-plus games of experience combined each. Yeah, it's something that Chris Ballard talked about in his season-ending press conference about how it's on him

that once guys started going down, and once Anthony Costanza went down and then LaRaven Clark went down and then you know holding like you just went like to like third or fourth string tackle and Chris Ballard was up front about it and said look the depth in the offensive line that's on me and he made it a point this offseason to address that and that's what he's done so far in making all these signings. You see guys that have experience and that can be those spot starters in case something happens. Or guys that, you know, for instance, like the Chris Reid signing, like, yeah, he started, I think it was like 14 games or so for the Panthers last season at left guard.

He's obviously not going to play left guard for the Colts because Quentin Nelson's there. But I think he'd have an opportunity to compete with Glowinski there at the right guard spot. And Chris Ballard has talked about bringing in competition from day one and making sure that they're building through the trenches, signing all these guys that have starting experience that maybe aren't like those frontline guys,

but like if there is an injury or say, for instance, they do draft a rookie to play left tackle, you've got guys that are going to be able to step in and help guide him. Or if the rookie's not ready to play right away, you feel comfortable, you know, trotting out one of these guys in limited roles. So I think Chris Ballard made it a point

to address the depth of the offensive line this offseason. I think that's exactly what he's done so far. Last sign we'll hit on here before we dive into some more draft content, Stephen, but the Colts on Thursday signed what looks like here they were placing the Tavon Wilson, which is Sean Davis out of Pittsburgh Steelers. Like I mentioned, he played for five years in Pittsburgh, was injured in 2020,

didn't really play much either. But the first three years of his career, he was a full-time starter for the Steelers. It seems like to me just a younger version of Tavon Wilson is on board here. I'm looking at his mock draft pool profile. Very much fits the athletic profile the Colts are looking for. Oh, for sure. So, while you were saying that, I was literally, I don't know if anybody could hear me, but I was typing in Sean Davis' name to the relative athletics, but I know you had

Kent Lee Platt on earlier, or last week at some point, because I wanted to see the type of athlete that Sean Davis was and according to RAS he had a 9.77 overall score which for anybody that cares that's a really elite score Chris Ballard and and the Colts have, you know, kind of taken that into account. So this signing of Sean Davis makes a lot of sense for the Colts because it gives them a veteran presence there in the safety, a position where having Malik Hooker go, and I know Malik Hooker didn't play a lot last year, but having some veteran depth in that safety room I think is very,

very beneficial for a lot of these younger guys. Because remember, their starting safeties right now are Julian Blackman, who's going to be a second-year guy, and then you've got Kyrie Willis, who's going to be a second-year guy. And then you've got Kyrie Willis, who's going to be a third-year guy. So, like, they don't have, like, really, like, veteran guys. So, Sean Davis being able to come in with starting experience, he played very well for Pittsburgh. It just so happened that he got injured.

And so I think that this is a great signing for the Colts, again, for Pittsburgh. It just so happened that he got injured. And so I think that this is a great signing for the Colts, again, for depth. I don't think that he's going to be challenging Kyrie Willis or Julian Blackman there for the starting spot, but I think it's going to give them an opportunity to, again, feel very comfortable in the draft if they want to go and take his safety, that they're going to get a guy that doesn't necessarily have to play right away and can learn behind a veteran, somebody like Sean Davis, who has that ability against the run, who's a terrific tackler. And so that's something that I think the Colts really value in that safety position. And I think one of the stats was that the Colts had one of the highest tackling percentages of any defense.

They also had one of the highest completion percentages, but that's kind of what the cover two, cover three zone gives up, is you give up these short passes, but you tackle. And that's exactly what the Colts have done in the past, and that's what Sean Davis is good at. He's good at tackling. He's good at run defense. And so I'm excited to see what he does in this defense.

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And check back to see who won today's matchup and who will become the best tasting protein bar ever at Bilt Bar. Get all the sports news in the under 20 minutes of the Locked On Today podcast. Host Peter Bukowski updates you on the latest news of every major sport with the help of our local experts. Follow the Locked On Today podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. We're now what looks to be almost two and a half, three weeks into free agency, Stephen. And obviously they brought back a couple of guys, T.Y. Hilton, Marlon Mack, Xavier Rhodes,

now Al-Kadhi Mohammed on one-year deals. The outside free and signings, like I mentioned, are all one-year deals as well. But those names are Isaac Rochelle, Sam Tebby, Julian Davenport, Chris Reed, and Sean Davis. I have to admit, Stephen, I mean, I knew the Colts weren't going to be super aggressive. But it feels like, to me, just like maybe like one or two of these guys might not even make the roster of the five guys I just mentioned there of Rochelle, Tevye, Davenport, Reed, and Davis. Based on how the draft goes, based on how the training camp goes, I'm kind of surprised, honestly, that the Colts didn't do more in free agency.

They're really betting a lot right now, Stephen, on young guys and really putting a lot of their chips into the draft too. I'll be honest, Devin. That's been my hesitation with the Colts so far this offseason is I expected them to at least make one splash signing in terms of specifically the defensive end position just because of the depth of the players that were there. That's been my big concern.

They're sitting on all this money, and they're not spending it. And I understand wanting to pay their own. Um, I understand kind of the, the whole process that the Colts are wanting to do, but what they're doing is putting such pressure on, on their front office. So, so much pressure on their scouts to hit in the draft because when you don't spend in free agency that means you you're hitting on the draft and you have to hit in the draft it's the the old

adage is when you're spending in free agency it's because you've made major misses in the draft that you have massive holes you have to fill i mean new england is the perfect example of that who for the past four years we've been saying saying, oh, well, you know, they've they've really struggled with the with the draft. Like, what are they doing? Why did they pick that guy? But, you know, Tom Brady was there. And then this year without Tom Brady, you saw what happened in New England. um and so for the Colts I was surprised that they didn't make any signs there's a couple couple defensive and Tyus Bowers Bowser specifically that I was kind of kicking myself that they didn't I think he signed for like six and a quarter uh per year on a four-year deal um so that one just kind of blew my mind that Chris Ballard wasn't in that because I know that coming out there there was rumors that

the Colts were interested in him and so that's one that I think might have gotten away but I just felt like the Colts would be a little bit more aggressive in free agency I'm not necessarily complaining that they aren't being aggressive I'm'm just a little surprised that they haven't been more aggressive in terms of addressing specifically defensive end. You know, the wide receiver, I'm fine with because you brought T.Y. Hilton back. But that defensive end position is, it's questionable right now. And I don't think anybody would say otherwise. So that's been the one that I've been really kind of, you know, kind of scratching my head at as to what the Colts' plans are

with that position specifically. Honestly, at this point, Stephen, I thought really going into free and see he wouldn't be a guy they brought back or even consider bringing back. But at this point, you're betting so much on Ben Benning and Kamoka Terry and Tyquan Lewis or even a day one rookie, whether it be on the first, second round of the draft, to really produce outstanding numbers right away next to DeForest Buckner, if that's the case.

I'd be stunned at this point, Stephen, if they don't re-sign Justin Houston to a one-year deal, maybe around like $5 million, $6 million, because you just have to have a veteran in that room. Right? Like that's – I would kind of be shocked too if they don't re-sign Justin Houston because he's going to be the one that makes the most sense.

He's got the experience. He's played well over the past two years. People like to knock him because his sack totals are down, but I think his pressure rate is still pretty solid. He's a veteran guy who's willing to work and teach the young guys. So I think if they're able to re-sign Justin Houston, I feel a little bit better, but it makes me feel that they're definitely addressing that position early in the draft. And you and I have talked about it before. Those are three positions that I think are key for the Colts in this draft, and that being left tackle, defensive end, and pass catcher.

And so that's where I think they're headed. I think Justin Houston, re-signing him makes a ton of sense given what they have so far and given the players that they've re-signed at this point. Yeah, and honestly, at this point, Stephen, if they did re-sign Justin Houston, I imagine he'd probably only be playing around 50% of the snaps. His snaps really dwindled off in the latter parts of the year,

around 55%, 60%. I think it could be even less than that if we see a fully healthy Kamoko Ture, Ben Bannigan coming on a little bit, or if they draft someone early on. He'll probably just be a rotational guy at that point. Maybe not even be a full-time starter for the Colts if he's brought back on a one-year deal. But you do need a veteran presence in that room, so I wouldn't be shocked at all if they brought back Houston on a one-year deal. But let's dive in now, Stephen, into

the NFL draft, which is now, we're officially April 1st now, so we're only about three weeks away from that occurring. And a really interesting thing I came up with going over the numbers over the last couple years of Chris Bauer drafting offensive linemen is that when you see the way that the cold to value offensive linemen, it's athletes. And like you mentioned at the top of the show, Kent Lee Platt was on the show on Tuesday and we talked through the RAS system, which really goes over it's relative athletic scoring.

And it really takes into effect their combined pro day numbers and just their overall size and speed scores. And the Colts over the last three years, which are Quentin Nelson, Braden Smith, and Danny Pinter, three guys drafted inside a top 150, they never not drafted an offensive lineman a sub-9 RAS score. Really, 9 and above is very elite numbers, and the Colts value elite athleticism at the offensive line position, Stephen. And for those guys, I mean, I can't put the list of guys going through Ken's list on,

on relativeathleticsporting.com. And there's six names that have a plus nine RAS score right now. And really all these guys within that 21 to 54 range, which makes me think it makes it, it makes it easier. Honestly, Stanford is listening out there to really lock in on these six guys because they could be options at 21, 54 in a tradeback scenario. And here's the six realistic options so far for the Colts with a RAS score above nine.

I've taken off guys like Rashawn Slater, who's not going to be there at 21. Panay Sewell, whenever he has his pro days, probably going to be an elite athlete as well, but he won't be there for the Colts. But the most realistic options are six names here. Samuel Cosme out of Texas with a 9.9. Tevin Jenkins of Oklahoma State with a 9.73 after his pro day on Thursday. Alex Leatherwood with a 9.68. Bowerd and Reich were there

for Leatherwood's pro day. In the second round, Spencer Brown with a perfect score of 10.0 out of Northern Iowa. He's probably in that 54 range. Same goes for Dylan Radins at 9.27 out of North Dakota State. And then Brady Christensen out of BYU will be in that 54 range. Really, he had a monster pro day next to Zach Wilson at BYU with a 9.84 RAS score. It seems like to me, Stephen, if they're looking for an Anthony Costanza replacement, those are the guys to watch out for there.

Absolutely. What you're saying is 100% right. The Colts value athleticism at the offensive line position. It's just, for whatever reason, the Colts in every single draft, every offensive lineman they've taken has generally scored very well on the RAS score. So I look at that and I say, all right, you've got, you know, Sam Cosme is the one guy that at 21, you might need to take there. But given you've got six of them, I think this kind of plays right into the Colts' hands. All these guys are probably going to be available because you took out Rashawn Slater,

you took out Christian Derrissaw, and obviously Penny Sewell is not going to be anywhere near the Colts. He's going to go in the top 10. But being able to have six guys there, probably at 21, you're going to feel really comfortable trading back into the late twenties, early thirties, and still feel like you're probably going to be able to get your guy or get a guy that you feel comfortable with there. And I think that that makes the most sense for the Colts because they're probably going to be looking to recoup a third round pick, at least in this year's draft,

or potentially a second round pick or a first round pick in next year's draft. So the Colts are in a good position. Again, it's so strange how the draft tends to line up with the Colts' biggest need in the offseason. For the past three or four years, that's how it's kind of fallen. And Chris Ballard and the Colts have either been really talented in terms of knowing when guys are going to be available for the holes that they have, or they've been really lucky, probably a little bit of both in terms of their planning. But yeah yeah having these

these six guys and I would love to get like a Tevin Jenkins or an Alex Leatherwood after a trade back and being able to pick up an extra third round pick that's that's the dream or a late second round pick if you're dropping back into the late 20s um that would be the dream for the Colts I think yeah and you also look at this list here of guys who could be there at 54. Like, let's say Quiddie Paye or Jalen Phillips is there at 21. I feel like both those guys at that point, with how much they need a pass rusher and an elite one for the next couple of years alongside DeForest Buckner,

I feel like if they don't want to pass on one of those guys, they can still even get a guy like a Dylan Radins or a Spencer Brown or Brady Christensen at 54. It seems like a guarantee that one of those three guys will be there at 54, Stephen. Like this class for offense tackles is setting up perfectly for the Colts. Like you mentioned, they could go for a Cosme or Tevin Jenkins at 21, or they could move back, get Alex Leatherwood, or they could even stay put and take an edge rusher or best player available at 21

and still get one of Christensen, Brown, or Radins at 54. Like they really have a lot of options and a lot of depth to work with absolutely the i that's probably my favorite um kind of hypothetical situation is as if a guy like a jaylen phillips or quitty pay specifically quitty pay if he falls to the colts at 21 like i could see chris ballard just running that card up. I don't know. They are in person this year in Cleveland, but I don't know how they're going to call in picks. But I could see the Colts being just extremely excited to go after somebody like Quidipe or even a Jalen Phillips if the injury history checks out to be able to get that elite pass rusher. Because again, those top 20 pass rushers in the NFL,

they're not typically taken outside of round one. There's a reason that guys with these athletic traits, they just don't fall very often. And those guys that are in the day two, day three pass rushers, you don't see, you don't see the Robert Mathis's anymore. Um, in, in terms of having a guy that's drafted in the fourth, fifth, sixth round come out and just have this ring of honor level career. Uh, so having, being able to get a pass rusher and then having the depth at the, at the, uh, left tackle position to be able to go up and, and feel confident that somebody that they feel good sitting there with the athleticism that you desire is going to be there at 54. It's something that I think the Colts are really, really looking forward to coming up in this draft.

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with team-centric guest mocks right around the corner. Follow the Locked on NFL Draft podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Last couple of points here, Steve, before we close out today's show, I actually have a little report here, a Locked on Colts report. I was able to get a really good source on this earlier today because Tevin Jenkins had his pro day at Oklahoma State. And according to a source very, very close to the

situation, I was able to find out that the Colts are very much interested in Tevin Jenkins, the right tackle of Oklahoma State. His RAS score, like it was mentioned, of 9.72 is an elite number. It's one of the best we've seen in this draft class. It gives me more confidence, Steven, that a guy like Tevin Jenkins can flip to the left side. He's played left tackle before and earlier in his career at Oklahoma State, but from what I know, the Colts have met with Tevin Jenkins at least two to three times in virtual meetings so far. They also had a scout follow him around to every single drill today at Oklahoma State, so they obviously weren't there for like Tylan Wallace or anyone else. They were there just for Tevin Jenkins.

They were following his every move there. So it seems like the interest on the Colts side in Tevin Jenkins is legitimate. And he's the one guy in this class, Stephen, if you're talking about nastiness in this class, he fits the Quentin Nelson type mold. He's not on the Quentin Nelson player level, of course, he's not going to be a top six pick. But Jenkins is a guy that really just fits that nasty mold the colts love and son that really chris bauer loves i mean he had a quote today after his pro day saying i'm a tough physical

nasty mf a dude who doesn't a dude who does not shy away from hits a dude who is going to bust his ass all the time like that's that's music to ch Bauer's ears, Stephen, hearing a quote like that. I imagine he's doing the same thing in Zoom interviews with them as well. Two to three times meeting with them already. I imagine there's probably going to be another meeting here soon before the draft. It seems like Tevin Jenkins could be a guy here, Stephen. I know we mentioned Samuel Cosme

with Frank Reich watching him on the big screen. It was funny enough, the Colts in the new video with the next pick at the very end actually blurted out though at this time instead of leaving it in there. But Samuel Cosme, we saw the Perot Day tape of Reich on the big screen before during the Carson Wentz video. But now we're hearing a lot of interest from the Colts here on Tevin Jenkins. He's a guy to me, Stephen. I know tradeback can be an option there, but I've heard from the Washington football team,

the Vegas Raiders, the Jets, the Steelers. Those teams in the late teens, early to mid-20s are very much in on Tevin Jenkins and the Colts are one of those teams from what I've been told from a person very close to the situation there with Tevin Jenkins. I think he's someone we should start watching for here, Steven. If it's not seeing him at Cosme, I think Tevin Jenkins could be a legitimate 1A or 1B option for the Colts. They want to stay put at 21 and draft their left tackle in the future.

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Like you said, he's just nasty. Like, the dude likes to crush people. And I think we talked about this at one point over the course of the past couple months. That's his big calling is that he wants to punish people. He just wants to crush them and basically take away their spirit. And that's, that's his MO. That's how he plays.

Now he's played on the right side. And so he'd be making that transition. But like you said, with that relative athletic score and that elite athleticism, that's something that you don't worry about as much for a guy like him being able to make that transition from the right side to the left side, because he's got that athleticism. He's able to get that shuttle. He's able to move his feet very, very quickly, able to get out in front of those edge rushers. For me, I think that they're going to, if you, you obviously watch the with the next pick video that came out yesterday, Chris Ballard at the end of it said, look,

this is our number one need going into the off season. I'm pretty dead set that they're talking about the offensive tackle position. They're there at left tackle. It's got to be that or defensive end. But given how much interest they seem to have shown in a lot of different left tackle prospects to this point, they've been to Alex Leatherwood's pro day. Both Ballard and Reich were there. Tevin Jenkins, having the Colts following around,

have multiple meetings reportedly. You've got Frank Reich and Chris Ballard going to Notre Dame to watch Liam Eikenberg. And you see Frank Reich sitting there talking to the Notre Dame tight ends coach while watching Liam Eikenberg. That's where I just think that the position itself is some such vital importance for the Colts this offseason, that we're going to see them talking to all these guys because they want to make sure that they get the right guy for them. And Tevin Jenkins very much could be that guy. I do think they're doing their due diligence on everybody just to make sure that that they know everything. They know the whole picture coming in. For example, Alex Leatherwood, his athleticism surprised me. Like I did not see that one coming to see him test so well.

Therefore, all of his drills, like I was just kind of shocked by that. So it was one where I thought he was probably maybe going to be a better right tackle than a left tackle, but he showed that athleticism. I'm like, all right, well, there you go. Like you, you can, you can play. All right. That's, that's pretty solid. You know, you know, Tevin Jenkins being a guy that played on the right side, he shows that athleticism. All right. You know, let's see if you can, you can play on the left side. Let's see what, what, what we can do. So I think that that's going to be the big thing with the tackle position is they're going to be doing their due diligence. that's going to be the big thing with the tackle position is they're going to be doing their due diligence. They're going to talk to these guys multiple

times, three, four, five times if they can. And then, you know, obviously there's limited contact in person because of COVID restrictions. But I think you're going to see a left tackle early, whether that's a 21 or whether that's a tradeback. I'm fairly confident if Putty Pay or Jalen Phillips is not there at 21, that left tackle is going to be the Colts' first pick in this draft. Last point here, like you just mentioned, Stephen, Bowerd and Reich, as well as Kevin Rogers, their director of player personnel, were on hand in South Bend for Notre Dame's Pro Day. Of course, it's a very close one to their headquarters, only a couple hours away, driving or even less than an hour flight to South Bend if they want to do that.

But having the whole contingency out there with Ballard and Reich and Rodgers, as well as a couple other scouts from what I've been told as well. Liam Eikenberg obviously is a big name to follow there because the left tackle connection, and he played that. But also you see his RAS score is 8.5. It's not at an elite level, but I think it's right there. I mean, it's around that threshold. So he could be a legit option for the Colts if they were to move back a little bit.

I think 21 is a little too rich for me as far as Eichenberg goes. But one player, like you just mentioned, he was talking to his position coach. And from what I saw from a pro day and after going back and re-watching, because I had one of our followers on Twitter in South Bend who reportedly watched the whole pro down ACC network. And let me go ahead and pull the tweet here. Cause he brought up a really good stuff here. Matt it's at Caparelli on Twitter.

I made sure to give him a shout out cause I told him I would do that. But he, he said that Reich spent the last 45 minutes talking to the tight ends coach at Notre Dame. And he pretty much watched him a lot with Tommy Tremble. We're speaking about Tommy Tremble, the Notre Dame fighting Irish tight end. Liam Eikenberg is definitely someone to watch for as far as a draft goes at left tackle,

but we've been hearing all offseason, Stephen, about a vertical tight end threat and one who could do a lot of things in this offense. And I was thinking when I went back and watched Tommy Tremble today for the first time really in depth this year because he's really rising up draft boards. Brevin Jordan had a really disappointing pro day. His RAS score was a 4.4. So I think he's kind of off the board for me a little bit. I know he's still a solid option there, but he's more so like a maybe less

versatile guy than a Tommy Tremble who had an 8.7 RAS score, really an elite number for a tight end. He really, to me, is like a suit of Trey Burton. He can do everything Trey Burton does, but also Jack Doyle. He can do the blocking. He can do the receiving. Some of the blocks he makes on tape, Stephen, they're like George Kittle-esque.

He's a kick-ass run blocker that really puts guys in the dirt all the time, almost like the tight end version of Tevin Jenkins, so to say, Stephen. He wasn't used much in the receiving game in their day. And I know me and you both watch a lot of Irish games, but he has the speed. He has the size, the strength to really be an F tight end in the NFL. And he's one to me. If you were to build a, my create player for Frank Reich, a tight end, I think he'd value those run blocking skills a lot.

He'd value the speed and the vertical threat, of course. I feel like if we're thinking about guys that Frank Reich really would fall in love with in this draft class, I think Tommy Trimble might be the one at tight end honestly. Yeah, Tommy Trimble, it's tough for him and the projection is hard for him because he wasn't used as a pass catcher as much because you had Cole Komet there at Notre Dame last year or the year before. And then you had the freshman, Michael Meyer,

who they're more athletic versions of tight end. But the question is, I've had people ask me about this with Tommy Trimble. He double catches. Are we really worried about his receiving skills? He wasn't used as patch caster. And I sat there and go, well, was he not used as a pass catcher because he's not as good as a pass, as pass catcher as these guys, or is he just a better run blocker than those guys? So he was used more.

He was a little bit more versatile of a chess piece to be used throughout that alignment. So Notre Dame didn't feel like they had to go to him, that he was a one-trick pony where all he could do was catch passes, which is kind of what you see with Colt Comet and Mike Meyer at this point. And Tommy Trimble, to me, is the perfect tight end fit. Outside of, obviously, Kyle Pitts, who's never going to be anywhere near the Colts. I think Tommy Trimble might be the second,

like might be the tight end too in this class. And, and yeah, I know there's Pat Freermuth there out of Penn state that, that could be an option, but I think Tommy Trimble gives them so much more versatility in terms of what he wants to do in like with the blocking aspect of it being able to move him around the around the scheme around the around the formation and really get that mismatch that's what Frank Ray likes to do and he loves to do it with tight ends you saw New England's do it this year where they they went and got Hunter Henry and Johnnie Smith that being able to have two very versatile tight ends that can catch is such an advantage for an

offense and Tommy Trimble just makes a ton of sense for the Colts they're in round two or early round three if there's a trade back yeah for me honestly Steven with Trimble like he wasn't used a lot because like you mentioned they're a power run team that loves to run the ball we saw a lot with kyron williams last year and tommy reese's offense the office coordinator but also like you mentioned michael meyer tight end there you also have ben skaronic out of nerdy who was a very good vertical threat for them so a lot of pieces that tommy tremble like really was a wasn't a one-trick pony he did a lot of pieces that Tommy Trimble like really was a wasn't a one-trick pony he did a lot of things he lined up in the slot he did a lot of things vertically too he just wasn't utilized I think to his full potential he's only 22 years old and into a situation at Indy Steven where he could

sit behind Jack Doyle and Molly Cox for a year have a limited role but if he does like blow up in training camp he could be maybe take more snaps away from Jack Doyle. So to say, I mean, that would not shock me at all, but to me, Frank Reich does a tight end. That is a three down player. And there's really not many three down tight ends in this class outside of Kyle pits, maybe Pat for I moved as well,

but Tommy tremble really is a three down tight end in this class. He's not going to come off the field. And with the way that Reich values blocking, I know it's an underrated point, but he fell in love with Michael Pittman Jr. last year a lot because of his vertical grip, but also just how nasty of a run blocker he is. And Zach Paschal, too.

I mean, it's the exact same thing. Like, I can imagine Trimble and Pittman on the same side really sealing the edge for Jonathan Taylor to burst off a 40-plus-yard run. And then also Trimble could align in the slot. He could be an F tight end. He could go down the field with his 4 five speed and do some damage there like I think he's one where if Frank Rick turns on the tape he could say my goodness like like you just mentioned Stephen

I could do so much with this guy I can line him up in the backfield as a lead blocker I can line him up at tight end I can line up in the slot like he is that versatile chess piece where he could be slowly developed in year one. And then maybe once Jack Doyle falls back into a smaller role in the final year of his contract, Trimble really takes over as your number one tight end and plays, really never comes off the field as your three-down tight end. Yeah, and I think it's important that the Colts address the tight end position this year because their two main guys are Jack Doyle and Mo'Ally Cox. Mo'Ally Cox is going to be on a one-year deal as a restricted free agent. And then Jack Doyle, he's gradually regressed over the past couple

years. And then he's going to be coming up into a contract here. Not this year, but I think it's next year is his last year. But they're going to need to have some pieces here. And the Eagles at this point haven't released Zach Ertz, so who knows what they're doing over there. Tommy Trimble, I think, just, again, makes perfect sense for this offense, perfect sense for what Frank Reich wants to do, and just is a perfect fit in this scheme. Stephen, really appreciate the time as always, man. Always enjoy having you on.

Colts fans, you have now already. Go ahead and follow Stephen on Twitter, at time as always, man. I always enjoy having you on. Colts fans, you have now already. Go ahead and follow Stephen on Twitter at NiceReachSteven. Go listen to his podcast over on stampedeblue.com. Stephen, appreciate the time, man. I imagine I'll have you back on here next week to talk more about the draft, which thankfully is now we're in the month of April, just a couple weeks away. Yeah, I'm excited. Thanks, Evan.

Have a great night.