Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: DOWN on Downs? | A Look at The Veteran Wideout Who Will Be Relied Upon Even More!

Episode Date: May 20, 2026

In the first of our series on Returnee Reviews for the Colts, we dive into wide receiver Josh Downs. With Michael Pittman Jr,'s departure, could we see more production from a player who seemed to take a step back in his third season? Also, how much will Deion Burks factor into the WR room and Colts' opponent news: Rashee Rice jailed, Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh, and Nashville gets its Super Bowl! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:  🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/  📺https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ  Give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More  🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/lockedoncolts  Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and I can't imagine having one son in the NFL, much less two. And I'm Zach Hicks, and I'm one of many on this podcast that never had a dream of playing in the NFL. I'm Jake Arthur, and we might have another Alec Pierce situation on our hands this year and Josh Downs. And I'm Alan Pinkett, former Euler. Will this be a Downs year for the Colts? We'll discuss. rise up. It's the Colt Squad, everything Indianapolis Colts every week. Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Circle City, the way only the locked on podcast network can. It's time to squad up. The Colt Squad Joe starts now. Welcome to the Colt Squad Show. I'm Derek Schultz,

long-time Indie Sports Talker and columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal. I am joined, as always, by a Notre Dame legend and longtime NFL running back. He's on the bottom left hand. your screen. It's Alan Pinkett, along with the locked on colds duo of Jake Arthur and Zach Hickcher. First listen every day. We are fully squatted up and ready to go to start a new week and get right into it on tonight's show. We haven't done a recurring series here in a while. We've had some fun ones in the wake of the immediacy of the off season, right? But now we've got the squad together and we did this actually off the air because we're all best friends and we talk all the time on a text chain. And we came up with this new one and we think you guys are really going to

like this, returnee reviews. It's funny, the thing that we've talked about the least on this show since the season ended in January was the guys that are actually coming back, right? Because we talked about the free agents and then we kind of, we talked about the rookies. Then we talked about the guys that were leaving like Pittman Jr. and Zaire Franklin and people like that. But what about the guys that are staying? It's where we're going to take an in-depth look at some key returnees whose roles may have changed with some of the off-season shifts. And tonight we're going to start with Josh Downs, who hasn't been much of the conversation at all coming off what I think we would all agree was a little bit of a disappointing year three for him. We'll talk about that

in segment number one. And then in two, we'll talk about how he fits into the Colts now narrowing wide receiver room. There are less mouse to feed right now with Michael Pittman, Jr. Now out of the equation, even if Dionne Burks is coming back in. And speaking of Dionne Burks, I know Zach went through and reviewed some of his history and film and all of that. How big of an role can the seventh rounder play out of Oklahoma, who has some tantalizing speed, but didn't necessarily have the size and the measurements that scouts were looking for, hence why he fell backwards in the draft like that. We'll talk about that in segment number three. And then in segment four, it's been kind of a busy 48 to 72 hours for

Colt's opponent news. The Aaron Rogers deal in Pittsburgh, who of course is going to be opponent once again this season, Rashie Rice and what's going on there in Kansas City. God, you know, that's Colts week two opponent. And then our friends down in Nashville got themselves a Super Bowl, which is nice because we know the Titans are never going to go, right, Alan? So at least they get to actually host the Super Bowl there in the Music City. We'll talk about that coming up here in segment number four. I kid because I love.

But let's jump right into Josh Down, Zach. I'd mention, you know, the fact that he and his brother, right, will be NFL players and, in fact, play each other at some point this season. But, you know, here's a guy that I think was a fan favorite right away. He was definitely a Colts draft. if you're part of Colts draft lore and Colts draft Twitter and all of that, those followings, seemed like he was a very popular pick at the time when he was taken out of North Carolina a couple of years ago and was productive really from day one, right?

And had a productive year two as well. And it looked like he was going like this. And then last year, maybe it started to do this a little bit. I don't know this. It certainly wasn't doing this. But where are we at with Josh Downs now going into year four here? And can he get back on that trajectory again now with Pittman Jr. out of the equation and this offense potentially going to rely on him more coming up this fall.

Yeah, it feels like Josh stands throughout his three years with the Indianapolis Colts has kind of always been on the cusp of being like that guy at wide receiver, right? Like he's been a really good auxiliary piece for his three seasons with the Colts. And every time it felt like he was on the verge of becoming much more and taking that step into being like a legit like number one or number two wide receiver for the team, whether like injuries popped up or or different roles happened or the offense changed. There was always something that kind of got in the way with Josh Downs becoming that guy for the team. And last year there was a bit of a step back like you mentioned there, Derek,

where he just wasn't the guy that they expected. Again, the offense changed in a lot of ways, right, where they were changing it to more of the 12 and 13 personnel. So Josh Downs didn't have as big a role as he did in previous seasons. but yeah you want to see if he can take that next step still right there's been so many good inklings there he's such a consistent player i know there were a couple like key drops last season but overall a very consistent and reliable player for the team there's so much to like in what he brings he was basically a day one producer at like 21 years old in the NFL so he's still a young player there's still a lot to really reach with his potential and i think part of letting

Michael Pittman Jr. go this all season was that bet in Josh Towns was that bet that, hey, this is a guy that we didn't get involved enough last season. We need to get him more involved in the passing game and the offense in general. So we're going to take this shot and let Michael Pittman Jr. go and rely on Josh Downs a lot more. So, you know, he's entering a huge season. This is going to be definitely the most important season of his career. It's the difference between making $10 to $15 million per year on the next contract and the difference between like up the 25 to 30 million dollars per year on the next contract. So he really needs to perform this season.

I think the culture are expecting him to perform. And I think they'd be more than willing to pay him if he shows that he can do it. But yeah, he's going to get a much bigger role this season. It's time to get that trajectory pointing back up because he has stagnated a little bit in the NFL. But the culture is going to give him every opportunity to hit that potential they still see in his game. Yeah, I'm not real worried about last year. It statistically was the least productive of his three years in every measure except for touchdowns. I do think there was probably more mouths to feed than what there has been in years past,

which of course led to that. And I think the Colts had some issues learning how to have Tyler Warren and Josh Downs and how to kind of divvy up that role and who is going to be the guy on third or fourth down, like who's going to be that that quick man beater. And I just think downs fell to the wayside a little bit. But I also think we've seen him capable of much more, especially earlier in his career. I mean, I go, I think back to his rookie year, 2023,

even some stuff in 2024. I felt like the depths at which he ran routes on the field and like his route tree was just more diverse than what we've seen recently. feels like he's been into a lot more just like short comebacks and, you know, little outroutes and just the screens and so just it's been a little unimaginative for him. And so I would like to see his usage get back to where occasionally he's he's working some stuff downfield. You see him on those those corner routes where he's getting 20, 25 yards. I think of some stuff with him and Anthony Richardson earlier in their careers going up the seam. So I think, you know, a smart quarterback like Daniel Jones will figure out good ways to get downs involved.

And we've talked about this third receiver spot, basically the void where Michael Pittman Jr. was being filled in by Ashton Doolin and Dionne Burks and Nick Westbrook Aquina. I think that role is going to be a bit small. I don't think those guys are going to combine for a ton of targets. I think the vast majority of this workload is going to be absorbed by Alec Pierce by Josh Down. by Tyler Warren. So I think just that in itself, and especially like Josh Downs, is going to be used more on the outside as well, which the Colts are confident he can, you know, he can be successful there as well. Basically in two receiver sets, I think he'll be the other outside guy opposite of Pierce. Three receiver sets, he'll kick back into the slot. I just think that different

usage and everything, that different role is going to allow him to show a different side. of his skill set that we haven't seen from him in a couple years. So I think as long as the targets there, which they should be, we'll see a newly improved Josh Downs and we'll be much more familiar with this version of him that was earlier in his career than what we saw last year because it did. It just felt so uncharacteristic for him. You know, if you remember early in the season, we were like, God, they really got to get Josh Downs involved.

Like this seems like a big part of their, like their offenses, is historic right now, but it's a big missing part of it where they could be even better. And then as the season went on, I feel like they did a little better job getting him more involved. But ultimately, I just think they kind of got lost in the sauce of how to use this guy. But now the opportunity is, there's more of one there now. Well, I hope I don't sound like an echo, Jake, when I talk about Josh Downs. but I truly believe his numbers were down only because those numbers were taken by Tyler Warren.

Yeah. And, you know, why wouldn't you throw to a big target like Tyler Warren? And having a tight end in your offense, having that enforcer that can catch the ball in the defensive backfield and beat up, you know, some of these DBs is a pretty good thing to have. I don't think his talent diminished in any way. And really, the only news we talked about with Josh Downs were the couple times he dropped a pass, you know, because he was extremely reliable. And I actually, you know, once I found out who we were talking about, did a teeny bit of research.

I went back and watched all of his 2024 highlights. and, you know, it looked like he was a favorite of Joe Flacco. Mm-hmm. And I loved him. You know, and I think he's just, and Zach, you said it, just about somebody who's so reliable. I think that exceptionally well in zone defense, you give this guy any bound to space,

and he's going to make you pay, his ability to redirect on his, ability to run is excellent. He's just a slippery guy. And I don't recall seeing a lot of people play man against him. And that's, I don't know, a lot of times when you're in the slot, they won't man up on you. They'll just, if you're on the outside, they'll man up on you.

But I think he might even be more dangerous and man coverage just because he's so slippery. And he's quick. I know in contemporary NFL football, you want your 6-4 wide receiver, who's rangy. But I think Josh Downs, at least looking at the highlights I looked at, I mean, he went after the ball. He had range. I mean, he got off his feet, got airborne, and made some circus catches. And I think that is still within him.

Now, you know, can he fill the role that Michael Pittman filled? I don't know. And I think last year was just there weren't enough footballs to go around. But we talk about Josh maybe having duties being added. And I was reading a source that talked about free agents that are out there and with teams they would fit best on. And there was one source that cited Debo San. Debo Samuel, excuse me, being a great fill-in for the Colts. You know, now, and you guys probably already talked about it on your show.

One of the few times I didn't get to listen. But, you know, you can have so much talent that it hampers you because one guy never gets to shine. but you can also have what we had last year which were complementary pieces where the defense couldn't key on one particular person and as long as you caught the ball, this offense was going to move down the field and score.

So having said that, I'm not so worried about his stature, you know, but I like the fact that he's reliable, can catch the ball, can get first downs, and is a nice change up to Tyler Warren and can, you know, maybe add some confusion at that defensive backfield about how you stop this Colts machine, you know, getting down the field. But they still got some money left. And who knows, we've all thought it was going to be edge or defensive end or somebody like that that that they might spend the money on.

But I think the Colts are setting themselves up to be a team that's going to outscore everybody. And so Josh Downs will have a prominent role in doing that regardless of what they do. Yeah, and we'll expand more on that role when we come back. Can Josh Downs be not just a number three receiver, but maybe even a number two one in this Colts offense? We'll discuss when the Colts Squad Show returns next. This portion of the Colt Squad show brought you by Square, the system that helps fix one of the biggest headaches in running a business. Starting a business is exciting, but actually running it. That's where things can get really complicated fast. Payments, inventory, staff, scheduling online orders. It's a lot to manage. That's why Square brings everything together into one connected system. Square helps you take payments, track sales, manage inventory, and keep your business running smoothly without juggling a bunch of disconnected tools. As a customer, it's super convenient. You know, you're

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Thanks so much for joining us alongside former NFL or Alan Pinkett and the locked on Colts duo of Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks, who did talk. about Debo Samuel earlier today for it just a case you didn't catch that episode. I know it's your first lesson every day, so you already listened to it, but just in case you had something else pop up and you didn't, you can check them out and check out that episode from earlier today. I'm Derek Schultz. Thanks so much for joining us. We're talking about Josh

Downs today, so we're doing returney reviews. This will be a recurring series during the offseason here for the Colts Squad show. We're talking about some of the guys that are coming back. And we'll jump back into that conversation here in just a second. I wanted to remind you of the Everydayer Club. Don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes. and access to group chat with Jake, Zach, and other listeners of Locked-on Colts. They're all handsome.

They're all smart. They're all just like you. Tap the link in the show notes or go to locked-on podcast.com slash every day or club. So the Josh Downs role and expanding that a little bit more. Jake, I actually want to start with you here. You said something interesting about how you didn't feel like the number three receiver role was going to be a very big one. is there a chance that's because that ends up going to

Nick Westbrook or or even Dionne Burks or somebody, you know, Ashton Doolin, somebody like that, or some combination of those three guys and Downs moves up the food chain a little bit. Are you confident that a rapport can be built? Because I think there was one that we saw with Richardson and Downs and maybe a little bit less so with Daniel Jones and Downs, but can that be smooth out as well? What do you envision for his 2026 and his part in this Colts offense being.

Yeah, I don't think the Colts are super eager to throw some sort of featured role at any of Ashton Doolin, Nick Westbrook, Aquina, or even Dionne Burks. I think they like each of them for what they can provide. You know, Doolin throughout his career has done, you know, some good, like jet sweep stuff, like he can run out of the backfield on, you know, some gadgety stuff. You see him stretch the field a bit more as a receiver. Same thing with Nick Westbrook Aquina. big-bodied guy that can block and can get vertical.

And then Dionne Burks, as Zach just recently research, can, you know, he's a pretty interesting player undersized, but pretty good on the outside. You want to get him probably some yards after catch opportunities this year, I think, if you're the Colts. But really, if you're then, you have three pretty good solid receiving options already, and Alec Pierce, who you absolutely have to get more involved because you're paying him almost $30 million a year.

Downs, who you have been hoping you could find a way to get him more involved. And then Tyler Warren, who is really solid and played at a Pro Bowl level as a rookie last year, you really want to throw your passing game resources mostly into those three guys. And then, again, you'll rotate through Westbrook Aquina and Dewell and Berks a little bit, just for what they provide, you know, maybe draw up a couple things for them throughout the game. But really, I think it's going to be those three guys. guys, Zach made a really good point last year with Daniel Jones coming in that Josh Downs was arguably going to be the biggest benefactor of Jones coming in because of the way Daniel Jones previously

with New York used a guy like Wondale Robinson out of the slot, somewhat comparable players, good shifty guys who can create after the catch, they get a lot of short targets and get a lot more out of them to move the chains. I just think kind of pointing back to what I was talking to in the previous segment, I think it was just difficult for the Colts to get into a rhythm with both Warren and Josh Downs. I mean, one's a receiver, one's a tied in, yes, but their depths and their missions throughout, you know, throughout the game seemed pretty similar. And it was kind of, it felt like a choice between the two of them personally. That's, that's kind of how I saw it. And we saw really inconsistent usage for downs, especially early in the year.

I think it got a little better. But, you know, by the time maybe they were finding their footing a little bit, Daniel Jones is out the door, you know, with his Achilles injury. So if you could get a 17-game healthy Daniel Jones, I think that also is another big help and could go a long way towards their chemistry as well. Yeah, a big way the Colts operated last year because they had a receiving, receiver core that was more of like the sum of their parts than like having like that legit superstar at the top. I know that obviously Alec Pierce had a great season, but they didn't really have like that superstar like can do it all type of player.

So they had to be a some of their parts type of receiver core. And they essentially operate in a way where if a team's going to run a lot of zone against us, we'll lean into Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warren and let those guys go to work. If they're going to run a lot of man on us, we have Alec Pierce that can beat anybody off the line of scrimmage. and then we have Josh Downs on those option routes. I mean, if you look at the Denver game earlier in the season, Josh Downs was a huge part of why they won that football game, right? A lot of their third down conversions went to who we call first downs, Josh Downs, to get the ball moving.

And, you know, Denver plays so much man coverage that they were able to kind of convert the sticks quite a bit. So, yeah, with teams playing more zone than man, Josh Downs got phased out a lot, and the Colts ran a lot of 12 and 13, and a receiver has to come off the field there. and that's when Downs came off the field. So he had his fewest amount of snaps. He just didn't get involved as much.

But I think when you look at the Colts offseason this year and look at projecting forward to next season, you know, the offseason moves at receiver don't make a ton of sense unless you're projecting a bigger role for Josh Downs, which the Colts has said over and over again that they think Downs can have a much bigger role on the outside and just as a player. Shane Steichen has worked with smaller wide receivers before as well, putting them on the outside, Rantes Smith, right? In Philadelphia, he might be a little bit taller than Josh Downs, but they're both like 170-something pounds. They're both really skinny receivers. Keenan Allen, I know is a little bit thicker, but a bit of a smaller receiver as well, not your traditional, like massive outside receiver. And Shane Steichen had him on the outside

quite a bit with the charges did a little bit outside and inside stuff with the chargers as well. So, yeah, this Colts offense this year, it's going to run through Alex Pierce. It's going to run through Tyler Warren when they pass the ball. Those are going to be their two guys. Follow the money when it comes to Alec Pierce. They're going to throw in the ball 130 plus times this season. And also follow the draft status, Tyler Warren, top 15 pick. They're going to throw him the ball a bunch too.

So Josh Downs is probably not going to get like, you know, 100 plus targets this season. He might get around 100, but he's not going to get like a crazy amount of targets. But it's about being efficient and being productive in those targets like he's been the last couple of seasons. So I'm excited to see what they have planned for him on the outside. I think Stuyken is uniquely equipped to have a guy like his size on the outside and work well with that. I think he's done well with Downs in the past of motioning him into three wide receiver like bunch sets and giving him those free releases to run whip routes back to the outside because Downs is so quick and so elusive that you can get him in space. I thought they finally did a better job of getting him more involved in the Red Zone last year as well. I would love to see him, I would love to see the Colts also study a lot of how like Pooka Nakuua was used with the Rams.

And I don't say this just as a like, oh, great receiver Puka Nakua, just make Josh Downs that. I'm not saying that whatsoever. But in terms of how they would get Nakuwa in the backfield a lot, right, and have him isolated with running back or with linebackers that way, right, on like third and goal situations, second and goal situations. The way that Nakua just used in motion a lot to get him some free release. and get open against leverage against opposing defenders. So I think there's a lot of ways that you can use downs to set him up for success. And Shane Seichen is someone who does study the rest of the NFL quite a bit in the offseason. So I think they'll find ways to work him more in the offense.

I don't know if it's going to be like a thousand yard season or anything. It might just end up being, you know, par for the course type year form, like a seven to 800 yard season. But if Pierce is going to get 130 plus targets, if Warren's going to get, 120 targets, whatever it's going to be, then that's a fine year for Josh Downs being the third option if you can get, you know, seven, 800 yards receiving and you're efficient in those targets. So, yeah, I think that he's going to do a lot of big things for the Colts this year. It's definitely, again, the third target, but I think he's going to be an efficient third target

like he's been the last couple years. I think it all comes down to scheme. And can they scheme him open, even though. we know that their primary targets are going to be, Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren. I like the analogy, Zach, of Puka Nakua, because they move him all over the place. You know, and I'm not so concerned about Josh Downs size.

I'm more concerned, can he run those longer routes that an X or Z runs as opposed to the routes you run in the slot. And I'm especially not worried by the size because I think about another guy who, I don't know if he's bigger or smaller than Josh Downs, but Tyreek Hill never had a problem, you know, being on the outside. Now, he did have blazing speed. Yeah, he's like the one of the fastest players to ever play.

Yeah, that helped. But, I mean, speed is just one of the qualities you need to have. have because if speed was all you needed, then the damn track team would be out there catching passes. So interesting to see, and I'm sure for a guy like Josh Downs, a guy who was used to get in the ball a lot in 24 and didn't get it that much, is very, very hungry and eager to show, look, all I need you guys do is just put me on the field and I'll make the play. And And it's going to be interesting to see how they move in just Burke's kid, this seventh rounder, to see if he can be a nice complimentary piece.

We already know what Ashton Doolin and Gold can do. And so, who knows, maybe I'll bring back Laquan Treadwell. They love Lequan Treadwell. He is back under contract. So he's going to be competing for a roster spot with those other guys. And with the way that Treadwell played on special teams last year, I'd fully expect him to make this team because he was a stud on special teams last year, arguably as good as Doolin.

So Treadwell, I think we'll probably be on this team this year. Well, from a player's perspective, if they hear that they're expanding your role, you're like, hell yeah, I'm all for it. Because, you know, expanded role means expanded paycheck, hopefully, or opportunity for an expanded paycheck. And so I know that Josh Downs is just itching at the opportunity to, you know, play multiple positions so that, you know, he can get his hands on the ball. And, you know, sometimes coaches, they forget. Like, if you go back to the 24th season, look at how he outran a lot of folks,

and they didn't use that much in 25. They forget what he did in 24. I had that happen, you know, with, we had a coaching change. I hate to bore you with old stories. But we had a coaching change. Jack Pardee came in, and we're going out to play the Chargers. And I'm probably sitting at number three in the death. chart and we're looking at some old charger film and I busted one for 50 and he's like

damn you froze him I'm like what the hell you think I've been doing here uh so I'm sure Josh is like if y'all just used me y'all would see more big plays yeah and that's kind of the thing about you know you look and it's it's essentially career lows across the board and and that's after what we thought was kind of a a breakout even though you know it's not that it was that vastly different from his rookie season. Year two was better, but not like seismically better. But then, you know, you go down 20 targets. You have a career low in catches.

You have a career low in yards per game. I mean, you know, you end up with 88 targets, which was 20 fewer than he had in his second year. And that's playing two more games. So just, you know, Zach, even you mentioning the nickname first downs, like, I had forgotten about that. You know what I mean? Like, I remember that now.

And I smiled, but like, I don't remember that being thrown around last year because it just didn't feel. like he was a real impact player at any point last year. And I'm sure I'm missing some things as far as, you know, a play here or a play there, but nothing immediately jumps to mind. And I know he has that in his bag. And I know Shane Steichen and the coaching staff and Jim Bob Cooner and everybody else know that he has that in that bag. So just kind of getting back to that this year, especially if we're expecting Pierce to continue to ascend, right? And an offense that still includes Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren and some of these other weapons that we all like, um, I'm, I'm

still hopeful that Josh Downs can be that guy. Yeah. And, you know, when it comes to Josh Downs, I still think we're forgetting that even though last year was a bit of a step back. I mean, for most of the season, he was one of the best receivers in the league at converting receptions to first downs. I mean, he was still first downs last year. He just didn't get as many targets. And he had, again, the notable drop against Houston, I think is what wears in everybody's mind. But again, they don't win the Denver game without Josh Downs. He was arguably like a top three reason they won that football game behind, I guess the guy running over the long snapper was probably the most important reason they won. But yeah, like he was a vital piece of that game plan. That game plan

doesn't work without, hey, Denver's going to man coverage on third down. How do we isolate Josh Downs to get him open against that coverage? And he converted, I think it was like four or five third downs in that game by himself. So very, very good player. I'm excited to see what the new role looks like for him. He fits exactly what Shane Steichen likes it. wide receiver. Shane Steichen's all about separation at wide receiver. That is his number one thing at the receiver position. So I think he's always been a very big Josh Downs fan, even more so than how much he's liked Michael Pittman Jr. the last couple of years. So I'm excited to see what it looks like when it comes to getting Josh Downs more involved this next season. We'll move on from

Josh Downs, but stick with wide receiver. Could the Colts newest edition at that spot make a difference in year one? We'll discuss when the squad show returns next. This episode, of the cold squad show brought to you by game time. We can stream anything. Order food and minutes, do everything from our phones, and somehow buying tickets to live events still feels way harder than it should be. Long lines, confusing checkout, prices jumping at the last second. It really shouldn't be that complicated. That's why there's game time. It gives fans the advantage and makes getting tickets fast and simple. Not just when you're thinking about, you know, some of these baseball games that I've mentioned as well. here in Indianapolis, we have Caitlin Clark and Alia Boston and Kelsey Mitchell and the Indiana

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moving on from Josh Downs, which was our returny review for this week. We'll keep that series going for the next couple of weeks. This guy is not a returnee. In fact, he's a brand new player. Dionne Burks, formerly a Purdue and Oklahoma, a seventh round selection of the Colts, even though a lot of people, including half of this show, felt like he should have gone probably higher than that as far as his draft value was concerned. So maybe the Colts got a little bit of a steel there.

But, Zach, you took a little bit more of a deep dive into Dionne Burks. And I know we've talked about him sort of here and there over the last couple of weeks since he's officially been a member of this team. But what do you see in Dionne Burks? And I think where do you see him fitting in now that we're kind of transitioning this talk from Josh Downs and what his role is going to be when you go a little bit farther down the depth chart because I think even though there are some veterans there, I think there are some opportunities for Brooks to step in and find his way to the field. Yeah, it's a really good opportunity for a guy who has drafted so late. You know, we rarely see seventh round picks have an opportunity like this where I think. I think he, you know, if he can stay healthy throughout all of training camp, I think he can step in and be a guy who can potentially factor in to the offense. And one thing to keep in mind, again, with Shane Steichen is like size doesn't really matter when it comes to the outside wide receiver versus inside.

He'll play some smaller receivers on the outside, like he's done in his past stops. And I think Burke projects really well to being an outside wide receiver for the team. You know, he's got a lot of the things I look for as an outside. receiver, right? Does he operate well along the sideline? I think he does, right? We saw a couple times last year against Michigan in particular where he gets his toes and bounds down the sideline does a really good job that way. Can he beat press? I think he can. I mean, from everything I saw last year, I think he has the traits to beat press and he's so explosive and so fast that he is difficult to corral, especially if you're going to play him at Z where he's not going to have guys like right up

in his chest. So I think he can beat press fairly well. I think that he can win over the middle of the field. I think he's got good hands. He had a very high contested catch rate last season, like on the few opportunities he had. He made a lot of those contested catches. The big thing with Dionne Burks, though, and what gives me a little bit of pause

and what's kind of weird about his game is every advanced number is really good with him in terms of like when he was targeted, he did so much with his targets, right? Like catch rate over-expected very high. His yards created after the catch extremely high, right? yards created over-expected, like all these numbers, right, that underlying numbers that say he did a lot with his targets. The thing is, he never really got many targets in college, you know, like he never really was like that guy. He never had that season where it's like you are the focal point of the offense.

Now, Oklahoma is just a mess on offense last season. Their quarterback had no clue what he was doing half the time. So much of their offensive system was RPO bubble screens. Like if I saw a three by one, I knew a bubble screen was kind of. coming every single time. It drove me mad. And Burke's half the time, they're just running either a curl route or a vertical where he's jogging after 10 steps because he's not going to be involved because there's just part of the offense. It was a frustrating offense to watch. But that's the nature of what we have to evaluate with this player who has dealt with a lot

of injuries, who doesn't have that big productive season, who is a bit on the smaller side. So that's why you see him fall at around seven. But I think all the traits are there to be a really good wide receiver, you just don't have a ton of substance yet with him. So if he can come into camp and showcase those traits and take big strides throughout the rest of training camp, I think you can earn a bigger role than you expect in year one. Now, I don't expect him to surpass Ashton Doolin, who has earned this opportunity through fighting through blood, sweat, and tears to be a potential starter at this point in his NFL

career. But yeah, I think he can earn a bit of a role on the offense. I think that there's a lot of, uh, good aspects of his game. And I think that he's going to be a guy, again, if he can stay healthy in training camp. I think he can be an outside receiver that can fix into the rotation. So I like Dionne Burks for what he is.

I never liked the top 100 buzz that he was getting throughout the process. I just don't, I think you need more production in college to be a top 100 pick in the NFL. And he just never really had that outside of his last season at Purdue and this past season in Oklahoma. But they were both like 600-yard seasons, like good, but not. like anything to write home about the college level. But yeah, I think he's an outside receiver. I don't like him in the slot. I like him on the outside.

And I think he can compete for snaps this year. Anything more than that would just be, would be gravy. But I think he's going to get a couple snaps out there, play some special teams and do some pretty good things for the Colts this year. I was going to say, I think special teams is the key to it all. And not just really the return aspect, because I do think he'll factor into the return game. he makes the roster, then I think logically, I mean, they could make him and Anthony Gould

both of the like, the kickoff return men, but at the same time, how many, how many receivers can you have on one team? Anthony Gould is a guy that no one from the Colts has mentioned anything about publicly. You know, we've heard about Treadwell. We've heard about Westbrook, jukina and dulin and burks obviously but we haven't heard anything about gould and when they told us that burks was going to factor under the return game as well and like all right do they really need to five foot nine sub 200 pound receivers who can return kicks probably not so those guys might be battling for one spot but even just outside of that if burks can compete to like be the other Gunner opposite of Doolin or just like have some other prominent role on special teams,

then I think number one that will help him be active on game days to even have the opportunity to get snaps on offense. But the Colts need to also kind of fill that developmental A.D. Mitchell like fourth receiver role as well. And that might be what we're looking at here, a guy who's going to play like five to ten snaps a game. I do still think Doolin has the upper hand as like the primary third receiver, but I think they want to give, like, it makes all the sense in the world to give Burke some opportunity still weekly because he's the one with the highest upside. Like Doolan, Doolin should be

fine in whatever role he has. I mean, he works hard and he's the guy that could do a little bit of everything. But you've had him in your building for like a half dozen years by this point. You kind of know what he is. He's probably not going to have some big blossoming career arc at this point in his of his career, whereas a guy like Burks, you know, seventh round with all of the, you know, all of the yeah butts to his profile. But as far as like a player goes, you know, third, fourth round. I think that was fair. So for them to get him in the seventh round, I think even they feel like that was a bit of a steal. So you want to have a, invest in that you want to see what that looks like and i think when you have the opportunity to get

an undersized guy who's a true burner like he is plus that was backed up with like his his jumps his athletic testing to over 40 inches well over 10 feet i think is well in the broad jump like the guy is legitimately explosive uh but his play strength is really really good too i think you got to see what that's all about um so i i just think the whole the whole thing is is it's a little complicated because while we think Doolin has the upper hand is the third guy, and you have to get Dianne Burks involved, does Westbrook-Akina make the roster? Because you also have tread well.

You also have Gould that we talked about. And you can't have 10 receivers on the roster, you know? Yeah. Like a couple of these guys are probably going to be surprise cuts. And I think Berks is a guy you have to keep on to see what he can provide, as long as he has a reasonable summer. Like if he's terrible all summer, you probably just got bait. But he's a guy, I think you got to get on the field for at least five to ten snaps a game.

Yeah, I will say this real quick before I go to Allen. There's nothing guaranteed, I think, that receiver outside the top three of Doolin, downs, and Pierce. Like those are going to be your top three receivers. And why I think Doolin's going to get the third most snaps, if all things are even and everybody stays healthy, is that final receiver spot's not going to get a ton of targets this year, right? They'll get a couple targets here and there. Don't get me wrong. But you basically need that other outside guy to be a do-it-all type player.

And what do we call Ashton-Dulin on this podcast, do-it-all-dulin, right? Because he's got-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all-all- Right, but because he-at-leas-on-the-show. Right, at least on this show, right. But because he at least can give you the blocking element, because he can give you the gadgety stuff, because he can give you the ability to clear out down the field, right? Run those Yankee concepts and clear out vertical or even be the guy running across the field. So Doolin is just a professional at this point.

He does everything at a pretty solid level. He's going to get those third amount of snap, like third most snaps because he's a guy you trust, right? Where did the Colts go the second that they couldn't trust A.D. Mitchell anymore? They turned right to Ashton Doolin. And they felt comfortable doing that because he's just that kind of guy. So Doolan is going to get those snaps because he is just, you know, he's a guy you can have faith in. I mean, they gave him offensive snaps last year, even before they lost faith in, in 80, Julian, everybody was healthy just because they trusted him in the run game.

They trusted him on some early down stuff. So I do think Doolin is certainly going to be that guy for them for most of the season, as long as everybody stays healthy. Well, I'll tell you the thing that impresses me about Dionne Birch the most is the fact that he put up 225 pounds on the bench 26 times. Yeah. All right? To me, that tells me he's got.

fabulous arm strength, good upper body strength, can take a hit because he's cushioned well. And to me, it makes me think that when he gets manned coverage, he's just, you know, frothing at the mouth. He damn sure wants man coverage because he's going to abuse that DB, the pencil neck DB, that's going to be covering him. You know, so I think it's a good spot for him. I think he comes in with all kinds of confidence, and not to mention his vertical, 42-inch vertical,

that kind of sticks out to me, and speed is nice, but, you know, speed is one of those things, you know, is he fast? And he is fast. And so I think it's an excellent opportunity for him. And I'll tell you why you're not hearing a lot about Anthony Gould, because Burtz as a rookie and Anthony Gould going into his third year.

If those two are even, which one is leaving? Anthony Gould, because they can save some money. That's why the average career in the NFL is three and a half years. So they may be looking to, and look, Berks might be better, might be. So that'll be a good battle. I agree with everything he said about Ashton Doolan. He's just been a true pro when he's coming to game and made some spectacular catches. But this Burke's kid is a true wild card and has the opportunity because he's coming in under the radar to light up this offense.

Yeah, and we'll see if that happens because kind of what Zach alluded to, I did unfortunately watch Oklahoma the last two years. And that was especially two years ago. That was a horrific college offense. Like don't get me wrong. You know, it's college football, right? And sometimes in college football, it's not what you expect in the NFL. But, you know, you'd watch Oklahoma and, you know, there'd be red coming out of your,

my eyes would start bleeding. Like, that's how bad it was. So the fact that Brooks did anything in that offense, I think is a testament to him. Because, man, that was a brutal watch. Late last season, their offense. just fell to pieces. I know Mateer was going through some things, but I mean, you know what's funny is their offense

fell to pieces, right, late in the year. I mean, they couldn't do anything against Texas. LSU dominated them outside of a couple coverage bust late in the game, which is how they were able to win that game against LSU. And then against Bama in the playoff, the only reason they were able to move the ball is they threw it to Burks the entire game. It was just like most

productive, I think it was the second most productive game of the season. They got him involved. Also, the LSU game, the only reason they came back is they hit a tunnel screen to Burks and he went crazy on it. So, yeah, the way that they drew up that offense was so collagey, but it was so many RPO's. So many, just ugly RPO's. They're not even pretty RPO's, ugly RPO's that I just, I couldn't watch.

So I'm glad I have cut up all my film I need on Dionne Burch because I'm never watching that Oklahoma film again. Don't draft John Mateer next year, whoever is running. I was going to say you say that now, but Mateer's coming to Indy next. Yeah, I mean, he's your height, Jake, so I don't know if he'll come to indie, but But yeah, rough to watch, really rough to watch. Yeah, it was pretty disgusting for sure. We come back.

No disgusting content here on Locked on Colts Squad Show. We'll talk about some big news coming up over the past couple of days for some upcoming, I should say, opponents on the Colts 2026 slate. That's next as we tie a bow on this thing. Back for a final time, Locked on Colts Squad Show. Appreciate you guys being here. And as we sort of wrap up today, there was some big. news involving Colts opponents, the Steelers, the Chiefs, and I don't know if I would say that it's

necessarily big news for the Titans that Nashville is hosting a Super Bowl, but we know they're getting a new stadium. And as generally speaking, when you get a new stadium in the NFL, a Super Bowl comes shortly thereafter. It happened with Lucas Oil Stadium, of course, four years after it was built with Indianapolis hosting back early in 2012. But guys, I wanted to start with Aaron Rogers. I mean, as much as it pains me to start with Aaron Rogers, because I know that, you know, across the locked on web. I'm sure a lot of people have talked about Aaron Rogers already. It felt like it was a fate of complique because where else was he going to go? But they did finally get a resolution on that deal.

So it will be Aaron Rogers as QB1. Look, the Colts history is what it is against Pittsburgh. Last year, they did not exactly cloak themselves in glory in that game. But does that move the needle at all for either of you guys? And we'll welcome back Allen here too. As far as how it changes your perception, if at all, were you? I guess we were all already expecting Aaron Rogers to be there, so I'm not sure how much it actually changes the perception outside of the fact that this is now,

instead of penciling in, permanent markered in. Yeah, I mean, I guess they have a bottom 10 in the NFL instead of a bottom two starter in the league for that game. I was still concerned about the at Pittsburgh game because of the travel turnaround and the defense regardless. Yeah, it does, it does nothing for me, Aaron Rogers being back. He just was a below average. starter last season. I'm excited to see Michael Pittman Jr. again. And I think that the depth of route that Michael Pittman Jr. runs, it worked perfectly with this current stage of Anthony, of Anthony of Aaron Rogers. You're going to get a lot of those five yard in-breaking routes and a lot

of screen passes. But yeah, I mean, in terms of like for the Colts, I don't, I think you could have put Derrick here at quarterback in that game. And I think we would still be nervous about going to Pittsburgh against Pittsburgh because that's just been a house of horrors for the Colts. So, you know, Aaron Rogers, Will Howard, the corpse of Drew Aller, with his injury. I don't think it matter. I think Colts fans are still going to be worried about that game regardless. So, yeah, it doesn't really move the needle much for me. I mean, Pittsburgh probably goes from being like a six-win team to an eight-to-nine

win team. They're kind of in the same bows at the Colts where it's like, I'm sure all their fans are expecting like eight to nine wins and, you know, middle of the road. again and that's kind of what they are so yeah i mean we'll see i guess what this means i i i feel like it's a miserable place to be to consistently just be waiting on erin rogers and like if this was mvp aaron rogers i understand waiting on him every offseason but like it's the corpse of aaron rogers like sure i guess keep waiting on him i would rather just go to will howard and if it sucks then you just get a top pick next year like i don't i don't know i don't know what the appeal is right now for

Pittsburgh but go do it guys have your fun you know have your Matt Ryan 2022 season I guess a lot of Mason Rudolph disrespect coming from you Zach I can't believe so rudolph there again he still is there I think he never he never left right they just lock him in a closet there he went to Tennessee for an even worse time than he had Pittsburgh briefly but then he went back to Pittsburgh no I mean anytime you go you get the chance to get like a 42 year old quarterback who can hardly throw deep anymore you have to do it especially when it barely worked for you last year you just have to do it um i know i think i probably would have i probably would have just rolled the dice with will howard i think i'm with zach on that one he's got a better arm um you know and you could probably

use dk mackaff for more than just slant routes at that point uh you've got some tight-in action there you can maybe work with but i i mean what benefit what it what does it do for you to have Aaron is he going to lead you to the Super Bowl? I don't I don't really think so like you were lucky to get into the playoffs last year because Mike Tomlin was there as your head coach. He's not there anymore. What's going to happen? Like just go roll with a younger guy. Save yourself $25 million and just see what you can do, you know, but I don't know. I, the Colts last year turned the ball over six times and Rogers' offense still only beat the Colts by a score.

So, I mean, that kind of tells you I need to know. Well, I think by virtue of the fact that Rogers was in that system last year will be slightly better this year. It's back with McCarthy finally. Yeah, I don't. Yeah, I don't know if his OC this year is going to be comparable to what he had. last year, but I expect him to be a little bit better. But, I mean, let's face it, he is regressing a little bit. And I don't think that much of Pittsburgh's running game to have something to lean on.

So it all sort of comes down on the shoulders of the quarterback. maybe McCarthy thinks he can find some magic in Aaron Rogers. But I expect him to be a little bit better. But I don't expect him. Like you said, Zach, it's not MVP Aaron Rogers. I mean, back in the day he could spend that thing. He made some incredible throws, whether he had to rifle it in or he had to touch it over the top.

He just had all the throws and had, A lot of good sense up here, too. Good thinking man's quarterback. But Father Tom, boy, Father Time is undefeated. When Father Tom says you're done, you are DUNN done. So I think Pittsburgh will be one of those right on the cusp type playoff type teams. And we'll probably try to rely on their steel. Gil-Curtain defense to get them to win some games.

Speaking of future opponents in week two, the Colts will go back to Arrowhead Stadium where they faced the Chiefs last year in Sunday night football. We already talked about the fortune, the good fortune, I should say, of the timing of playing the Chiefs in Week 2 with the Mahomes coming back from injury, but potentially now Hershey Rice, who is back behind bars after violating probation, if he ends up facing discipline from the league or even if the Chiefs. decide, hey, enough. Maybe they could, the Colts could not see him, Zach, in week two either.

Yeah, I don't know what's going on there, man. I mean, at some point, like, again, at the end of the day, whatever your opinions are on smoking weed or not smoking weed, like, so be it. But here it was like, it's just another example of, like, here's a rule for this guy to follow. Yeah. And he didn't follow it, right? At the risk of being sentenced to, I mean, they moved his sentence up because of

this, right? He doesn't get to serve it at his own discretion now. He has to serve it now with the judge picking it. And we'll see what, if this leads to anything more, it's just, I mean, gosh, a guy just cannot get out of his own way at this point. And it's harming others in some instances here too. So yeah, we'll see ultimately what happens there. But I mean, speaking purely from the football aspect of it, I mean, Rishie Rice has not been a very reliable part of the chiefs, I guess, the last couple years. So, even anticipating him being available by that game against the cold seems questionable because who knows what other stuff he's going to get into at this point.

Like I'm not even trying to be like a smart person about like a smart a day about that. It's just like he keeps doing it. Like at some point like enough has to be enough. But yeah, we'll see ultimately what that leads to. But man, dude, like just follow some rules. Like gosh. Like I don't know. Get out of your own way at some point.

here right you're going to cost yourself an opportunity to make so much money i know he's already made some good money but like god man like it's always so terrible to see stuff like like terrible in a lot of different ways i'm not trying to just say i'm feel sorry for the guy because he's doing this to himself but like gosh man like come on let's be better than this yeah and he's entering a contract year as well and it's like what value do you have to the chiefs or any other team that would go for you you know no this this guy just needs to play with like the Pellar on top of his helmet because he is just a, he is, he's something else. Yeah, I don't know.

But, you know, now it'll be up to Soss Gardner to try and lock down Xavier Worthier or Tyquan Thornton. So take your pick. Well, I'll say this, you know, as long as you can make plays in the NFL, they'll find a way for you to be on the roster. You got to be on the field to make plays, though. Yeah, yeah. I mean, he might be able to go into the NFL office in front of tag.

I was going to say tag libel. But I'm really aging myself. All right, pain. You know, in front of the commissioner and smoke a whole bowl and say, suspend me now. And you just don't know, you know, maybe Major Mahomes has a reliance on him. Maybe the reason he's around is Mahomes feels more comfortable throwing to him sometimes. what the quarterback says, has a bearing. And we don't know if he's going to be full speed or even playing the quarterback.

But it's unfortunate. And you see it all the time, guys with all the talent, get numerous opportunities and still find a way to mess it up. And they end up being sad stories. but I'll just continue to say, as long as a guy can make plays, he can be a mass murderer. They'll get him on the field. You got to be on the field first, though.

He hasn't been healthy. He hasn't been committed to the sport. You've got to just be on the field first. Like, I agree, Alan, we see it time and time again. The NFL doesn't care what you do as long as you are on the field making plays. But he hasn't been on the field making plays. He's playing 12 games the last two years because you also have. that ACL. Yeah, and he just had another, he just had another knee procedure just done.

I guess he's going to be recovering in jail from that knee procedure. That's the best place to recover, I guess, is in jail. So, well, well, maybe that Debo Samuel talk should be pointed towards Kansas City in that. I guess. I mean, as long as the chiefs don't wear any more stupid free four shirts for him anymore, maybe they can just acknowledge that maybe this guy just gets himself into trouble. Right. Yeah, I completely agree there. Which is so rare for the chiefs.

I mean, they never have guys to get in trouble. Unchartered territory. Yeah. Final minute here. Let's just go around the room. How we feel in about Super Bowl in 2030 in Nashville. Are you pro-Nash? I would assume, Zach, you are strongly anti-Nashville,

not just because of the Titans, but because it is very loud in Nashville. Lots of people. Very loud, very hot. Not a big Broadway guy. No way. Yeah. I'll hear when the Colts are obviously at that Super Bowl I hopefully playing in it but probably just watching I will be going down to Chattanooga Jake can be in Nashville I'll be in Chattanooga just hanging out there go on the mountains yeah I love Chattanooga so I'll be on Nashville I'll cover the game from Chattanooga and we'll have fun that way I'd like to I'd like to go cover the Super Bowl in Nashville I like the city of Nashville me too it's super clean I think you know every time I've been there it's

It's not dingy at all. The construction is just crazy. It's exploding. But, you know, Tennessee in general is a beautiful state and a cool area. And yeah, that's as nice as we're going to get on the show, Alan, about Tennessee. Yeah, I would say, I love to see. But, you know, my wife and I, we went on Broadway and we must be really old because we're looking for the places that wound up. We needed to take a breather from some of the bars on Broadway.

We were like, what place is the most chilling has the cleanest bathrooms? Bon Jovi's bar, by the way, for anyone who is looking to chill out and get a good bathroom, whatever Bon Jovi's bar is called, that's replace on Broadway. Well, I'll just say this. Nashville didn't need any help. It was already a great city, a great party city. That's why we call it Nashville. But ever since the Titans have been there, I mean, that town has blown up.

Construction is through the roof. Even the hotel prices have sky. I'm just happy for Nashville to have an opportunity to have a Super Bowl because the millions and millions and millions of dollars that come into the city are just remarkable. It's just, it's such a huge lift for the morale of a city to be able to host the world's number one. Well, I'm going to say the United States number one sporting event because the World Cup might be the world's number one sporting event. But I would sure love for the Colts to be in it. I don't feel like the Titans will be ready. Although they've got three more seasons to play before they get there,

who knows Cam Ward might come of age. And they would have a lot of motivation to be able to host in their own city. Yeah, three years is an eternity for most fan bases and teams. Three years for the Colts is like three weeks. They've got a general manager entry year 10. So yeah, who cares? Thanks so much for joining us on the latest edition of the Colts Squad Show. We'll be back with you on Thursday, 9.30 p.m. Eastern time to talk more Colts.

As always, the Colts news cycle never truly ends. So keep it locked on Jake and Zach every day on Locked on Colts. Be sure to follow at Logged on Colts on socials and check out our other great content on YouTube and TikTok. And we'll see you next time right here on the squad show.