Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Local Pro Day TARGETS | Who Are The Best Local Fits for the Colts in the NFL Draft

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

The Colts brought in a massive group of local products - 16 from Indiana University's national championship squad and many others with Indiana ties - for Tuesday's Local Pro Day. The guys talk about the potential targets from that pool, debate whether or not a wide receiver should be the target in Round 2, weigh best player available versus drafting for need, and dig into Andrew Luck's public comments from earlier this week.  Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:  🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/  📺YouTube: 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  The 2026 Indy Draft Guide is now available! 150+ write-ups on the 2026 NFL Draft class, plus how each player fits the Colts, and an in-depth dive into Chris Ballard's draft history and usage of draft picks. Pre-order below: https://draftguide.gumroad.com/l/indy26  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. Get one month free of the Everydayer Club with code MARCH. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get two-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. Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. 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 into the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and guys, I too have decided to watch the NFL draft at home with my family. And I'm Zach Hicks, and we are getting like prime NFL offseason content in terms of scandals and stuff to stay away from the Colts is the big thing I'm asking. I'm Jake Arthur, and IU is back in more ways than one. I'm Alan Pinkett, former Euler. And today we're going to talk about Andrew Luck. I hope I don't call him Oliver. I used to do it all the time when I brought. Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colts 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 Colts Squad Show. Thanks for much for joining us. I'm Derek Schultz, longtime indie sports talker and commonness for the Indiana. Business Journal. I am joined by a Notre Dame legend and longtime NFL running back Alan Pinkett,

along with the dynamic Locked on Colts duo, Jake Arthur and Zach Hickster, first listen every day, who by the way, just completed the indie draft guide. Congratulations, gentlemen, for that. I know it's a labor of love. We are continuing ourselves to go hot and heavy on the NFL draft as that date rapidly approaches. It is indeed April. Colts welcomed in some local prospects today, a whole hall of guys, 80 players that were there working out for the Colts. And we will talk about some of our local pro day takeaways from our boots slash sandals on the ground, Jake Arthur, and also get into a very impressive list of guys with either Indiana ties or local ties to Indianapolis or Central Indiana or in some cases like Omar Cooper, both, right?

So we'll talk about that in segment one today. Segment two, I'm seeing a lot more chatter about wide receiver in round two for the Colts. We know that's a need. We've talked about it on this show. It's been talked about on the Lockdown Colts Daily show as well. Are the Colts zeroing in on potentially some wide receiver targets? Does that make the most sense for what will actually be, at least with where they sit today, their first selection in the draft. We'll discuss that in segment two. The whole age old question, right? Need versus BPA, best player available, but we'll do so in the Colts current context because I think you can kind of check both of those boxes with a couple of prospects

that could be available to them, especially in the first two, the second round and the third round, the first two of their selections with where we sit today. And then as Alan had mentioned, not Oliver, but Andrew Luck did speak out, which is kind of rare. So we thought that we would touch on that coming up to round out the show and just any other news and notes and little last bullet points as we kick off the week here on the Locked on Colts Squad show.

But Jake, let's start with you. I know we usually start with Zach, but you're here local at Indianapolis. And of course, you're covering the team. And you're at the complex today to cover this local pro day event. And I'm just paraphrasing. I don't want to necessarily put words in your mouth. But I think you said this was the best local group that the Colts had ever invited, in your opinion. Yeah, it does get a little better each year.

But this had the most star power I can ever remember just in terms of name recognizance and guys who are actually going to be drafted and guys who are going to be drafted high. And a lot of them, those guys don't have to be here. You know, Dylan Pianaman, who's a first round lock, didn't have to be there. Omar Cooper Jr., probably going to go in the first round, didn't have to go. DeAngelo Pons has worked out briefly twice. At one time, he jumped 40 inches, and then the next time he ran 4'3, he probably didn't need to be here. Now, none of those guys worked out, but they were there at the complex to just kind of meet with the Colts and just do their thing. And it was kind of eye-opening because we talked to these guys afterward, and Kate and Curry,

from Ohio State by way of Center Grove on the south side. He was like, you know, it was refreshing to just like wake up in my parents' house this morning after sleeping in my bed, you know. I was like, you know, you don't think about that, but that's just crazy. Like a nice little touchback of reality and getting back to your roots for a moment during arguably the craziest time in your life. But no, as far as like who was there and everything, it was definitely a star-studded group. IU, as I mentioned at the top, they are back.

I think it was 16 players from IU today, which is unbelievable. But yeah, there's, I, IU's got a good crop of guys, but this event in general had a really good group as well. I wrote it up this morning after the list came out. And, you know, the Colts over the last several years, they usually wind up getting at least one or two of these guys into the building and signing them at some point in their early in their careers. And then other guys, there's been a whole group of them

that have gone on to have some success elsewhere in the NFL. So a local pro day doesn't usually have a lot of pop, and it's a lot of just really random guys, but you absolutely start to get some diamonds in the rough there. And for the Colts, they're starting to uncover some guys that are like legitimate, bona fide draft prospects. Jay, can I ask you a question why in Notre Dame doesn't have, have any guys here?

Yeah, they usually at least have a couple if they're like from Indy. But I think probably they do the bears if the bears have a local pro day because technically South Bend is closer to Chicago than it is Indy. So that's my guess. I actually asked the same question today because there, like I said, there's usually some guys from Notre Dame if they're from like the central Indiana area. But I guess there weren't any of note this year. So yeah, no Notre Dame guys this year.

We have, let's see, there was a guy from, what was it, Ava Maria in Florida, Indiana, some very tiny schools, some that I've never even heard of, but no Notre Dame guys this year. Yeah, because I saw we get all the Illinois guys, which I think is good for the Colts because Luke Altmeier at quarterback is a draftable quarterback. I think we're looking at J.C. Davis, offensive tackle from Illinois. a draftable player. So, yeah, I mean, getting some of the Illinois guys, I think was pretty good.

But it would have been nice to have got some Notre Dame. But like you mentioned, Jake, just getting so many Indiana players here, I mean, it boosts how many draftable players you had at this event. I mean, just going through the list right here, I'm going to just kind of read off guys that I know in the Indie draft guide that we had draftable grades on. Luke Altmeyer, the quarterback from Illinois, we had a draftable grade, Kaelin Black, the running back from Indiana. Cole Brevard, he's a defensive tackle from Texas.

Texas also had a draftable grade. Pat Coogan, Omar Cooper Jr., obviously both of Indiana as well. J.C. Davis, I mentioned, Cady and Curry, like you've mentioned, Jake. There's a lot of guys, Aden Fisher from Indiana as well. It's a draftable grade. Yeah, The Enaman Ponds. There were a few more on here. Mikhail Camara from Indiana as well. So, Lewis Moore from Indiana. So, you know, when you have a team that wins a national championship, right? You're assuming a lot of these guys are going to have draftable grades, even players like Lewis Moore, who maybe aren't like the true NFL, like profile that you're looking for, but he was just so productive on a championship team. You're going to give him a look in the NFL.

So, yeah, it's a good event for the Colts. Like you've mentioned, they've brought some of these guys in over the years. And like a lot of like bottom of the roster guys undrafted free agents, just kind of low end guys are bringing in. I know they've brought in players from, is it Marion I saw on there as well? Marion University. Yeah. They're in a NIA, I think. Is that right, Derek?

Yes. But they've been a powerhouse. They've been a previous national champion on that level, even though you don't see a lot of NIA players make it to the league, but some do. They must have a good passing game because they're quarterback, receiver, and tight end were all there today. Yeah.

No, I've seen them bring in guys from Ball State in undrafted free agency from here. I've seen from Marion before, from Butler before as well. I've seen them bring in some guys like that. So it's always good to keep an eye on this event. and see which guys they at least have in the building here because odds are one, two, maybe three of these guys might be in training camp this off season. Interesting to see so many Indiana guys. I mean, I was told, Alan, that they had all two-star players.

Are we trying to say that a 15-0 undefeated champion actually had some talents on it? Wow, this is crazy to me. Yeah, hey, when you win on the collegiate level, more guys on your team get drafted. You know, I guess the pro teams take note that it's hard to win in college. And when you do win, especially the way Indiana did in such dominating fashion, then those are guys that they will probably want to have on the next level, on the pro level. I will have to admit that I had never heard of a pro day like this. And I guess now I'm finding out that other teams do this.

what a great idea. I mean, especially for guys that are coming from like an NAA school or a butler, and not to demean those schools, but I mean, when you're playing D1 ball, you've got all kinds of tape and people making recommendations. But you don't get that at some of these other schools, but, you know, all these guys have that dream of being able to play in the NFL.

And, you know, one thing that is true is if you have the talent, they'll figure out a way to get you on the team. So it's nothing like being able to be able to showcase your talent. And just doing a little bit of reading since I just found out about this pro day, there were two guys at last year's camp that are on the team now, Tyler Warren and JTT. Now, those guys were going to get drafted anyway. But what an advantage for the Colts to be able to see them in an environment like this

and be able to evaluate them. And the other thing that's good, too, is, you know, you can't necessarily draft all these guys. But the guys that went to this camp, you know, other teams may think about drafting them. or bringing them in as UFAs. And first thing they're going to do is get on the phone and call one of these assistant coaches and say,

hey, how'd that dude do at your camp? You know, what did it run? Because all these coaches communicate. And hell, I remember when I got cut and there was a guy who made a call to Miami. There was a guy who made a call to Pittsburgh, you know. And so valuable lesson, never burn a bridge, with your coach.

You can talk bad about them after you're done playing, but while you're playing, you never burn a bridge because they can open up an opportunity for you. So I just think it's a great thing. The only thing I worry about

is if a guy gets hurt at a pro day sponsored by the Colts, who's liable? Are the Colts liable? Or the players there? Players don't have any aren't carrying any insurance. You know, if a guy gets injured, who's the blame?

Yeah. But, I mean, look, when you're young like that, you bulletproof. And you're willing to throw the dice on having an opportunity to, you know, be seen by a pro-level coach to have the possibility of getting on a professional team. Yeah, and one player I want to ask for all of our Ball State fan listeners. So I don't know how many of you guys are out there, but there is one player. Yeah, dozens. There are dozens of us.

Yeah. Dozens. But one thing I really got to ask all of you guys is, I think you say his name. It's Kyle Kelly is how you say his name from Ball State listed here as wide receiver slash corner. Is this our Travis Hunter here in the local? I think I saw him throwing the ball a little bit today too. Wow. Unless they mess something up with the numbers,

I tapped on Holder's shoulder. I was like, I was like, because I called him. I was like, that's Ball State's Travis Hunter. I was like, he's a receiver corner. I was like, but is that not him throwing the ball right now too? So this guy's a jack of all trades. Yeah, so I wanted to give a shout out there just to see. Just because I saw, I always look for the dual position guys in these because it's really

funny to see, but I thought that was cool. Also, yeah, like Jake said, too, another thing to shout out is just the wide variety of where a lot of these guys are coming from across here, like Florida Atlantic representing in here a lot of Oregon Yukon I saw Yeah Oregon yeah there was two Oregon Florida Atlantic

Kentucky Kentucky yeah Louisville getting a guy in here Michigan had a player in here as well So I mean some pretty good programs From across the country as well Duke Representing in here Yeah so Donovan McCulley from Michigan was an Indiana

Transfer who played at LNs Oh you know they have the local ties Cady and Curry played at Center Grove Dylan Thineman was from Westfield So you're like whoa an Oregon dude came well yeah, but via Westfield and Purdue for Sean pick. But you know, do you know

of, you know, what you guys have just put together the indie draft guide? Any of these names strike you as Colts fits. And maybe let's take Omar Cooper out of the equation because he's not going to be around, right? At least with where the Colts

kind of sit today. But maybe Elijah Serrat is you know, for a day two level pick or a second round or a third round pick or Aiden Fisher. I even saw one that had, you know, Canaan Curry was projected,

I think somewhere like 150, 160 range, so somewhere in there. For a crowd as well. Yeah. You know, either of you guys have anybody that you can shout out that you saw in this list

and you say, I got my eye on him because I think he's a potential cult. Yeah, I mean, Elijah Serrat, for sure, just because the needed receiver. And while he's not exactly what I'd be looking for,

I think the Colts would like him. Riley Noakowski, the tight end from, Indiana as well, good blocker kind of fit. I mean, I know they brought back both Oval Tree and Mo, but never hurts to look for the future, especially if it's like a late round pick. He can play some fullback too is what a lot of the talk has been. So I could see it. I'm a huge fan of Aden Fisher. I don't know if he's going to hit the athletic profile for the cult to look for, but I'm a huge fan. And then the quarterback, Luke Altmeier from, from Illinois, I comped him to Sam

Mellinger and the draft guide. So, you know, a long-term backup type guy, but can compete with Riley and camp and be that QB3 for you. I could see them falling in love with Pons the same way. They fell in love with Wally last year as well. But yeah, I think that's about it. Let's see here. Kaelin Black is actually someone I would, they want more juice at running back.

And if you want to throw a dart in the six or something. seventh round. I think Kaelin Black is a really good idea as well. Maybe Pat Coogan, because they need a backup, they need a backup center, but he's not the most athletic guy in the whole world. Curry, I think, makes sense because I think they should double up at edge. And if you're looking for a guy on day three, Caden Curry is interesting because he's only started for one year, but like unbelievable production in that one year. He had like 16 and a half. half tackles for loss in 11 sacks or something. It's one year taking over for Jalen to win the low out. So he was pretty productive there. Let's see. I think there was maybe one more.

Lewis Moore, you like as well. Yeah, I like Lewis Moore a whole lot. He's just, he's probably a PFA guy. But, you know, if you want someone to replace Rodney Thomas as a key special team or in that high safety for 150 snaps a year, Lewis Moore could do that for you too. Well, this presents a little bit of a conundrum. I mean, I'm glad these guys are here. They could definitely elevate their draft status. But when you get to the fifth and sixth round, is it better to be drafted or is it better to be an unrestricted free agent so that you can choose the team that you go to so that you

can choose the situation that you think is going to be a better fit? there's being drafted gives you a little more of an advantage a lot of times but you know a team may be looking for depth and you're looking to start yeah yeah real quick because we've got to get to the next segment here unless you're going to be like a top UDFA you get a lot more money for getting drafted and that's where a lot of the negotiations come with the agents so they want their guys to get drafted so that's why they'll say like we we might sign with you but we're going to need like 200k guaranteed. But if you really like him, just draft him here in round seven,

which gives him like the 200K guaranteed that they're looking for. So they would prefer to get drafted because odds are being a 6th, or an undrafted free agent, the same odds of succeeding in the NFL, which is very, very low. So might as well get like that 200 to 300K and go from there. When we come back here on the Locked on Colts squad show, could the Colts reach back into the round two wide receiver bag this year?

Something they've done many times during the Chris Bowen era. We'll go over it when the squad show returns next. This portion of the Colts Squad Show brought you by our friends at Better Help. Financial stress is something a lot of people are carrying right now, and it's not just about numbers. It can affect your sleep, your relationships, and your overall mental health in ways that build up over time. And the reality is struggling with money doesn't mean that you failed.

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slash locked on. That's BetterHelp, B-E-T-T-E-R-H-H-E-L-P dot com slash locked-on. 10% off right now at BetterHelp.com slash locked on. And we're back on the Locked on Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Derek Schultz alongside Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks, your Locked on Colts Daily duo and Alan Pinkett, former NFL running back in Notre Dame Star. it's still weird guys. I don't know what it'll ever not be weird to like talk about Indiana like, oh, it's a matter of a fact, they've got 17 draft picks or whatever,

you know, we're just in a weird place right now with IU, but talking about that coming off the local pro day and Indiana had 16 of the 80-something players that were represented over at West 56th Street. But, you know, as we shift our focus to the NFL draft, and we're going to keep talking about that. We'll talk about it on Thursday's show.

Obviously, we'll talk about it on both shows next week as well. There's been talk about, you know, what the Colts do with that first pick. And it's kind of a bummer. You don't have the first round pick this year. You included it, of course, in the sauce gardener deal. And what avenue they will take to go in the second round. And wide receiver is a need.

They have not replaced Michael Pittman Jr. None of us on this panel think that they have an in-house replacement, even if you up the role for Josh Downs and you up the reliance on Ashton Doolin, you're still strapped pretty thin from a depth standpoint. If you don't have a clear outside. option as a second wide receiver. Chris Bauer has used the, reached into the round two bag a lot as far as wide receivers are concerned. Now, we have a 10 year freaking sample size to go on right. So that's always the caveat that you have

to attach to these discussions. But Alec Pierce was a second round receiver, 80 Mitchell was a second round receiver, Michael Pittman Jr. was a second round receiver. Paris Campbell was a second round receiver. And even down to I mentioned, yeah, he was a third rounder. He was a top 80 pick. So he was kind of like middle-ish third round as well. And, you know, there's five guys right there in nine drafts, Zach, that Chris Bauer took. And, you know, in all of those cases, they had a need, especially the Pittman year, they had a deep need for wide receivers.

So why not again? Yeah. You know, outside of the edge rusher, wide receiver is a position that he spent the most day two draft capital on in his career. And edge rusher, again, is by far and away above everybody else. But after that, yeah, it is wide receiver. That's number two. And they've spent a lot of premium assets on drafts.

rafting wide receiver. So I can't rule it out for sure, especially in this draft class. It's very, very, very pick your flavor on day two in this class. And I think everyone's going to have just a different guy they'd want on that side of the ball when it comes to day two of the draft. Like, for instance, I'm not in love with a lot of the guys they could potentially take it 47, like a lot of the guys that mock drafts are giving them because I think there is this general misunderstanding across the league that Alec Pierce has been their X wide receiver

for the last couple of years, that difference between X and Z wide receiver, where the X receiver takes on more press coverage. They're on three by one formations are just not unmatched formations. You're going to have the X receiver on the backside. So he's more in that isolation. The Z receiver is more of a guy who moves around a lot, a lot more motion with that Z receiver. Like we saw with Pittman, more snaps like in the backfield and coming across the formation, in more stacked looks and stuff like that to get them those free releases.

And I think a lot of people keep putting like these Alec Pierce type of receivers to them on day two of the draft that are like these downfield guys who can beat press and win on an island and win vertically because they think that's what Michael Pittman Jr. was in the offense, right? Because Pittman Jr. on paper looks like an ex receiver. But he's always been the Z in Indianapolis, maybe outside of his rookie season with the team. So when I'm looking for a guy for the Colts on day two, I'm looking for a guy that can play that Z and not have to face as much press coverage, a guy that you're going to use more in motion and more in stacked looks, a guy who can create after the catch and win in that short to intermediate type game. Because look, Pierce, even if we give him a bigger role in the offense,

at the end of the day, he's going to be our downfield guy. He's going to be our vertical guy down the field. It's our Labrador receiver, like Alan likes to say, down the field. But you need a guy who can create with the ball. in his hands in that intermediate game. So when I keep seeing, like, I like Chris Brazel a lot at the Tennessee. I don't think he's a great fit for what the Colts are looking for. I think Bell from Louisville coming off an ACL injury terrifies me with the Colts because

guys will get that if they are perfectly healthy in college coming here to Indy. So, you know, these guys are, I think, are just more like Pierce-like or like guys like that. Even Ted Hurst would agree. I think Ted Hurst, if you can get him in like round three is pretty good. But, you know, I look more for like the separator guys, like Jeremy Bernard from Alabama or Skylar Bell from Yukon, who I did a spotlight on earlier today. Like they're a little bit smaller. They're kind of separators. And that's where Shane Steikens really influenced Chris Ballard the last couple of years, right?

Early on in Chris Bowdo's tenure, they're drafting Pierce. They're drafting Pittman. They're drafting Mike Strawn, DeRees Fowton, these big explosive contested catch receivers. Then Shane Steikin comes in here and we're drafting Josh Downs, right? a pure separator. A.D. Mitchell, like, if he could do anything in college, it was separate and get open. And even Anthony Gould, right, a kind of a separator. So I'm looking more for, like, those separator type guys.

And I think Bell and German Bernard make more sense to me than, like, some of these other guys I've seen mocked there. But all this to say, it's pick your flavor on day two with wide receiver. All these guys are coming up in seven on sevens. I call them the seven on seven babies where they're just more ready to play than any other guy. Right. And, you know, we're seeing these wide receiver drafts be like 20 guys deep that can play on Sundays because that's just they come up playing in seven on seven leagues and getting ready for the moment. So pick the flavor you want, pick the type of guy you want to add to this offense. You're not going to get like a bona fide star probably in the second round.

But if you can get a guy who complements what you want to do on offense, I think that's obviously the way to go rather than, you know, pitching holeing yourself into like best guy available at wide receiver. It's about really just fitting what you're looking for in your offense. Yeah, I am so much more comfortable if you're taking a receiver early to trade down from two or wait until round three, just because, I mean, Zach, round two, who really does it for you? Like, Jeremy Bernard's fine. I've seen Stribling, Deshaun Stribling be projected in the second occasionally, but we've also seen him projected in the fourth. You know what I mean?

That's a little high. What's his real stock? I think you get into the third round and it's way more manageable. Stribling is more digestible there in the third. Antonio Williams. Skyler Bell is probably a little more of like a third rounder. Chris Bell, I don't think we're in on Malachi Fields would have to wait inside the floor. But, you know, there's some guys.

Ted Hurst, I mean, right now he's more of an early Alec Pierce, but I think he's got enough traits to like develop into a more well-rounded guy down the road a little bit. But, yeah, receiver, I'm just not really into it in round two. I'd rather wait until round three. So the way is being paved for Malacah Fills to be your second round pick. That's wild. I will say this. And I love Matt.

Who is his comp? I love Malacai Fields, but that is rich. That's people who his comp is. His comp is Michael Pittman, Jr. It is. I don't think they want a Michael Pitten Jr. guy, though. Like, I think they want more juice at that position. Yeah.

And what's the one thing that Malachi Fields? Like Malachi Fields, I think is better than his testing number. So what's the one thing he doesn't have? He doesn't have a lot of speed. I don't think he's going to separate. He doesn't have testing speed, but like he can win contested, like, contested catch and, like, jumble and stuff's his thing. But that's probably because he's not separating.

But right. He's going to catch the ball. I mean, he's got that wing span. But, you know, teams usually decide where they're going to put their assets. You know, if they, and you can tell, by the way they spend. If they put a lot of people on offense and they're saying, okay, we're just going to outscore everybody. If they put their assets on defense, that means, okay, we're going to have a basic offense. And we're just going to wear teams down with our defense.

And the office is going to get so many chances they're finally going to, you know, score. I think that's how the Texans have done it. They put their assets on defense. I would say that about Seattle, but, you know, they did that in Jigba. He is one of those assets that you're saying, we're going to use our money on offense. But it would not surprise me if the Colts went wide receiver at two or three, even though the need, the supposed need, is in the front seven. But if you can get another dynamic receiver, you know, to go along with what you have now, then, you know, you're saying you're going to outscore everybody. And you can hopefully find somebody that can slow them down on defense,

but on offense, you're just going to outscore everybody. Not going to be able to keep up with you. Yeah, no, for sure. and I'm certainly in the camp when it comes to, like, when it comes to receiver on day two, I'm not like absolutely in love with it, but it really just comes down to what the board looks like, right? Like, I don't, the last thing you ever want to do in the draft is force a position and go into it and say, we have to take this position, which I know this is going to segue really good

into the next segment here, Derek, but you never want to just force a position. So if you're looking at it and the receiver board lines up a lot better than the linebackers do at that spot. or than the edge rushers do, then I think it makes sense. I mean, as long as you're spending it on a premium position like corner edge or wide receiver or at a position that you just absolutely need like linebacker, I don't think you can really have a wrong choice because, you know, these are investments, these draftics.

They're not guys that you're expecting to come in here and be finished products from day one. So you're investing long term and who knows what your needs look like by year two or year three of that player being on here. But, yeah, like, if they can really find a guy that they think can drastically change their offense, like Skyler Bell out of Yukon, for instance, with his nearly 900 yards after the catch last season, I think that that could be a really great element to add. But, you know, just as long as they're not forcing anything, I think that they can be fine. It really just comes down to what they're looking for, what kind of flavor they're looking for it,

if it makes sense at that spot. And they have to, because they don't have a first round pick, they have to hit on their second round. So I'm sure there's going to be a lot of thanking that will go into because, yes, on our next segment, we will go through that thing that teams have to face. Best player available or need. There you go. Thanks for teaming it up for me, Alan. Jordan or LeBron, Biggie or Tupac, peanut butter or chocolate, draft for need or best player available. We will discuss one of these age-old questions when the cold squad.

Show returns next. Thanks so much for joining us, Colt Squad Show rolling along on this Tuesday evening slash night, depending on where you are. Alan Pinkett is here. So is the Locked-on Colts duo of Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks. I'm merely Derek Schultz. Hi. Don't forget to check out the Every Day or Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with Zach, Jake, and with other listeners of this show. Tap the link in the show notes or go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash everydayer club. It's awesome. A lot of fun, a lot of camaraderie. I have a great group of people that are part of that and part of our YouTube commenters. That room is always full and it's pop and we appreciate all your guys to support not only of this show,

but of course, the whole locked on Colts realm with Jake and Zach in the Daily Show as well. So started with Jake here in segment one. Then we had Zach lead off segment two. Let's just make it a clean sweep here. I want to start with you in segment three because you've got to tee up for the T's anyway. So I want to hear from you. You know, we're talking about 40-something years of NFL experience, not just as a player, but then, you know, covering football and covering the league in the decade since.

Are you a BPA best player available guy? Are you a draft for need guy? Does it depend on how you feel that day? You know, take me through kind of your viewpoint for how the coach should proceed here in a couple of weeks. I'm a best player available guy. And even if you have that position. sort of secured. If you can get a guy in here

that's a little bit better, now you not only have secured that position, but now you've got depth at that position. So I'm a big best player available because, you know, in the NFL, if you got stars, then

you're going to put people in the seats and you're going to have a better chance at winning games. You know, I do feel like sometimes when you have a need, you are trying to put a square peg in a round hole sometimes, you know, but if you go with that best player available, I mean, it's an athletic league and you need dudes that can, you know, check all the boxes, you know, 40 times, yeah,

it's good, you know, athlete good, what he does on film, even better. You know, it's the players that make the game. And, you know, coaching does come into play, I think, more in terms of scheme and how you can have groupings of players that help promote your scheme. But you need players. You know, you need some dogs, I guess is what some people would say. If you got players, you increase your chances of winning. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I do agree with you where, like, again, drafting just for need, you can.

can get in trouble, right? Because you have no clue what your needs are going to look like a year from now, right? Like if you would have told me this time last year, right, like, why would we draft a defense attack? We got Buckner, we got Grover Stewart. Now a year later, we're thinking, who knows what Buckner looks like next season? Who knows how it looks longer Grover Stewart's on the team? And if they would have drafted a defensive tackle in round two, that player could be a core piece by his third year in the NFL, right? So I do think that there is credence to like saying, like, yes, best player available. But I like the way that teams do it.

And generally, from my understanding with how teams do it, is you put a lot of guys into these, like, blocks on your, on your draft board. Right. So we always hear it like the blue versus the red players, right? And there's obviously more nuance that comes into it. But like essentially the blue players are the players that you think are going to be like legit impact players. Like you don't pass on blue players ever.

Like unless it's a quarterback and you have Pat Mahomes, then you would pass on a blue player. but outside of that, you don't pass on blue players, right? Regardless of the position, you could have a top tier defensive tackle, but if you think this defensive tackle can be an all pro, make that pick, and you just work it out there. But generally, what you're looking at is when you get to your pick, as long as everyone's kind of grouped in that tier,

that's when you start looking at team need and team fit and just how it works, because you're essentially saying that these guys, we see a similar impact from this group of players. where it becomes a real conversation though is if you have like one guy above the group of players and it's that position that you don't really need and then you have like some players in this tier that you think can help you immediately at positions you need that's when it becomes more of a dialogue and and that's where I think you can get into the best player available versus need debate there but generally these teams do such a thorough job of finding ways to blend need and best player available

to where those conversations or at least a little bit easier just kind of arguing within the same tier on draft day and you know it has to be a quick argument because you only have a few minutes to to get that pick in um but you know i i i do kind of side with alan a little bit though when it comes to the like if you have a guy that's clearly a tier above and you really think this guy can be a tier above this group of players i wouldn't pigeon hole myself into like we have to draft an edge here we have to draft an edge no matter what because if you're avoiding that that defensive a tackle you think could be a pro bowler for a starting caliber edge, like, you need star players to win in this league. We've seen that with Indy over the last 10 years, right? Like, you need star players.

So I think that like if a guy is a clear tier above, go best player available, but if you have guys ranked in the similar tier, a good way to separate it is looking at need, looking at what your team is looking for, and then relying on your scouts and their feedback and stuff like that. So I know it's kind of a cop out answer. It's not really picking one or the other. But, but it's kind of just the nature of how this debate usually goes with a lot of scouts. And even for, you know, when it came to us putting together like our big board for the indie draft guide, right? Like I had to make some decisions with who ranked over other players based on the conviction of Jake

and some of the other scouts and also based off position value. So I moved some guys down for position value and then moved up a guy like AJ Halsey, who we talk about a ton on there because Jake was just so in on him as a player and liked him so much more. I wanted to reflect that in the way we rank that stuff. So it's always a nuanced conversation. But yeah, if a guy is a tier above, I think, take the better player. Again, unless it's a quarterback and you have Pat Mahomes, take the better player. But I'm sorry to interrupt.

How do I get my hands on this draft guide? Because I know the type of work you guys do. And I want to learn something for this year's draft. So how do I get my hands on that draft guy? Well, you could follow the link in the show notes. and we'll send you a link as well afterwards it would be perfect but yeah it's a great setup you read the script perfectly Alan it's exactly what we're going forward to make that that sell here at the 38 minute mark but Jake what are your thoughts on BPA versus need no so I mean even even in scouting rooms and

everything it's basically it's best player available but need is a tiebreaker essentially Chris Ballard has told us that basically exact same thing um but yeah you just you just don't pass on star players. If you can't find a way to build around them, that's on you. But you take star players where you can get them and then just figure it out from there. Now, obviously, position value does come into play. You're not going to load your roster with four Pro Bowl level running backs. It doesn't make sense.

But like, you know, the Colts were very convicted in taking like Quentin Nelson, for example. You don't take a guard that high, but you know what? This is a Hall of Fame player. And they did it. and he has been a Hall of Fame player. So it was up to them from there to build around that. You know what I mean? So you just take those stars and go from there.

Now you do hope that Need and BPA gets kind of married together like it did with the Colts last year with Tyler Warren. They didn't have a tight end to save their soul on the roster last year. And then the best one in a little while other than Brock Bowers comes in and Tyler Warren and kind of saves them. So the stars do kind of align. It feels kind of similar for the Colts this year. You know, they really need linebackers. They really need edge help. Well, on day two, there's some pretty good group of guys there.

Like, you're not getting a star edge rusher that's going to get you a dozen sacks right away. But they don't really make those on day two, unless you run into like a Max Crosby type and you get super lucky. But what the Colts do need should be available to them. with their first couple picks. So the Colts have been somewhat fortunate in that. Yeah, I kind of wanted to use Tyler Warren as a really good example where sometimes it just comes together because, from my understanding, the Colts had Tyler Warren as like a true blue player.

Like one of the top players in the draft for them, I don't know if other guys of that caliber were on the board when it came to their pick last year at, what, 14, I think is what it was, than they were picking. But if there were other guys of that tier, I think they would have leaned Tyler Ward. Warren because he also fit what Shane Steichen was begging for, which was a dynamic tight end for his offense. Right.

So you do it to blend it a little bit. But yeah, Tyler Warren was kind of the perfect amalgamation of what you're looking for with like that high quality, like we think pro bowl, all pro type caliber player at a position that we desperately need to fill in this draft. Yeah. So I hear you about these tiers. And I know there's a level of sophistication that goes in. to it when they're trying to blend BPA and need. And I understand that there's a lot of great minds in the room. But sometimes I think these dudes are smoking drugs because Tyler Warren wasn't the first

tight-in picked. Yeah. You know, the dude that went to Chicago now, he ended up, you know, surfacing as a good tight in but I don't think he's better than Tyler Warren. You know, so. That's a hot debate between Bears fans. Yeah, it's a debate. We're hiding that in the 41 minute mark here.

Without draw on the ire of Bears fans. Oh, boy. They're going to be our state neighbor here soon or whatever. They're going to be our stadium neighbor. Yeah, we'll see. But sometimes they overthink it, you know. It's, you, and I know, I know, like a lot of the stats, you know, make a difference and everything.

But all you got to do is watch film and watch dude making plays. And, you know, that should settle it. But every single year, I'm like, well, what kind of weed were they smoking this year when they made that big?

That was loco weed that time. But yes, it just surprises me sometimes the decisions that are made by these learned men and women. getting together in a room to figure out what they need or what they want. Yeah, sometimes the end of the day, just draft good players, right?

Like, that's what you got to do. I will always say this, though. Like, I think there's a good debate to be had when it comes to round one, round two, round three, like in terms of need versus BPA, right? Because those, you're expecting some kind of impact from those guys. Day three, though, throw all out the window. Just draft the best player available. Yeah.

I truly don't care on day three. Throw a bunch of darts, right? Never, never, never, ever draft for need on day three. If anyone's dropped for need on day three, they should not be. Like, I can understand, like, if you're sitting there in round seven, it's like, we need to add a guard for just depth and competition in camp, who's the best guard we have. I can understand that, but by and large,

if you're sitting there and you're looking at your board in round four, and you have one guy left with a round three grade, he's at a position that you feel like you don't need whatsoever, take the guy with the round three grade. Yeah. Like, I believe. believe, you know, this reminds me, I remember when they traded up for, was it Carrey Willis back in the day, Jake? They traded up for Carrey Willis. Yeah. They had a pretty high rate, like 20 spots for him. They traded two fourth round picks for a fourth round pick to get Carrey Willis. Um, because they had a day two grade on him. And even though I don't think safety was like a huge need for them. Like it was, it was a need for sure. They were still in the early days of building that team up. Yeah. But they had just, they had like a top, you know, 70 grade on him, top 80 grade. And they were like, we need to go get this guy.

So I do think when you get to day three, like if you just have anybody that with a draftable grade left, throw the dart at them. Like I don't care what position they're at. Take that best player because on day three, these are true dart throws and you're just looking for best talent to add to your team. If you can get a steal on day three, make sure that you're getting it. That's what I'm saying. Go and get these two IPP guys from Africa this year.

get who are Bernard, the defensive tackle, and I can't think of the name of the edge rush right now, but it's the guys that blew up the HBCU Combine Showcase last week. Go get those insane athletes with your last couple picks and just figure it out. Let me present in our final minute here, just a hypothetical scenario that kind of marries the local pro day with this whole BPA versus need debate. So let's just say hypothetically.

I know this is an ideal analogy, but just bear with me. DeAngelo Pons is on the board at 47. The Colts have 700 cornerbacks right now on the roster, but Pons is clearly the best player that is available. Do you take them because it's BPA or do you say, well, crap, we've got 17 cornerbacks. Are we really going to go down that road again? Yeah, there's a few players I would probably take over him personally in that regard

just because, again, the need is so vast as him these positions. and like I do have some guys who I think might be there that I have very high grades on. But like in a nutshell, man, I love Daniela Pons, like such a good player. I think he was a top 20 player in our draft guide. So, yeah, I mean, I would take him there. Personally, I would love to take him at 40s. I think he's going to be a star. Yeah.

Go ahead, Jake. I'll let you go first. Yeah, I was going to say, like there are some guys who could slide a little bit like T.J. Parker from Clemson to Edge. That's a French first round guy. Like if he is available to you, you're going to have probably similar grades to him in Pons. You got to take the Eddresher because like we said, that's the bigger need and you got to use that as the tiebreaker. But yeah, I'm with you. Like D'Angelo Punt, you don't need corners, but D'Angelo Pons fits everything you want in a player other than like their size.

But like as a player, he is a cult through everything they say they want he is. Yeah. And you always need corners, by the way. Anto. Yeah. Fair. Fair. You can get an Anton Winfield senior type player at 47.

Who, give me that all day. Yeah. What I would say is if he's there, you take them in one of those other 17, you can trade and take care of some of your needs. There you go. Good answers. Andrew Luck spoke a few days ago. And no, I'm not talking about the cheesy Civil War general accounts. We'll talk about that when the Colts Squad Show returns next.

Back for a final time here on Locked on Colchon Colts. squad show Tuesday edition. Thanks for being here with us. We are fully squatted up. Alan Pink and Jake, Arthur, Zach Hicks, and I'm Derek Schultz. Let's talk about Andrew Luck guys talking, which doesn't happen a whole heck of a lot.

Now, he's a little bit more of a public face with the whole Stanford role, right? So we've seen him come out of quote unquote hibernation a little bit more here in his post-retirement life. It's kind of hard to believe it's been, it will be seven years here coming up on that in August of 2019. We had talked about this on the last squad show, which was on Thursday.

So I thought just to kind of, you know, sort of wrap it up and close the book on the discussion. Andrew Luck addressed Eric Ebron's comments from the podcast to our friend Mike Chappell, who's been on the Coltsbyte for a long, long time since way back before even Allen was drafted in the NFL. That's how long it's been for our buddy chap. This from Andrew Luck, quote, Chris Bowen and I had a wonderful partnership, especially through my decision to retire and we remain close. any notion of internal pressures that influence my decision are without merit. Kind of kept it short and sweet guys, but, you know, Zach, you would mention this.

Sometimes it's just, hey, use rational thought here. What makes sense? What doesn't make sense? And as much as I kind of secretly liked Eric Ebron, actually, while he was here, I know that I'm in the minority there. I think you knew right away that just coming out with a story like this, you know, whatever it is, seven years after the facts seem to be completely farfetched, in an ad up. Yeah, what's what the, what the skeptics creed or whatever is like always look at the,

what the influences are of the person making the claim, look at what they have to gain for making the claim, and then you can kind of analyze it that way and look at just the logic of it in general. And yeah, coming out with it seven years after the fact, kind of definitely copy and pasting his own story over top of Andrew Luck's name just to kind of get more buzz. Because like, look, if he would have just said it in his thing, like, hey, Chris Ballard basically, told me that I have to play or they're going to go in a different direction. Yeah, that's pretty much what happened. That's basically what both of you guys have said since it happened.

But just putting Andrew Luck's name in there to generate the headline and make, you know, the Colts and Ballard more of the enemy that you have certainly had a vendetta against the last like four or five years now. Again, just look at it from the skeptics point of view. You don't just throw it out completely. But now I feel like we can throw it out with Andrew Luck coming out and declining it. And he really has no reason to decline. that he doesn't he doesn't care like he could say whatever he wants right now he's not a part of the

NFL anymore so yeah it was always uh nefarious claim i guess is the way to put it and uh yeah we have an issue with uh this in in a lot of things where people can just say whatever they want uh and i i know it's ironic for me to say it in front of a microphone here but you put a microphone in front of anybody they could say whatever they want and uh there's no there's no kind of repercussions for it, right? Like, I doubt that his show is going to be canceled or turned off for it. Like, if people were already tuning in, they're probably still going to tune in, especially more so now for the drama of it, right? For his response to that response, probably will get even more views. And that's just the nature of a lot of media stuff now.

So it's unfortunate. A lot of reactionary stuff kind of goes like that. And rather than us talking about, you know, Skylar Bell from Yukon or something or, you know, random players from from playing two positions at ball state doesn't get as much buzz as making a fake claim about a retired quarterback but it's the nature of uh of of the business now but yeah it was always kind of a weird claim uh i wish it didn't get the buzz it got but i guess ebron got what he wanted out of the clip right like you're trying to generate more looks on your youtube channel and he probably got that the end of the day so i feel like everyone kind of got what they wanted outside of poor chap having to reach out to uh having to reach out to andrew luck being like hey

is this true at all i'm so sorry you have to do this and luck having to even spend the time a day with that yeah like this was treated as if this was some reactionary thing from Andrew luck where he's like oh yeah i'm going to retire then and it's like that's just so not the case he was thinking about it for years we heard we learned that after the fact obviously i wish i would have known back in in 2019 because then i could have broken the news story but but well he had that ankle yeah he had that ankle like going through the last pro bowl like the last proble he played in he had he played on that injured ankle like and let's see he has a very close core people that he let know what was going on i don't think eric ebron was one of them you know anthony costaubon jacques you know

that seems a lot more like the group that was probably told whose lips were sealed. I don't think he was like, hey, Ery, Bron, here's what we're going to do. We're going to hear together, buddy. We're going to tell them, oh, yeah, buddy, we're out of here. Like, all the money that was on the table, like, just none of it. None of it makes sense, man. Like, I don't know. Just there's so many of us that have had to live in this post-Andrew luck atmosphere for the last six, seven,

years, you know, and it's just crazy for it to be brought up brought back up in this way. It's like, ugh. Well, I'll say this. It's still, I guess, is a pain in the side of

I'm going to say his name, Ebron. You know, he's still feeling, I guess, wronged by that particular decision. But I'm just going to, he did get it out. And whether it's true or false is his truth in his mind that he got out. Now, he could be wrong to everybody else, but he got it out. Maybe there's a sense of healing he gets from, you know, saying that.

Who knows? But I'm going to show you my age just a little bit. You know, when I got drafted by the Oilers, the backup quarterback was Oliver Luck, you know. And I don't have, since that was 40 years ago, I don't have much recollection of Andrew when he was playing. But I remember when Andrew first went to Stanford, Harbaugh was the coach. And even though Andrew wasn't starting, everybody was talking about this freshman, Andrew Luck. and that was at a time when Notre Dame has started playing Stanford every year. Notre Dame would either end the season in Palo Alto playing Stanford or in the season in L.A. playing USC.

USC just put a stop to all that because they jumped off the schedule. But I just couldn't help it. And I watched Andrew, I want to say for two years, I think he started for two years. I don't know if it was three or not. I think it was two years that he started. But I always said when I was broadcasting Notre Dame games, good pass by Oliver. Look, I just, I couldn't get it out of my mind how much he reminded me of his dad.

But I think Andrew also was smart to come out and set the record straight because, you know, he's trying to get more players to come to Stanford. he doesn't want to have a bad relationship with a general manager of a team so that that general manager says, I'm not going to go look at any players from Stanford, you know, because I got a guy over there who just says I, you know, ran him out of the damn building. You don't want that. So, of course, but I think Andrew has always has been, you guys tell me, he's always, he's always, been for right he's always told the truth he's always been a straight up guy when his dad was the same way you know his dad was just you know salted a earth type of guy and andrew is has always been

you know someone that was just reliable you know uh and a stud as as well but yeah it's uh it took me a while to finally say Andrew and not Ollie yeah one thing I I also want to add to this. And this isn't Eric Ebron's fault. It's not necessarily what he's done. But it's just something I've seen a lot since Jim Ursay's passing. What was it last year when it happened? A lot of this, like, in review, blaming stuff on Ursay because he's not here to defend himself anymore.

I've seen people say. Yeah. Where it's like, hey, Eric Ebron never said directly Ballard. So maybe it was Jim Ursay. Jim Ursay would never, ever tell Andrew Luck to retire. I need to. Jim Ursay would have sold his soul for Andrew Luck to stay. Why do you think he allowed him to keep all of that guaranteed money? Yes, he did. Right, right. Again, rational thought, right?

Right. But I've seen this with other things too with Jim Mersey, right? Where I've seen a lot of people putting the entire selection of Anthony Richardson on Jim Ursey. I've seen other dysfunctional things behind putting entire. Like, I know Ursay has meddled in the past. I'm not even trying to defend him 100%. here. Like, yes, he's absolutely done some things, but to pin everything on the one guy who's no longer here as being this ultra, like, mastermind behind the scenes that just single-handedly tore apart the Colts with his ineptitude. I just don't think that that's the case here. I think it's more likely that some guys made some bad decisions and the Colts got on the bad side of some bad luck. I mean, a lot of, because that's just the nature of the sport, right? So, again, I'm not trying to sit here and defend Jim Mersey for everything in his life and everything he's done as the coach owner because far from perfect in a lot of ways, right?

But while we're just having this entire discussion here, I do want to fire back a little bit on that. Like every time I see something like it obviously started with putting everything on Richardson on Earth Day. I've seen from a lot of fans, which is just absurd. Ballard Stuyken and Morocco Brown were all very in on Richardson as their QB1 in the draft. Like that was their guy.

They would have taken him if they trade up to one to first round for the the first overall pick they would have taken Richardson. So we can just squash that right now. But especially this. Like, oh, maybe it was Erce that said it. No, because the conversation one never happened. But no chance. It was Erce.

Yeah, like as a commenter says, Erse took luck over Paid Manning. They got paid Manning out here to take Andrew Luck. Yeah. And he, I mean, they let Andrew Luck bring in his own doctors for everything. His own team, what was his own team running the show or whatever is what they always said

or running his own bus here. Yeah. they did everything they could to support Andrew Luck. But ultimately, they just couldn't protect him. And he couldn't protect himself in the NFL, whether it was a snowboarding thing, whether it was just the way he played on the field. And it led to luck losing his passion for the game.

It's sad that it happened. It sucks that it happened. And the Colts have had to live with that decision for a long time. But to think that Ursa would ever say, give Andrew Luck an ultimatum. I mean, gosh, we're doing the full skeptic here thing. There is like, just use your. brain for a second.

Know how loyal Jim Erse. Jim Erse is so loyal to his players. He brought Jeff Saturday into coach, this team. He is that loyal to guys who played for the Colts. He would never force a player. He would never force a player to retire. If Andrew Luck said, I'm setting out the next six seasons to get healthy, Erce would say take all the time you need, buddy.

Don't worry. Come on back when you're ready. They would have, because I know it's been reported a little bit, but I think there were some conversations in 2020 about him potentially coming out of retirement. There was some talks with that. They tried to get him out before. Yeah, they tried to get him out of retirement.

Who do you think was the main person leading those conversations? Jim Mersey was trying to get him back every year. Like, come on. Like, Mersey is not just great villain. Like, come on. Yeah, but I'll tell you this from a player's perspective. Because you, to be in this business, you got to love, what you do because it is a grind, you know, and when you keep getting hurt and, you know,

you wake up in the morning and you're sore and, you know, at some point, when you lose that love for the game, get the hell out because there's no amount of money in the world that's going to make you happy, you know, and, you know, you just, at some point, you want a certain quality of life without having to worry about, oh, I can't even go out and play golf because my shoulder's all jacked up or I can't go and play ball with my kids because I can't walk because my leg is all messed up. And, you know, you get to that point where, look, I want to have a certain quality of life. And you keep getting injured. I mean, it just wears on you. So I, although I was shocked, in some instances, I wasn't shocked when he said, that's it.

I'm done. Yeah, I just think, you know, just to kind of round out the conversation. This is just sort of what the internet has become where, you know, the thing with Bowerd, people will believe it because they're so in the tank against Bowerd that even if it's something that makes no sense whatsoever, it's like, yeah, I bet he did say that. And you're like, no, dude, like there's no chance that he said this. I know you don't like Boward. I don't even like Boward, but there's just like use your brain for a second.

Like calm down, take a deep breath. and just think, and there's no way that this actually happened. And, you know, whether it be sports, whether it be politics or whatever else, like once you're against somebody, right, like you just hear things and you're like, yeah, I bet that's true. And it's like, no, it's probably not true, man. I'm sorry to disappoint you there. Thank you, Eric E, Bond, for giving us some content.

Yeah, exactly, right? But we have plenty of things to criticize Chris Ballard for it, right? We don't need it. Exactly. He said with some disgruntled tight end made up a story. Yeah, we don't need that. Yeah, but yeah, there were a lot of, I saw a lot of Colts fans that I don't know if they fully believed it, but they were acting like they fully believed it just because again, they're so out on Ballard. It's like, just another reason he's inept.

And it's like, we have enough reasons. Like, we don't need more. Like, come on. Plenty of legitimate reasons. Yeah, we have plenty, you know. It had about missing out a quarterback in the top five. That's a huge thing to get upset about. Whoa, whoa, I mean, Jim Ursay forced that, Zach.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Slomch Jimerset. Yeah. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll end on that on the latest edition of the Colts squad show. We'll be back with you. Wednesday, excuse me, Wednesday.

What am I talking about? That's in season. Out of season. Thursday, nice, 9.30. As always, the Colts new cycle never ends. So keep it locked on Jake and Zach every day. Locked on Colts, your first listen. And be sure to follow at Locked 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.