Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: The Colts' RED FLAGS entering 2025, possible on-field roles for Richardson, more!

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

It's the last Sunday before the 2025 season begins and the guys are talking the areas of the Colts that make them the most nervous entering opening week. Also, exploring possible on-field roles for An...thony Richardson, avoiding becoming this century's Miami Dolphins, and a TE position group preview! Find and follow Colts Squad Show and Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms: 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/ 📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnColts Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYGo to 5hourenergy.com today and use promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz. And if you happen to hear any profanities on tonight's show, please give Alan Pinkett a little bit of a break. And I'm Zach Hicks. And after watching college football this weekend, I'm finally ready for this NFL season to start. I'm Jake Arthur.
Starting point is 00:00:19 That's starting to smell a little bit like football on here, y'all. And this is Alan Pinkett. You see, I'm representing. So hopefully I won't cuss. Colts Nation 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 in another edition of the Colts squad show here on the Locked on Colts Network today's episode brought you by Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Hi, everybody. I'm Derek Schultz. I've been to sports soccer in Indianapolis for too long, at least according to my wife. I'm joined by Notre Dame legend and a very nervous
Starting point is 00:01:10 Alan Pinkett, Notre Dame Miami going on right now while we're live streaming this on Sunday night in South Beach. Also nervous, Jake Arthur, a fellow Notre Dame fan. And of course, you every day, you every day, there's no her from the Machon Colts. And Zach Hicks, everybody's favorite film buff today. We weren't been talking Notre Dame Miami, we'll be talking Colts instead because it is game week, kind of sort of officially here. As we get closer to the start of the 2025 NFL season, we'll be talking about the Colts red flags. So things that give you pause about this team. And I'm not just talking about the quarterback position.
Starting point is 00:01:44 We're going to go a little more in depth than that. Possible on-field roles for Anthony Richardson, speaking of the quarterbacks, we know he's not the starter. Could he be used in other areas for the Colts? We'll discuss that. I'm wary of this and I wanted to present this at the group. This is something that I've been nervous about for a long time and I'm sorry
Starting point is 00:02:02 if we have any Dolphins fans listening to this. I really don't want the Colts to become the dolphins and I'm worried that they're becoming the dolphins. I'll tell you what I mean coming up a little bit later on the show. And then one of our final position group previews coming up here with the tight ends and first round pick Tyler Warren and the rest of the crew of holdover
Starting point is 00:02:18 so you remember from the last couple of seasons. But guys, let's start things off here. And I kind of hate starting things off like this because, you know, you want to get excited and optimistic. It's NFL football week and the whole deal. And we're going to talk about, oh, my God, these are the things that I'm super worried about when it comes to the Colts. But red flags.
Starting point is 00:02:35 I mean, everybody's got them. All 32 NFL teams have something, okay, if blank happens, this is bad. Or I'm really nervous they didn't address blank. Let's go around the room and just kind of talk about when you look at this roster, when you look at what they're presumably going to put on the field on Sunday. Zach, what are you most nervous about? I think the one thing. for me, aside from the quarterback room, which we've talked about just ad nauseum this entire
Starting point is 00:02:59 offseason here, it's the defensive line, the defensive line depth in particular, because when it comes to defensive line play, these guys are not playing 100% of the snaps. So we can look at other positions and say, like, oh, yeah, O line depth is concerning, but like, in a perfect world, those guys are healthy all year. They'd never come off the field. Same with safety depth. Same with cornerback depth. Those guys play almost 100 snaps a game, 100% of the snaps a game.
Starting point is 00:03:24 so you're not as worried about depth there at those positions until an injury does happen. On the defensive line, even without injuries, you're going to be playing seven, eight, nine guys a game, you know, on the defensive line. And you're going to need your third defensive tackle to be a quality player, your fourth defensive tackle to be a quality player, your third and fourth and fifth edge rushers to be quality players in that rotation. And I'm really concerned about that with the Colts. I like their starting four. I like they're starting four. I think you have a good thing with Quiti Pei and Layatu-Latu, I think they can be a pretty high-floor duo, and then Latu hopefully can take that next step and become a legit finisher of sacks this year. And then the interior duo is just awesome with Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner.
Starting point is 00:04:09 But behind those guys, you get journeyman Neville Gallimore, you get Atatatabore, who just has never really been good in run defense and hasn't really had much of a role in the NFL. And then off the edge, you're relying on Taekwon Lewis, a 30-year-old defensive defense. end, Sanson Ebukom, a 30-year-old defensive end coming off in Achilles injury. That's not even a year. He's a little over a year removed from that injury. So a little concerning there. And then a rookie in the second round who was playing into the fourth quarter of preseason games and JT to him a low-wow, who I think he's going to be good, but it's just going to take some time with him. So I'm worried about the waves up front.
Starting point is 00:04:44 I'm worried about what happens when Grover Stewart comes off the field for a couple snaps to game. You know, I'm worried about if an injury happens on that defensive line, can they survive much of anything, you know, in terms of run defense or even getting pressure on the quarterback. So I think this defensive line is going to make a break for this defense this year just in terms of, you know, can they raise the floor while they get healthy on the back end with the secondary? Nick Cross has been banged up recently. Jalen Jones has been banged up recently. Can that defensive line carry play until those guys are healthy? or are we going to see this like lackluster depth really come into play early the season like we've seen in the past where like again when one of grover steward of
Starting point is 00:05:25 forrest buckner have come off the field in recent years the run defense has been just atrocious and i'm not super inspired by the guys behind them right now to pick up the pace and run defense especially in a defense that's going to be a nickel 90 plus percent of the time this year you need that defensive line to be stout and run defense and if grover or buckner off the field i don't think that's going to be a nickel or buckner off the field i don't think they're going to be that this year. So I am a bit concerned with this defensive line depth, and it's kind of part of the reason why I've said, like, Laotu Latsu needs to be a superstar this year, or this defensive line might not be good enough for this defense. Got some tough news,
Starting point is 00:06:02 because Zach's a little nervous about the D-line. Football is one in the trenches. I've got my curiosities about the offensive line. Not so much the interior as much as offensive tackle. So So Bernard Reimann and Brayden Smith, healthy as starters, I think that's a good duo. But the problem is both those guys tend to be banged up. Braden Smith, it's been fine over the summer, like with his health. Like, he hasn't had to miss a bunch of time. But I've seen him get beaten, you know, by his one-on-one man quite a bit. And it's usually Lytu-Latu.
Starting point is 00:06:39 So while we would like to hope that's more of a sign for Latu's growth, we just do have to kind of take that with a grain of salt and say, you know, Braden may be losing a step there. And then Bernard Ryman, of course, has missed a little bit of time throughout his career. Right now, you're relying on Jalen Travis, a rookie, a mid-round rookie. It's not like he was a first or second round pick either, and Luke Panuta. And that was after you already had Blake Freeland, who we already felt shaky about suffered that season-ending leg injury. So right now, I think it would be a little wild of them. to go within the first couple weeks of the season, how things are right now.
Starting point is 00:07:20 Like, they have really addressed linebacker aggressively, which is kind of, if you're looking at positions on a roster, it's kind of a non-essential position. Like, you can get through with that. And they themselves have told us there's not an enormous premium on it, but they're addressing it like it is lately. And then cornerback, obviously. But offensive tackle, which is a premium position. And you chose the quarterback that is not going to be as good at avoiding sacks.
Starting point is 00:07:49 You have to plan ahead like your offensive line. It's going to have some injuries this year because it is, because it always does. And it's the NFL. It does with everyone. So if Braden Smith goes down, you have Jalen Travis go out there. I feel okay about seeing what that looks like. But if you get to the point where Luke Tanuta is out there as well or instead of Travis, I don't feel as good about that.
Starting point is 00:08:12 The guy's been around for two, three years hopping around, you know, with the Colts and, I think, a couple other teams. He's just now on the roster because of Freeland's injury. So I have a little bit of trepidation when it comes to what is likely going to be the inevitable offensive tackle injury. You know, you both make great points, Zach, in terms of the defensive line. I would have loved to have seen Quitty Pay get a few snaps in just in the pre-season. and just to get the blood flowing a little bit, get used to the speed of the game. But he's a vet, and I trust he's going to be okay.
Starting point is 00:08:51 But I had a much larger concern about the offensive line. And Jake, you hit the nail on the head. When you look at the depth chart, they don't list anybody behind Raymond, you know, but I know that they have two other tackles that can, you know, interchange, go play left or right side. But that left tackle is such a security blanket for the quarterback. You know, that quarterback can drop back with ease in his mind knowing he's got a $100 million man protecting him on that backside. When, you know, a new lineman comes in, you know, they've got to get caught up with the flow of the game, the speed of the game.
Starting point is 00:09:36 And it makes the quarterback nervous as hell. You know, so I would love to see that be a little more solidified. Maybe Raymond is just a badass and is going to play every damn snap, you know, and just be solid. But that's the only red flag I see when I look at the entire lineup because I think the Colts have done a good job establishing, you know, good competition and viable, you know, productive NFL players. players at all the other positions, but at offensive line, would love to see them have a little more depth. Yeah, one thing I want to, sorry, Derek, one thing I wanted to throw in that real quick that we're not really factoring in too much with the offensive tackles is I think if they did get down to their fourth offensive tackle being on the field, I think McInsolvis would probably
Starting point is 00:10:27 kick back out to right tackle in that scenario. And they would put Jalen Travis over at left tackle. I'm not saying that's perfect by any means. It's still a hodgepodge, though. It's It is. It is, but I guess my slight counter would be, is there any team in the NFL that has a fourth offensive tackle that they can rely on? Because a lot of teams don't have a second offensive tackle that they can rely on, let alone a third or a fourth. So I think it's going to look dicey for just about anybody at an offensive tackle. But I do agree, like a Luke Tanuda doesn't inspire a ton of confidence there. But I think that Gonzalez would probably kick out. And then it would be Tucker or Pinter going into the starting lineup on the interior, which again, concerns for sure. But I do think that it's not just as like Luke Tunuta would be their fourth guy. I think currently he's on the roster, but I think they would explore Consolves kicking back out. Yeah, I think we're all in agreement on the depth. In fact, I had just team-wide depth because I think if you took the top eight to ten players in this roster, I think it stacks up pretty favorably with the rest of the NFL, right?
Starting point is 00:11:28 Quentin Nelson DeForest Buckner, you know, these are like high-level NFL players. But if you extended that to the top 30 or 40, I think that's when the Colts start kind of going down the list. And they have a couple of positions just to kind of echo what you said, Zach and Jake, you and Alan, if one of their defensive tackles goes down, they're screwed. We've seen that. At this point, at corner, if Charbarious Ward goes down, they're screwed. Imagine if Tyler Warren goes down. And then basically, you just have the 2024 tight end room all over again. So, yes, you would say that about a lot of positions on a lot of different NFL teams, but I do think that that is, it's very shaky. Like the Colts, if they're very healthy this year,
Starting point is 00:12:05 you could talk to yourself into this being a playoff team. If they have any semblance of poor injury luck, then they're really going to struggle, I think even to get to, you know, eight wins. Because that's how it's like a house of cards to me. But to me, guys, what sticks out? And I don't know who coined this term. I borrowed it from somebody.
Starting point is 00:12:23 And I don't know who to credit who I stole it from. I heard this a couple of years ago, the Chris Bauer blind spot. So every year you go into a year with a position group that the front office essentially ignored. and says that we're fine. Remember wide receiver in 2021? Do you remember what they tried it out there that year? I mean, it was a joke, right? And they heard Dallas Flowers. And I'm sorry, if Dallas Flowers listened to this show, I feel terrible because we bring up Dallas Flowers on every show. And he seems like a very nice guy. But Dallas Flowers is your starting quarter. Like, come on. Linebacker. They have Zaire Franklin. They have Joe Botchy. And then they have a bunch of special teamers. And I do wonder if the Hunter-Woller injury factors in here as well. Like, I get it. Lou Anoramow doesn't maybe rely on this as much in his scheme, but still, you know, imagine if Franklin goes down. And even Franklin, you know, Franklin's a very good player,
Starting point is 00:13:13 but I'm watching games sometimes where I want to throw the remote at the TV because of something Zaire Franklin did. I think most Colts fans sort of feel the same way. So I just worry about that position group at the moment because I think by far it is the weakest on the entire team. And even if it's the least important in this scheme, you still want to be a little bit better at that spot. Yeah. And one thing to mention, too, with linebackers, you said it's Franklin. and Batchi and a bunch of special teamers. I know we're riding the Joe Bachi hot train right now, and I'm excited for Joe Bachi,
Starting point is 00:13:41 but Joe Batchi's been a special teamer his whole career. He's not like a solidified starter in the NFL. Like he has a great opportunity in front of him to solidify himself, but he's never been anything more than a special teamer in this league. And we're kind of counting him as like, well, at least we can rely on Joe Batchie when, you know, he's what, 27, 28 years old and no other team has relied on him at this point. So yeah, the linebacker group is certainly concerning.
Starting point is 00:14:04 And I think at the end of the day for me, when it comes to this Colts team, for them to be this playoff team they want to be this year. They have to go back to kind of old school football is run the ball well and stop the run. And that starts with the trenches on both sides of the ball. And if we have our biggest concerns right now are the trenches or trench depth or the linebacker room, that could be the make or break of this entire season. That could ride this train into the playoffs like they want or it could derail it pretty early in the season because if your trenches are not dominant with, again,
Starting point is 00:14:34 the style of offense they want to play this year, you're not going to win many games. So I think the biggest red flag in just general is, are these trenches good enough? Or can they stay healthy enough this year to play the type of football the Colts want to play this year? And I guess that will be the big thing that we'll have to see, especially in week one here against the Miami Dolphins. You know, and speaking in general, the salary cap is what depletes your death. Because when you do pick a guy that you're going to pay heavily, they're automatically. looking for the cheapest person they can find to back them up. I remember, you know, I've got to go back 100 years when I played when you had a good
Starting point is 00:15:13 quality depth, but the advent of free agency, you know, it sort of took away that middle class you had the NFL. So like when the Steelers won all those Super Bowls in the 70s, I mean, they had backups that were, you know, very, very good, you know, they could, they could hide, you know, some of those players, but with the salary cap, every single team has to pay attention to the depth. And every team has red flags knowing that, well, I paid this one guy at right tackle. So I'm looking for the cheapest backup right tackle I can find and hope my right tackle doesn't go down anytime soon or he's just going to have to play hurt.
Starting point is 00:15:56 So it's a concern, but it's a concern and I'm glad that we address it. but every single team is having to address it because of the economics of the NFL. It's like what NIL's done to Alabama, right, Alan? We're now, now everybody's got those high-priced guys, right? Everybody's paying. So you can't just stack those dudes as your second or third linebacker back there anymore because they're going to go chase that money somewhere else. Yeah, and just to kind of tie up on this conversation,
Starting point is 00:16:24 and Jake, since you're our boots on the ground, I wanted to ask you about this if you felt this at all. You know, another thing that is a red flag to me is that, Maybe you can say this about the 2022 season. I understand that Frank Wright got fired and it was coming off the collapse. But really, I think this is the first true pressure cooker season where multiple jobs are really on the line since the 2016 campaign. Remember coming off 2015 and everything imploded and they gave Ryan Grigson one more year
Starting point is 00:16:48 and they tied him together with Chuck Bagano. You know, the Colts, to be fair, have made no indication that Chris Bowers job is on the line, but his most patient defender is, you know, not to be more, but it's no longer with us. So I do wonder if that's going to factor in, especially if things, go south early for this team. Yeah, I mean, that's, it's what we all thought last year, you know, at the end of last year. I think we all were pretty shocked that both men were retained going into this offseason. And I just, I don't think there's anywhere to hide anymore. Zach and I discussed this the other day on our show. They are, they have been
Starting point is 00:17:23 uncharacteristically aggressive and intentional. And like so much of what they've done are when now moves that again there's nowhere else to hide if this doesn't work what's the excuse like everything you've done you shout out 60 million dollar contracts to ward and bindum you go out and normally if you suffer an injury to your cornerback you're like all right well let's see what this guy who entered camp is the sixth corner is going to do no you go out and you get xavian howard uh you go out and you get a chad muma like you're getting guys that have played and For the degree, like for the level of move it is, it's a serious version of it. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:18:05 Like, you're not always going to get a Chad Muma or something. Like that's someone with name recognition. Xavier and Howard, that's someone who we all know and has been an all pro before. So they are not just kind of like sitting on their hands anymore with some of these moves and just testing their depth. The moves they're making show urgency. I think that's the, you know, term that Zach used the other day. And that's true. They are, they have thrown development out the door this year.
Starting point is 00:18:34 You're going to see, I think, I think a lot of guys, especially on the defensive side of the ball with Lou, who until those young guys are ready to play, you're going to see a lot of veterans. And it's probably going to be frustrating at times for some guys who you're going to see some, probably some boring veterans who aren't maybe being very productive on the field over younger, more exciting players. but that's who the coaches trust and think is going to result in wins. So, yeah, there's so much of this offseason that kind of shows their hand that they're feeling the pressure as well because they've been very uncharacteristic since January. And one of those decisions, of course, perhaps the biggest one was to go to Daniel Jones to show that.
Starting point is 00:19:19 And even though he is not the starting quarterback, are there possible on-field roles for Anthony Richardson? Shane Steichen maybe can get creative a little bit. I don't know. We're going to discuss when the Colt Squad show returns. This portion of the show brought you by our friends at five-hour energy. Time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink, minus the alcohol,
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Starting point is 00:20:44 Whether you're meeting up with friends or trying to turn 18 holes into 36, get the energizing boost you need to power through. Order transfusion flavored five hour energy shots today. And we're back on the Locked-on Colts Squad show alongside Nerdame legend Alan Pinkett and Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks, the dynamic duo from Lockdown Colts. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and I have not checked the Notre Dame score in the first 20 minutes. 14 to 7 and half. Okay. I'm not even going to ask you who's leading.
Starting point is 00:21:14 It's Miami. Should have followed up with that. Might have completely ruined this for me, but that's okay. Let's talk about Anthony Richardson guys And I know like some of the people Who are probably like thinking themselves Oh my God, these guys just got a shoehorn ways And talking to Anthony Richardson.
Starting point is 00:21:31 I saw something from our friend Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star who does an awesome job. And he had mentioned, you know, maybe finding ways to get Richardson on the field and the fact that he's five for six in and one situations on the ground. Now that is a very small. sample size. But I'll think of myself, huh, you know, not that long ago, and it was a different
Starting point is 00:21:55 coaching staff. I remember the Colts, kind of did this with Jacoby Brissette. Remember when in the Phillip River season? Because Philip Rivers was 482 years old. So they weren't going to run him up the middle on fourth and ones. But Jacoby Preset's a big thick dude. He was awesome. He had, he had a knack, forget them, right? And so I think, you know, hopefully Richardson can be a little bit more than that. But it's worth pointing out, they didn't bring him into situations to do that last year in the small sample where Joe Flacco was out there, where they had maybe chances to do that. But, you know, Zach, I'll start with you. Is there any way? I mean, are you expecting them to potentially find, you know, a red zone package? I don't know, a Hail Mary at the end of the half because he's got
Starting point is 00:22:36 such a big arm. Is there a way to get Anthony Richardson on the field? And do you think Shane Stuyken will utilize that? I think there's certainly a way to get him on the field. I mean, we've seen teams in the past kind of play with things like this. I want to say the Steelers did it a little bit early last season with Justin Fields as their backup quarterback or even when, maybe it was like two years ago or something with the Bears. One of those teams with Justin Fields has done this, where Fields would come in for a handful of snaps, do some of the read option stuff, do some of the, you know, a little fun play around stuff, and then you would get back to your quarterback that is your starter to throw the ball. And I think if you really are about all winning this year, like winning no matter
Starting point is 00:23:13 what, I think getting Richardson out there for some short yardage packages certainly does favor your team a little bit. Because we saw last year, you know, again, regardless of what you want to say about Richardson, when it came to those like third and ones, fourth and ones, and the Colts would roll out this awesome QB counter suite play to the short side of the field with Richardson getting out in space behind a tight end lead blocker. And all he had to do is meet a cornerback on the outside. There's no corner in football that was making that tackle. And the Colts ran it to success multiple times. I think the first game they rolled it out last year was actually against Miami. They ran it three times and twice on that last drive to put
Starting point is 00:23:51 the game away and get that put away field goal. So I think there are ways to get him in there, especially like again, around the goal line. We saw that Jets finale last year, right on the one yard line that he had to score that touchdown under a minute to go. They run a quarterback sweep and he's able to run over a corner and get in the end zone. And if you want to win games this year, yeah, get him out there to run over some dudes in the run game but will they do that i'm not sure i think that's the big question here because you know i know this colts coaching staff from from talking with some people on the staff they watch a lot of college film in the offseason on how to utilize the cubby run game they are big fans of just the cubies in the run game uh on just aside from richards
Starting point is 00:24:30 just even going back to working with jalen hurts they've loved using quarterbacks in the run game so they watch teams like like old miss and liberty and a lot of college teams that like to utilize really fun aspects of the QB run game. And if you don't think Jones can do all that, you can certainly get Richardson out there for some packages. But again, the NFL is different than college. It is tough to make those switches for players.
Starting point is 00:24:52 It's tough to kind of incorporate a second quarterback out there. So do I think they're ultimately going to do it? No, I don't think we're going to see much of it. Again, maybe you could see it on like QB sneaks or something. But even then, Richardson's fumbled a couple QB sneaks in the NFL at this point. So I don't think we're going to see much of it, but personally, again, if you want to win more games this year, I think if you get into like a fourth and one situation, a third in one situation, and you can get some QB sweeps in there where it's like, look, even if the other team knows it's coming, we saw last year, the Jets knew that Richardson was running the ball on that QB sweep on the one yard line, and he ran over a defensive back. The Patriots knew a QB power was coming on that two-point conversion to win the game. and what happened, Richardson ran through the guy.
Starting point is 00:25:38 I mean, we saw this happen multiple times last year. So I think even if a team knows the QB run is coming, he can get by them and get that first down. So, yeah, long, ranch short here. Yeah, if you want to win more games, get them out there on those third and ones, fourth and ones. You can have a package for them. I just ultimately don't think it's going to be much in the cards this year
Starting point is 00:25:59 just because the NFL doesn't really do that too often. Well, at 200, I'll go. At 244 pounds, you think that, you know, running him up inside or running him around the corner would be something good to do. But NFL teams are reluctant to have their quarterbacks run because they pay them too damn much money. And they don't want them getting hurt running to football. You know, so I would love to see him in there being able to run with all that weight. You know, I always, you know, small running backs like me, what we would do is we would say to big backs. Sometimes we see big backs like I see an Eddie George or a Christian O'Coye.
Starting point is 00:26:46 And, you know, we would say to them, boy, if I had your size, I'd be running over everybody. Because sometimes we see a big back just tiptoe around the corner or go down too easy. When we've got a fight and scratch, there's a small back for every yard. So that weight when you use it efficiently is very, very good. But like I said, management doesn't like to see the quarterback get hit running the football. And I'm sure, like up in Buffalo, Josh Allen loves to run. And I know they hold their breath every single time he touch that thing in his arm and goes down field. But what I would love to see is, you know, maybe a Philly special type thing where they,
Starting point is 00:27:30 They put them in a slot, run them in motion, and pitch it to him, and he throws it downfield to someone else. Or, you know, they split him out wide, and he takes a couple steps back, and they make sure it's a backwards pass so it can throw it to a post coming over the middle from the opposite side. I would like something like that just on film to make the other defensive coordinators have to prepare for it if he comes in. or if you're really worried about him, you know, taking a beating, run one of these little wide screen plays and have a blocker out there in front of him, set him in a tight end out there so he's got a lead blocker. But hell, yeah, you can utilize him, but it wouldn't necessarily be quarterback-type things he would be doing to be effective.
Starting point is 00:28:21 Alan's trying to get that 80 Mitchell play redone, but with Richardson throwing the ball back to Daniel Jones instead of A.D. Mitchell throwing it back there. But yeah, no, I agree with you Alan. Like, you know, I think ideally you don't want that quarterback taking hits. But to me, you know, if your playbook is like third and one, fourth and one, we like this QB countersweet play a lot. Well, we're going to save Daniel Jones from taking that hit. And our back of quarterback will just take that hit instead. Again, if you're truly bought into winning this year and Jones is the best guy who gets you those wins, give Richardson those big hits at quarterback. If that's going to get you the first down. I know your backup quarterback is valuable, but you know,
Starting point is 00:28:57 it's more valuable than the backup quarterback, the starting quarterback. So that's just kind of where my thought process is. Again, I don't know if it's going to happen, but that's kind of where I am with, you know, the short yardage QB run game. Now, Alan and I are out here envisioning the Everett Olson, Tommy Reese offense, you know. I'm trying to tone it down. I'm just saying one little package. We're going chaos. Some wide receiver sweet. Anthony's the new starter. You let him go throughout the game until the fourth quarter when it's too uncomfortable, and that's when Daniel Jones, aka Tommy Reese, comes in. No, but I don't think they'll get too cute with it, but I do think Shane would be a little
Starting point is 00:29:34 naive not to acknowledge that Anthony is one of his most dangerous red zone weapons. So in similar ways that we're likely to see Tyler Warren used in exotic ways, I think occasionally we might see Anthony out there, but partly because Shane is also a coach that is willing to get a little, a little weird with it at times. He is a guy, Zach, you mentioned, like, he's not afraid to get inspiration from anywhere when it comes to the game of football. It does not matter. If he sees something he thinks he can tweak and make work in the NFL, he'll do it.
Starting point is 00:30:10 So while I don't think there's going to be, like, a regular role for Anthony, you know, that small sample size, like when Joe Flacko was starting last year, that's kind of a different situation. And that was very much big timeout energy for Anthony. Like take a timeout, figure things out, and just do that. Now they have time to prepare like all chips in with Daniel Jones for now. And then they can still figure out some way to use Anthony other than as the scout team quarterback. But yeah, let's just say Daniel is healthy for all 17 games plus the postseason as well, of course. we'll see Anthony a handful of times in the red zone specifically.
Starting point is 00:30:53 You know, I don't know that it'll be like a fourth and one around the 50 yard line or so. That's a big gamble, but I think wise money says that they're going to want to use Anthony's prowess down near the end zone at some point. I think Ben Aris here, I hope I said your last name right there, Ben, but Ben says it here in the comment section. And I've been saying this a couple of times the offseason as well. I think all these short yards things that I'm saying that Richardson could do, I think they're going to use Tyler Warren for a good job of that this year. It's what he did last year at Penn State. And again, Shane Steichen's goofy, man.
Starting point is 00:31:29 We saw Zaire Franklin at tight end and fullback in the past. You can Grover Stewart to Forrest Buccner get offensive snaps. I think we're going to see some of Tyler Warren in that Wildcat quarterback mode if it's not going to be Richardson. If it really is like just keep Richardson off the field, let him sit and watch the year. Then I think they still want to do some of that like power QB run stuff. I think Tyler Warren will get some Wildcat snaps this year. I'm confident in that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think you guys are all wrong because I'm looking here. Daniel Jones ran for 700 yards and 5.9 yards per carry in 2022. And as we know, 2022 is super relevant in 2025. So he has not, he has not had an
Starting point is 00:32:11 ACL and neck injury since. No, nothing. There's no other. context to add into the conversation. No, but in all seriousness, you know, unlike Philip Rivers or I don't know, Matt Ryan or, you know, even if you want to go way back, Peyton Manning, you don't have a statue back there, right? Jones can run a little bit. He can't run like Richardson, but he can run a little bit. And so I don't know, maybe that changes the dynamic a little bit than having like a straight like Brissette comes in every fourth down sneak like they did a couple of years ago. But it'll be interesting to see because, you know, you know, as we know, if Richardson comes in and does something great, then people talk right and fans get excited i think that'll be part of it i think that'll be part of it for sure and why i don't think we'll see him on the field but to your point about jones i think he will help them do a lot of the read option stuff they want to do and and they will run a lot of that read option i'm specifically talking about qv power stuff because you don't want jones lower him his shoulder against a defensive tackle whereas a tyler warren or even your backup in richardson who's 245 to 250 like you you prefer that than jones who even if he is like a 225 two
Starting point is 00:33:14 30 quarterback who can run, I don't want my starting quarterback lower in his right shoulder on anybody, you know, where I'm, I'm in, I'm in agreement with you because, you know, in college, it's one thing to run and hit like a 300 pound defensive lineman, but in the NFL, these guys are professional tacklers. They know how to hit you to hurt you. And so why take a chance on your future investment, running them up inside the, you know, the offensive line when he's back there to throw the ball. Yeah, no doubt about that. We all know the recent history when it comes to this Colts team
Starting point is 00:33:54 of being firmly stuck in the middle. Are they in danger of becoming their week one opponent long term? We'll discuss when the Colts squad show returns. This portion of the show brought you by game time. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ball game with friends or family? Maybe it's game day and you suddenly realize you want to be. in the stands. That's exactly where game time comes in. It's the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. With the money you save on tickets, you can sward on food, drinks,
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Starting point is 00:34:57 They ended up losing today, even though Aaron Judge had a home run in the game. But I went through the game time app and I was ready to go right there and ended up backing out last second. But most of the time, I'm on the game time app and I'm taking it. I'm going to Cincinnati. I'm going to St. Louis. I'm going all over the place. We have all these great ballparks right around here in central Indiana, and you can take advantage of it, too. Take the guest work out of buying tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account, use code, locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase.
Starting point is 00:35:22 Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-N-FL-L-NFL for 20 off. Download the game-time app today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guarantee. And we're back on the locked-on cold squad show. Thanks so much for joining us alongside Alan Pinkett, Jake, Arthur and Zach Hicks. I'm Derek Schultz. So Miami is the week one opponent, the Dolphins,
Starting point is 00:35:47 who, you know, have been a team that is, they're not really good. They're not really bad. They're just kind of there. That's for the most part what they've been. Miami has one division title and zero playoff wins since 2000, but they've had 16 seasons in that span of seven or more wins. They're 215 and 223 this century. if you take out an outlier one in 15 season, they're 214 and 208. So, I mean, you talk about middle. I mean, that's about as middle as it gets.
Starting point is 00:36:18 I don't know. They had that 11 win team that ended up losing an arrowhead a couple of years ago. That thought was a pretty good team. They had that weird Tony Spirano team that after the one and 15 season, they came out of nowhere and won 11 games. They still didn't want a playoff game. But that was our only AFC East Division title in that span. That was when Brady blew out his ACL in week one.
Starting point is 00:36:39 And so I think I'm being over dramatic here, guys. But, you know, the Colts have been firmly in the middle, really for the better part of the last 10 years. I understand there's two four win seasons in there, right? But for the last 10 years, for the most part, they've been 8, 9, 9 and 8, right in that range. And I think as it takes a while to figure out the quarterback situation, which the dolphins have had to do for a long time for a better part of this 21st century, those are the teams that get kind of trapped in there. So I'll ask you, Zach, are the Colts destined to be stuck? I think it's the worst place.
Starting point is 00:37:15 I shouldn't say the worst place to be because Cleveland and Jacksonville is, you know, there are in Washington forever, right? There are truly poorly run franchises that are at the bottom and they stay at the bottom. But all intents and purposes, it's a really bad place to be. It's difficult to get better when you're picking 14th every year. Yeah, it's kind of the worst place to be for a fan, I think for sure. for ownership and for GMs and for head coaches, you're always convinced that you're like,
Starting point is 00:37:44 sorry, sorry, you just need a couple more bounces. Derek did not want me talking there. You have a couple more bounces to go your way, and you'll be able to figure this thing out. But for fans, you feel like you're just stuck in this, like, everlasting loop, and you have no way to get out of it unless you get lucky in the draft in terms of getting your quarterback somehow around,
Starting point is 00:38:05 pick 14, 15, 16, and you're just kind of stuck there, you know? And I think for fans, like, it's almost as bad as being the Clevelands or the Jacksonville's because, like, the horrible part of being like those really bad teams, you always know what's coming, even though you get excited coming into a year, but you know what's coming. You kind of feel that way when you're stuck in the middle as well. Like, you can get all excited about certain things, but you always kind of know what's coming when you don't have the quarterback. And what we see from a lot of teams is they'll have these ebbs and flows where they win three games and then they win 14, win three, win 14.
Starting point is 00:38:38 And the difference there is that when they won the three games, they got their quarterback. And now all of a sudden they're competing for division championships. I mean, look at the Bengals for such a long time. Post Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton came in there and did some good things with them. They were like that middle of the road type team. Then they blew up and fell all the way to the basement. And then they get Joe Burrow. And now they had a Super Bowl appearance a couple years ago.
Starting point is 00:39:00 their defense is kind of a mess, but they're able to do some good things because of that offense is so good. And that's kind of where, you know, fans are looking at this stuff and like envying that like they envy tanking. They envy falling to the basement. You know, I don't know if there's any like true metric that shows like it's better just to fall out to the basement for one year or two years
Starting point is 00:39:24 and just get lucky with the quarterback. Because again, you're counting on so much luck with that quarterback pick. but yeah being in the middle of the road does suck for for fans it really does because you always feel like you know the peak of what your team can get is getting blown out in round one of the playoffs but if you're an ownership like you don't want to tank you know you don't want to drop to the basement because even then that might not fix it you're you're always at risk of becoming Cleveland you know and that's what you don't you never want to be that you'd rather be middle road than Cleveland so it's tough it really is a tough situation but to answer your
Starting point is 00:39:59 in here. The Colts have been that since I've covered this team. You know, that's the only Colts I know are the Dolphins Colts, you know, the middle of the road Colts. I saw little glimpses with Rivers and Luck, but for the most part, they've just been this middle of the road adequate team and they seem content with it. So we'll see what the direction is after the season, regardless if they make the playoffs or not, what Carly Ursae wants to do, what the rest of the ownership group and people want to do. But yeah, I will say. The Colts have been, I mean, you tell me Dolphins and Colts, they've been like the same team in my head since I've covered the NFL.
Starting point is 00:40:36 And since I got out of high school, they've been that. So I don't think they're like dangerously closing in on being the Dolphins. I think they're kind of there right now. Yeah, it is just such a dangerous middle ground. And no one wants to be that bad. But at the same time, you either have to be aggressive if you're sitting there in the middle of the first round, which the Colts have not been. They're very fine to just sit.
Starting point is 00:40:59 and let whatever they want come to them, you know, not being aggressive doesn't get you or like even Washington in that Andrew Luck, RG3 year went all the way up to the number two pick. It was the Rams there initially. So they may, they changed their own destiny. You know, that worked for them initially, like immediately until RG3's injury, until the injury. Zach knows all about that. That was so painful, Jake. That was awful for me, right? You brought up Luck and RG3. Just kill me. Hey, well, yeah, we got to get both. daggers out of the way. But I mean, no, it's a hard pill to swallow because, you know, for so long
Starting point is 00:41:35 here in Indy, you know, since I've been a football fan, either Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck was mostly the quarterback of this team. And then now it's the retirement home or the revolving door of quarterbacks and no success is ever sustained. You get a couple good squads in there. Like the 2019 team, 2021, like those were decent teams if they had better quarterback. 2020 obviously. But like overall, if you don't have like a young quarterback that is clearly your future, you're just sitting here wondering what's next. Like even if Anthony Richardson was the quarterback this year, we still would have been looking forward to draft time. Like it's hard to establish yourself as a no doubt go-to franchise guy with the start to the career you've had. So
Starting point is 00:42:25 it really all ties back to quarterback. You know, you can have. have a well-built roster outside of that, but if you don't have that young quarterback, you are just going to be just floating around, treading water, and surviving. That's kind of how we've described Chris Ballard for the last several years, is he's just a survivor. You know, there are bullets that are flying all the time, and it always manages to hit somebody else, but Chris Ballard has built a roster that sustains and it's competitive, but it's unspectacular without the most important position fulfilled.
Starting point is 00:42:59 which they've tried to do. They've just done it unsuccessfully. So, yeah, I mean, who knows what this is going to look like next year, next offseason? I think you obviously need the new quarterback to get things moving in the right direction. If you finish around that, you know, eight and nine or whatever it is, you got to be aggressive and get up around that top five to get the quarterback because letting things fall to you does not work. You have to go do it. I think Josh Allen was traded up for. McCombs was traded up for.
Starting point is 00:43:32 If Trey Lance would have worked out for the 49ers, he was traded up for. You have got to be intentional about going and changing your future. It does not work if you just sit there and let it happen to you. Well, point of emphasis, you either have that guy or you don't have that guy. And when you have that guy, you go on those runs and you relish it when you don't have that guy, I think that the Colts thought they had that guy. and we're getting out of the middle by selecting Tyler Warren as their first round draft pick. Now, there's one more weapon for Anthony Richardson to use.
Starting point is 00:44:10 But now that Daniel Jones is the starter, you kind of feel like you're kind of falling back into the middle. Now, I can understand what you say about the Dolphins because McDaniel's first two years, they did make the playoffs. and, you know, he comes over as this, you know, boy wizard, you know, Yale graduate just knows all the X's and those and the ins and outs about how to run an offense. But to me, the dolphins fell in the middle because they have no plan when it comes to a backup quarterback. It's either Tua or it's bus, and that's what takes them down to the middle. They don't even look like the same damn team when two. is not playing.
Starting point is 00:44:56 You know, so at least you've got some, it looks like, consistency at quarterback now. And we're going to see if the system is going to work. You know, all the different pieces that they've put together makes it look like they could make that little leap out of the middle. But we're just going to have to wait and see the games, make sure everyone stays healthy, all that type of things. But initially, I hear what you're saying, Derek, about you don't want to, you feel like you're in the middle. But I thought they addressed that when they got Tyler Warren. Yeah. I think they went out.
Starting point is 00:45:36 They saw their, that was their weakest position group, right? And so they went on and did that. But, you know, from the player perspective, that one does even get frustrated in the locker room? Like, you guys in Houston, you were above where the Colts were. Like, you were in the playoffs every year. You were always making the playoffs. Like, you were winning double-digit games and all that. But then, you know, there was Denver.
Starting point is 00:45:54 you know, the other AFC powers of that time. And it felt like a little bit of a glass ceiling that you guys were routinely trying to break through. What's that like to kind of go through it year after year? Because I think we've felt, you know, it was painted as being frustrated with a quarterback situation. But I think as much as is the quarterback situation, I think Quentin Nelson, the other guys in locker room were like, God, I just don't want to go eight and nine again.
Starting point is 00:46:18 You know what I mean? Like I think it was just the frustration of being stuck as well. well you know as a player you know all owners like making money you don't know if all owners like to win because the current business model is being in the middle because you get all you know those the gate and you know interest in the team but you don't have to spend the extra expense of going through the playoffs. So 8 and 9 is the perfect business model, you know, for ownership. But for the players, you know, we can see sometimes where, you know, we might be lacking in an area and it doesn't get addressed. And we also know as a player that, you know, it's just a
Starting point is 00:47:08 matter of inches a lot of times, you know, it's in this one play, if we can, you know, just make that one block and, and, you know, make the run, then it's first down instead of fourth down. That's, it's just, it comes down to sometimes luck and bad bounces, but, you know, you also count on management to put you in the best position by putting the best players at at East position. I'm not making any indictments about, you know, what the Poles are doing. But as a player, you see that sometimes you win in spite of the team. And, you know, what happened with us when I was with the Oilers was my first year, we went four and 12.
Starting point is 00:48:06 But we liked each other. And we realized if we want to stay around each other, we need to start winning. So we just made the conscious decision. We're going to start winning. That way, we were able to have some cohesion. We were able to gel a little bit and, you know, develop some great friendships and relationships because we won. You know, so it's hard to answer the question, but there's just a lot of parts there. The player part, there's the management part. And sometimes, you know, management is reluctant to spend the extra money to put you over the top.
Starting point is 00:48:49 But the players, the onus is on the player, just to go out and make place. The good news is I do have confidence that management now is very determined to get back to what they had. with with carlier say Gordon i think they all know that none of this with the team exists if not for the glory days and how much different does it look if they would have been you know how the broncos were looking for john elway every year back in the day the bears you know these again these kind of just mad dolphins-ish teams that is not what gets them where they want to go So I do have confidence that they legitimately are trying to put out the best product possible. And unfortunately, like with that, we're just going to have to wait until next off season to see what that looks like, I think.
Starting point is 00:49:46 Yeah, no question. Our position group previews continue when we come back for a final time on the Colt Squad show. And we agree that all of this room absolutely needed and ended up getting a big upgrade. In fact, that big upgrade's name has been mentioned already on this show multiple times. And we haven't even gotten to the tight ends yet. We're going to talk about it next on the Colt Squad Show. Back for final time, Colt Squad Show, Alan Pinkett, Jake Arthur, Zach Hicks and Derek Schultz.
Starting point is 00:50:17 Thanks so much for joining us. Let's move on over to the tight ends, fellas. Tyler Warren headlining that group this year, and thank goodness for that. But I will say as much as much hand-wringing as was done. I'm being nice. about the tight end room last year. You've got three-fourths of that room back. And I think the other three guys, I mean, I guess we could start with Warren if you really wanted to,
Starting point is 00:50:41 but I actually kind of wanted to give the other three guys their flowers that, you know, Will Maui had a great camp in an offseason, went out and definitively won the job, but it wasn't a default thing. It wasn't like Jolani Woods got hurt or something. You're like, fine, we're going to keep him as our fourth guy. Drew Ogletree plays a role as a great blocker. And Molly Cox is entering his, what is his 19th season? I believe with the Colts. That may be unofficial right now, but he's been there forever. I like the depth that they have.
Starting point is 00:51:08 Like, I like all those guys as backups. I just didn't want those guys as primary targets. And I think now that Warren has entered the mix, Zach, you make that, that whole room shines, just because now you have your TE1 and all those guys can settle into their roles that they are meant to be. Yeah, it's kind of like having a good pass rush room where when you have that top dog, that alpha pass rusher who can finish sacks. It clearly defines what everyone else has to do. So, like, for instance, if Layatulatu has a step this year and emerges that guy,
Starting point is 00:51:39 then Quiddy Pei being your edge setter and your guy who could just finish sacks becomes more defined in his role. Now we go over to tight end and look, Moly Cox gets a lot of hate for what he is because the Colts wanted him to be the next Jack Doyle after Doyle retired. And he's not a terrible player. He's just not that. He's not a starting caliber tight end in this league. but if we're talking about 12 personnel backup tight end who is a really good blocker who can
Starting point is 00:52:04 I mean look he he's he can pass block like a tight end sometimes out there he or like a like a tackle sometimes not like a tight end like a tackle um he's a big strong physical player he's made some big plays in the goal line and on fourth and third downs in his career I don't think he's this terrible player he's just not a starting caliber player so when you get a Tyler Warren to be that number one guy and he's going to be just your pass catcher he's going to be your You know, your fun fullback blocker as well, your fullback, like throwback player, your RPO screen guy. Like, you're going to use him in so many fun ways. Mo is a really good guy to have as a 12 personnel reserved tight end behind him who can just come in,
Starting point is 00:52:44 catch like eight passes this year and protect Warren and let Warren be the past catcher that he is. So yeah, I think Molly Cox is a valuable player to have now that you have Tyler Warren. And then Drew Ogletree kind of fits in that same mold where like, look, Ogletree is not a great pass catcher. We've seen enough of the drops. We've seen enough of just inability to get open down the field. But he's a very good run blocker. And he's a guy who has a little bit more versatility as a run blocker than Mo.
Starting point is 00:53:09 Where Mo is an inline guy, we saw Ogletree come back in the backfield a couple of times. We saw him be, you know, part of jumbo sets with Mo on 12 personnel where they really want to run it and be effective, really good on those split zone runs, cracking back against the backside defensive end. So, yeah, I think those guys are valuable players. and then you're just taking a shot on Mallory.
Starting point is 00:53:29 You're seeing if Mallory can continually develop as that backup pass catcher, and maybe you can get some unique packages for him this year. But, yeah, just having Tyler Warren on the roster just in play here clearly defines these guys to being what they're supposed to be. Now we don't need Mo to have a 40 catch season to be excited about him. He can have an eight-catch season as long as he allows Tyler Warren to be the Tyler Warren that he can do that he can be, then Mo's doing his job perfectly. but like that this is just so indicative of the NFL where some guys are just not star players some guys are just perfect complimentary players and it's fine like the online culture has to call everyone mid or bad if they are not perfect players or not these like star players but like you can have complimentary players you can have players with utilities and I think having a guy like moali Cox and having a guy like drooletry behind him just makes Tyler Warren better and having Tyler Warren clearly defines those guys.
Starting point is 00:54:25 to being the role players they're supposed to be. It's like T.J. McConnell with the Pacers. Great role player. It's awesome. He's not a star player in the NBA. But you need guys like that if you want to win. And that's what I think guys like Molly Cox, Drew Obletree, and heck, maybe even Will Mallory this year could be.
Starting point is 00:54:41 I like this group quite a bit now, having a guy who is without a doubt your top pass catcher and just the guy that needs to stay on the field at all times. Like the upgrade they got from Kyle and Granson to Tyler Warren, and really cannot be understated because I think Granson is like Philadelphia is tied in three or something now. And that's the guy you were relying on to like lead your tight end group and receiving. So an obvious, an obvious upgrade there. But yeah, I think what you guys said just fits perfectly well. It allows everyone else to fill the roles they're supposed to. Because
Starting point is 00:55:17 before you were having to keep all these guys active and try and use them all to like fill all these small roles that you needed a tight end to fill well now you got one guy who can kind of do it all so you can really kind of pigeonhole these other guys positively into roles they're supposed to and now i think it opens up an avenue for a guy like will mallory to be able to actually play in a game because you don't have like you're you're not having to use two or three other guys to fill these other roles you can have if you if there's a game where a defense is really susceptible to field stretching tight ends or something, boom, you have a guy that you can make active and you can actually use him this week.
Starting point is 00:56:00 So as much as I like Tyler Warren for what he's going to do statistically and individually, I like his presence for what it allows Shane Steichen to do and his teammates as well, because I am just begging to see more of Will Mallory for the love of God. Like they have this guy, he's not bad. Like Zach said, he's not bad. He has a rule. he's not a blocker but the guy is was one of the more talented pass catchers of that group for the last couple years we just weren't able to see it because they weren't able to really use
Starting point is 00:56:32 him so now i'm really hoping we get to see a little bit of will mallory this year well the one thing that tyler warren is that all the other tight ends aren't is a first round draft pick and if you're a first round draft pick you are expected to come in and make place your talent level. It's supposed to be better. I look at the other tight end. And I'm not trying to talk bad about them, but you've got what? Mo Ali's undrafted free agent. What, Ogletree was drafted the sixth round. I don't know when they got Mallory. But six round as well. Yeah, six round. Yeah. You've got different expectations for guys in the sixth round than you do in the first round. But what that first rounder does do is allow those six. rounder to now develop more of their game. And they actually become, their role becomes more beneficial to the team because you got the one alpha dog who's going to go out and catch passes and maybe sneak in the backfield and run the wildcat and do some of these other things because he has the talent to do
Starting point is 00:57:42 it. These other guys don't have the same talent level as as Tyler Warren. Otherwise, they would have been drafted in the first round. So I like. the room and i like it especially because of the serious upgrade you made when you got tyler warren yeah i and you know we're talking about the backups here we're talking about the full room but to just go to tyler warren man i i think he's going to have a pretty big season for a rookie tight end i don't think it's going to be like brock bowers level big because bowers is just a unicorn out there last year but i think tyler warren in in this same realm is kind of a unicorn as well It's just a different type of unicorn, you know.
Starting point is 00:58:19 He's a power player playing tight end. He's a physical monster, and he's a guy who can move across your entire formation. He can be an inline tight end. He can be out in the slot. He can be your fullback. He can be your wildcat quarterback. And when you have this offensive coach like Shane Steichen, where Shane Steichen likes to get unique with what he's doing, he likes to draw from college personnel groupings, he likes to work in
Starting point is 00:58:42 a lot of things that are kind of unique to the NFL, I think when you give him a unique weapon like Tyler Warren, it's just going to be a match made in heaven. So, you know, we had Ben Solek on our regular show earlier in the off season. He was like, I'm not sure how to project Tyler Warren to this offense because we've never seen Shane Stiking with a guy like this. And my thing with that is like, we haven't really seen many teams with a player like Tyler Warren because, like, you can say he's kind of like a George Kittle, but like even like different from a kill, he's so good with the ball in his hands, you know, where he's just, again,
Starting point is 00:59:13 he's like having John Riggins with the ball in his hands, you know, just the way. Just the way he plays, not that level of dominance. But I think he's going to be just a really good player for this offense. I think the Colts are going to go out of their way to get him involved because they know in this offense, if you want to have, you know, the type of stuff that they want to do to win games or ball control, ball possession, and get first downs. Look, we drafted this tight end in round one because of his yards after catchability.
Starting point is 00:59:40 Because of his ability to turn three-yard gains into 10-yard gains, we're going to see a lot of screen passes to him. We're going to see a lot of trail passes to. We're going to see some RPO throws to him. We're going to see a lot of ways to get him the ball in space and let him do his thing. I think he's going to have a pretty big season. And I think he's going to be a big part of the Red Zone where the Colts have been pretty dreadful the last couple years in the Red Zone. I think when you're going to get Warren with the Wildcat stuff, with the RPO stuff, with the screen game stuff,
Starting point is 01:00:08 I think we're going to see a big season from Tyler Warren relative to most rookie tight ends. I know Zach is retired as a Washington fan. every once all, you know, John Riggins, the RG3, 2012 season, you get a little bit of that maroon and gold bleeding through from the childhood a little bit there, even though obviously John Riggins way before your era, right? But every, every Washington fan knows him. My grandfather told me all about him. There you go. He was telling me that Alan Pinkett as a local high school kid that was killing it. And then he was telling him about John Riggins as well. Man, shot fired. Well, no, no joke, no joke. I know we're running late here. My dad was like, I remember Alan
Starting point is 01:00:45 running all over all the schools. our area back in, back in, because we grew up around the same area. Yeah, it was the same time Riddle was running over everybody. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, my grandfather, my dad could tell me, it's like, Alan was running for like 300 yards a game in high school against my high school. We had horror stories in our football room about Alan Pinkett. So, yeah, that was, that was all love there to Alan saying that. That was all love. What was the old saying, Alan, when it was just the film, he's a, he's a one foot guy or a two foot where you only had to look at this much film from their black and white high school days to know I want that guy on my college team.
Starting point is 01:01:20 Yeah. You were one of those guys. Well, I'm just a legend in my own mind, I guess. More legendary moments from Alan Picking and the rest of the group on the Colts Squad show. Next Sunday, we're going to have our first live game Colts show. That's going to be a lot of fun. We are your place to go. Every live game recap following each and every Colts game this season,
Starting point is 01:01:42 tune it in Locked on Colts YouTube channel podcast as well for the live. show. So 9 p.m. Wednesday will be our next show. That'll be our midweek show. We'll go over to Dolphins. We'll talk all about that and set final expectations for the 25 season. So set your calendars and watches accordingly. For the rest of the crew, I'm Derek Schultz. I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to follow along on socials and at Lockedon Colts. Check out our other great locked on content as well, YouTube, TikTok, and we'll see you next time right here on the Colts Squad show. Thank you.

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