Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - DRAFT SZN: Indianapolis Colts Should've Seen Stars In Indiana vs. Miami

Starting point is 00:00:00 Indiana Hoosiers are champions of the college football world. And what a way to send the Colts into draft season at the same time, huh? Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On podcast network. Now the number one sports podcast network out there. I'm our host, Jake Arthur, the Indianapolis Colts Beatwriter for Roundtable Sports.

Starting point is 00:00:41 And today we were opening up the floor for questions to our everydayers club. We would love for more of you to hop in there and join the conversation over on the Discord server. It's an awesome new thing that we have started. Basically, if you follow the link in our show notes, and I'll keep peppering reminders throughout the show. If you follow the link in our show notes, you can get our audio ad free. and then you'll also get an invite to a special members-only Discord server where once the show ends here, the conversation picks right back up over there. Zach and I have been having a great time chatting with you guys.

Starting point is 00:01:16 So we would love to have even more of you in there to chat with. And again, special perks like this to get to ask even more questions. You know we love conversating with all of you, but of course we would like to make ourselves a little more available to those of you who would like to chat with us kind of off. offline from the show here. So that's what we're doing today, answering some more everyday or club questions. We've got some good ones here. So this first one is from Jared. He said, do you guys have any eyes on prospects yet? So of course, you know, we always have an eye for draft season. I started some real preliminary stuff like kind of in the off season looking at guys taped from last year.

Starting point is 00:02:01 I haven't done a whole lot yet. I know Zach has dabbled in it a little bit so far. He did do a whole segment on yesterday's show about IU receiver, Omar Cooper Jr. Had a nice game last night in the national championship. I, as unusual, will be in Mobile next week for the Senior Bowl. So some guys that I'm really looking forward to getting my eyes on, Akeem Mesidor from Miami the Edge, had a couple sacks last night.

Starting point is 00:02:29 We'll see if he stays in the Senior Bowl. obviously he just played a game. This season just ended, so he's got a lot to consider. But if he does still stay in the senior bowl, I obviously would love to get my eyes on him. I.U. Receiver Elijah Surat, obviously, we're going to talk more about what the Colts want to do

Starting point is 00:02:48 with Michael Pittman Jr. this offseason. But if they're looking for like a tough, gritty guy who can win over the middle, good route runner, Surat, I think, of course, fits that bill. Clemson edge rush or T.J. Parker can give you a little bit of everything. If you draft a guy like that, I mean, number one, he's high up on the board. So he's probably not going to get to you in the draft. But if something does happen, you certainly look for an upgrade over like quidipay, for example.

Starting point is 00:03:18 Like if you get a souped up version of quity pay, a guy who's good against the run but can also provide some pass rush that would obviously be great. And then Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. We know the Colts obviously need linebacker help. To what extent will they remake the linebacker room this offseason? I don't know. We'll see. But Rodriguez is definitely an intriguing guy that just kind of plays with his hair on fire. Also, Toledo Safety, Emmanuel McNiel Warren.

Starting point is 00:03:46 Nick Cross, strong safety is a free agent this year. Even if he was back, we know that Lou Anirumo is not afraid to use three safeties. he will put more than enough personnel in the field at the same time from a certain group. So a guy like Emmanuel McNeill Warren, who is a height, weight speed guy, playmaker, so much you can do with him, obviously looking to get my eyes on him as well. This next question is from Skull and Steel 914. How do the Colts rebuild depth and find reliable starters at guard and tackle? So part of this, I think, is a Braden Smith question.

Starting point is 00:04:22 and obviously Braden Smith, you're starting right tackle, entering free agency. The way Chris Ballard spoke about it after the season, I didn't come away from that super convinced that Smith would be back. I think they're open to it for the right price, but at the same time, I don't think they're going to, you know, I don't think they're going to get too much in the weeds over it because I think they really like Jalen Travis. So Jalen Travis, for my money, if I'm projecting into August and September,

Starting point is 00:04:51 he is probably going to be your new starting right tackle. Danny Pinter is also a free agent and Luke Tunita is a free agent. So those guys are part of your depth, but don't really move the needle in terms of if you lost them or not in free agency. So let's just say that Smith, Ternuda, and Pinter, you lost all three. So I think number one, when you're looking at tackle and right tackle specifically, you still have Blake Freeland. but he was looking for a kind of redemption year last year and then suffered a fractured lower leg. So you almost have to just say at this point,

Starting point is 00:05:31 anything Freeland gives you is a positive and just kind of proceed as if he's not a big part of the plans on the second wave of the offensive line. So I think you need to bring at least one offensive tackle and who's capable of starting or being a swing tackle because Jalen Travis was your swing, tackle now you need to replace that. So you need to bring in a new swing tackle. That can be done in free agency. Give a guy like $5 million for really reliable pay, maybe even less than that.

Starting point is 00:06:00 $3 to $5 million. You could probably find a decent swing tackle that way. I'm also a huge proponent of drafting one or two offensive linemen every year. So the Colts should have plenty of ammo, especially on day three. And I think they really like to use those day three picks on offensive lineman. So I would sign two to three free agents, and I mean serious ones, not just like future deals guys that they're kind of signing right now. But two to three serious free agents, they don't necessarily have to be guys you plan on starting.

Starting point is 00:06:35 But if you look at your starting five as Berenhardt, Reimann, Quentin Nelson, Tanner Bordellini, Matt Gonzalez, and Jalen Travis, well, you need probably two to three more guys at the second level of your offensive line capable of playing in a pinch if you needed them to. I don't mind Dalton Tucker in the mix there as well. But I think that's kind of how you look at it at this point. This next one is from Melvin Snyder. Is the Colts best bet at the rebuild of the defense?

Starting point is 00:07:05 Is that kind of wrapped up in the luck of someone dropping out of the first round of the draft, trading up somehow under the draft or an absolute stellar year and free agency? like essentially what would be the best yet to come from Chris Ballard and the rest of the front office. So I think it would be a mix of all of it. So if you look at the Colts, they don't really have a pick until the middle of the second round. You can find some appealing players there. Like I think of Donovan Azaraku from Boston College. That's a guy who got picked right in front of the Colts last year.

Starting point is 00:07:38 Now, he didn't end up having a productive year for the Cowboys this year. but like high end I think you're looking at kind of like a unique in Gokway in his prime level pass rusher. You could fall into things like that. JT.2M. Lowell, I could have had a better year. So if you look for someone really good to fall out of the first round all the way to like almost pick 50, that's kind of questionable because it's like, why were they there? Why did they fall all the way from the first round to about 47 or so, where the cold will be. That one's questionable. I think if you just set yourself up in free agency

Starting point is 00:08:17 with a nice mix of moves at each level, and then you just kind of add draft picks on top of it as cherries on top, and then you got that good blend of veteran and young talent, and then just legitimately let the best players win. I think that's how you come out of this one, okay? No, I don't think the defense is some big lost cause, because, I mean, look at the guys who were hurt at period of time last year. Obviously, Mooney Ward, Sauce Gardner, DeForest Buckner, I mean, you didn't know who your will linebacker was

Starting point is 00:08:52 until like a third of the way through the season. Kenny Moore missed a few games. Like, you've dealt with injuries throughout the year. Now, some of those guys, Mooney Ward and DeForest Buckner, primarily are ones where I'm like, eh, what are you really looking at next year? Mooney, is he going to retire or come back? Buckner, how is he going to look coming off that neck procedure?

Starting point is 00:09:13 So you do need to still, you need to keep adding a ton of assets to the defense. And you need to not put so many eggs in the baskets of these veterans, especially the ones coming off of injuries. So if you continue to make mostly modest signings and free agency on the defensive side of the ball, maybe with like one splash, because I mean, they made multiple splashes last year. But if you do like one splash on the defensive side of the ball with like a handful of more like one to three to five million dollar types, probably maybe more than that, closer in the range of five million. And then you actually hit on a couple draft picks instead

Starting point is 00:09:56 of bombing. Like unfortunately the Colts have come to do, especially on day two of the draft with their defensive players. If you actually hit on some of those guys, I think the defense will be perfectly fine. But I don't imagine they'll trade up into the draft. It seems like they've kind of already given up too many assets. And I think they're going to think that the sauce gardener trade, him coming back healthy, is going to be a huge asset to them. This next one from Ice Ice Baby, could we see Chris Ballard trade a player for more

Starting point is 00:10:28 draft capital before the draft? That one I actually think is probably going to happen. So they don't have a first round pick. Right now, after one. we assume they add comp picks. The Colts are kind of on the schedule to get a six-rounder and a seventh-rounder. That usually happens after the combine. We'll have a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and two-sevenths.

Starting point is 00:10:49 The sixth-rounder they'll have, the one-six-rounder they'd have would be a comp-pick because they traded for Mackay Blackman last year. So, you know, if you trade a player like Anthony Richardson, for example, I don't think that's going to net you any better than a day three pick. I think at best you probably get a fourth or fifth rounder out of him. If you trade him, you could look at like Michael Pittman Jr. probably gets you like a fourth, Zaire Franklin, probably like a fifth or so. So I don't think the Colts are going to be able to swing anyone for a first rounder this year.

Starting point is 00:11:27 If they trade a new one, you're probably looking at adding one or two day three picks out of that. So that was our first round of questions. We've got plenty more to come right after this. If you've ever hired someone who looked good on paper but wasn't the right fit, you know how important that is. When you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for, trust Indeed, sponsored jobs. Hiring, Indeed, is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other sites. Indeed, sponsored jobs puts your post at the top of the page and helps you reach the right candidates faster. If we needed to hire someone for this show specifically, we'd probably go straight to Indeed, and we would be very specific about what we need, real experience and not just resume buzzwords.

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Starting point is 00:15:48 Thanks for making Locked on culture first listen of the day. And thanks for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network out there. Reminder, today's Q&A session is from the members of our very new everydayer club. You can catch our audio ad free and get in. invite to the members only locked on Everyday Air Club Discord server, which includes a group chat just for listeners of our show. So go to Lockedoncultz.supercast.com to join or even gift a subscription. We got good news recently that our numbers for this Everyday Air Club are growing.

Starting point is 00:16:21 More people are interested in it. More people are keeping the conversation going over on that Discord. And Zach and I are loving it. We're loving chatting with you guys. You know, talking about, you know, the game last night. I use win over Miami, already talking about draft talk, free agent stuff. So we would love more of you guys to hop in there and don't miss out on any of the conversation, really. This next one is from Jared over at the Everydayer Club.

Starting point is 00:16:47 If next year goes really bad, do we have anybody we could get a 2027 first round pick for to help start the rebuild? So I was looking at the roster. Some of these guys, you'd have to resign or just it's banking. on a really strong 2026 season from them. But guys after this 2026 season, if they individually do well, but the team goes into the gutter, I could see these guys netting interest for a first round pick elsewhere. So Soss Gardner, we know the Colts just paid two first round picks for him. So even if he depreciates a little bit, you could probably get a first round pick out of him

Starting point is 00:17:27 with a healthy, good year. Barrenhardt, Reimann left tackles. You can't just find them anywhere. But if you're rebuilding, I just don't know why you get rid of your left tackle. Tyler Warren, if he builds off it and he gets, you know, he builds off that 70 plus catch season. And we're looking at like 90 catches, close to 1,000 yards, close to 10 touchdowns from the tight end position. He might be someone worth netting that first round pick for. Lyotu Latu.

Starting point is 00:17:55 He already is someone, I think, pretty respected around the league. Now, Colts fans may be underwhelmed by what he's given so far and they want more, but what he's giving is valuable. Teams would definitely be willing to give up things for that. And he's starting to climb closer to that 10 sack mark. If this guy is getting to 10 sacks after this year and he's an ascending player, like his numbers have been getting better each year, a team will pay a first-round pick for him. And then Alec Pierce.

Starting point is 00:18:24 If the Colts resign Alec Pierce and let's say he leads the NFL in yards per catch again for the third straight year, has another 1,000 yard season with a bunch of big plays in it. That's a guy who, you know, entering his prime would have either, you know, back to back thousand yards seasons with a bunch of big plays or three straight years of leading the leading yards per catch. I think he could net a first round pick. I mean, Tyree Kill was a totally different animal, but we've seen what teams like have given. up for guys like that. So looking at the roster, that would probably, those would probably be the only guys that I would think would get you a first round pick. And again, it depends on their health. It depends on them coming back and having an awesome year in 2026. And it depends on the Colts having an awful year as a team in 2026 based on this question. So that one's tough to look at regardless.

Starting point is 00:19:19 Jared had another one here. How likely are the Colts to lose Jim Bob Puder? So this one's interesting. If I'm looking at it from what I think would be most comfortable for Nick Siriani, then I think Jim Bob Cooter might be their best pick to be the Eagles new offensive coordinator. So Siriani loves familiarity and he loves to have guys he's worked with around him. Jim Bob Cooter has been there in Philadelphia as a consultant before under Siriani. And he has been working last few years with Shane Steichen. Shane Stike and Nick Siriani very close.

Starting point is 00:19:56 So this whole relationship is all very familiar. It also, if you're Jim Bob Cooter, you haven't been like a play caller and you're not like a dominating personality that's going to come in and buttheads with Siriani very much. So I think Siriani would probably get along well with Jim Bob Cooter and not that he could, you know, I just don't see like Jim Bob overstepping his bounds much. Like I think they would work well together. but the list of other candidates that are in the mix or have interviewed for the Eagles offense a coordinator job looking at Mike McDaniel, the former head coach from the Dolphins, Brian Daibble, the former coach from the Giants, Mike Kafka from the Giants was their interim coach, Zach Robinson was the O.C. in Atlanta. Those are guys who maybe not certainly,

Starting point is 00:20:47 but could, you know, they've been head coaches before too. Number one, some of these guys are still in the mix for other head coaching jobs. So like falling into an OC job, even if it is the Eagles, just is beneath their trajectory at the moment. But, you know, they've been head coaches before, too. It may not be a good mix with a current head coach such as Nick Sirian. So I think Jim Bob probably makes the most sense, just based on the familiarity and the cohesiveness that would, you know, partake between head coach and OC there, especially

Starting point is 00:21:22 an offensive-minded head coach like Siriani. So if the Colts did lose Jim Bob Cooter, just a couple in-house guys I would immediately look at would be Alex Taney, the passing game coordinator, and Tom Anning, the tight-ins coach. Tom Manning does a lot of help with the play design stuff as well and has OC experience from college. So I think that one would fit pretty well.

Starting point is 00:21:47 This next one is from Melvin Snyder. does the Daniel Jones contract hold up some or all resources for the linebacker core or any of the defensive rebuild to be done essentially. So I don't think Jones on his own. Like I think Jones signing for $35, $40, $40 plus million a year, that obviously affects things. But you know that has to be done. Like you can't really, you can't say the thing that has to be done, you can't say it's affecting everything else necessary. because it's not a luxury. Alec Pierce, Nick Cross, Quitty Pay, Braden Smith,

Starting point is 00:22:26 these other guys who cost money, that makes it a little more difficult, and that's where you have to look at the Colts current contracts. We've discussed this a little bit lately, but there are guys with some pretty sizable cap hits this season, and I believe all of them are entering the final years of their contracts as well. So ones you seriously have to look at, Michael Pittman Jr. making $29 million this season, I think, is unrealistic.

Starting point is 00:22:54 That is the seventh highest cap hit among all receivers in the NFL. And I do like Pittman. I think he's a good player, but he's not giving you that level of play, essentially. So if you want Alec Pierce back at likely over $20 million, maybe even over $25 million, then you can't have a guy who he's outperforming making $29 million. well. This is not a Jamar Chase T. Higgins situation. The next one, DeForest Buckner, making $26.6 million. That one is obviously tricky because he was on IR twice. He had the neck procedure. What does that look like next year? They say he's going to come back and play.

Starting point is 00:23:38 But, you know, you have to get your eyes on him first and see what that actually looks like. Quentin Nelson, $24.2 million cap hit. He's a pretty good extension candidate. So what you could do there is kind of what they did with Buckner before. You extend them and free up a little immediate cap space there. Mooney Ward, 20, $20.1 million cap hit this year. Is he going to retire? How much money do you recoup from that? If he retires, that one's kind of tricky.

Starting point is 00:24:06 Grover Stewart, he's $14.2 million. I wouldn't get rid of Grover. I understand that's a large contract for nose tackle, but I think you just live with that one. He's very, very important. Kenny Moore, $13.2 million. I had a solid year but was not his best year. And with the amount of man coverage,

Starting point is 00:24:27 he's being asked to participate in over the middle of the field and a lot of run and chase stuff. Maybe it's not the strongest fit for him. Anthony Richardson is one that maybe makes the most sense. 10.8 million dollar cap hit in 2026. If he's not going to be with you anymore, the problem is, though, you have to deal with maybe some dead cap because I don't know if another team wants to bring that

Starting point is 00:24:51 contract on like does another team want Anthony Richardson for $10 million? Maybe not. And then Zyre Franklin, $8.2 million cap hit. You create just under $5 million, I think, in cap space if you relieve yourself of that contract hit. So that's it for today. Again, guys, please join the everydayers club if you haven't already. We're loving the conversation over there. and again, you get the audio ad-free as well.

Starting point is 00:25:18 So thanks again for tuning in today to Locked-on Colts. We'll be back with you tomorrow for more on the Daily Show. We'll have you tonight for the Locked-on Colts squad as well with Derek Schultz, Zach, Alan Pinkett, and myself. Make sure you subscribe and follow Locked on Colts so you get all the latest episodes. If you don't already follow at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and at Zach X-2 on social media. Again, if you never miss an episode, the Everdair Club is built for

Starting point is 00:25:44 you. Get locked on Colts, add free audio, plus members-only Discord, access, and more. So head to LockedonColts.supercast.com to join the club. Thank you guys, everybody, and we will see you tonight and then again tomorrow.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - DRAFT SZN: Indianapolis Colts Should've Seen Stars In Indiana vs. Miami

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