Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Examining the Colts' Potential Offseason Upgrades + Week 1 Starters with IndyStar's Jim Ayello
Episode Date: May 21, 2021On today's episode, Evan is joined by IndyStar's Jim Ayello to examine how the Colts potentially upgraded their roster for 2021 and beyond. These transactions all get an in-depth look from Evan and Ji...m: Philip Rivers to Carson Wentz, Anthony Castonzo to Eric Fisher, Justin Houston to Kwity Paye, Trey Burton to Kylen Granson, and Denico Autry to Tyquan Lewis / Dayo Odeyingbo. How has Indy set themselves up as these positions for the long-term?Closing out the show, Evan and Jim go over Indy's potential Week 1 starters. Outside of left tackle currently being a question mark due to Eric Fisher's Achilles rehab, which could sideline him on the PUP list to start, how does the offense and defense stack up on paper?All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode going over the latest Indianapolis Colts news! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Eastern Coast, I'm your host, Locked On. This is part of the Locked On Podcast Network.
Today's always your host, Evan Cedery, joined by Jim Aiello, the Colts BR for the Indianapolis Star.
He's joining us today to go over the Colts offseason, as well as look at the team on paper,
how they stack up on offense and defense heading into the 2021 season.
Jim, how are you doing today?
I'm doing well, doing well.
They've made some interesting changes.
I think a lot of it, you know, I think maybe even we talked about
the kind of running it back, but they've definitely made some,
you know, added some talent from the outside.
So I don't know.
I can't decide if I think this team is a lot better or a little better
or this is the same from last year, but it should be an interesting season.
Yeah, most definitely.
It's going to be a really interesting season here for the Annapolis Colts
heading into the 2021 campaign.
And obviously the biggest change was a quarterback,
Phillip Rivers for Carson Wentz,
and then also Eric Fisher for Anthony Costanzo.
Really intriguing to see how those will go, Jim,
because those two were kind of the linchpins on offense.
Fisher obviously might need to start the season on the pup list
due to his Achilles injury, but once he's back and in a groove,
I think he's on a similar tier to Anthony Costanzo.
Carson Wentz more mobile than
philip rivers of course but maybe you uh downgrade a little bit as far as cerebral asset goes with
being able to control the line of scrimmage but stronger arm too for wentz you also might add
there but what do you think about those two upgrades or if they are even upgrades in your mind
from fisher from costanzo to fisher and then rivers to wentz hitting a 2021 yeah so costanzo
and fisher i think is like you said,
it's a good comparison. Actually. I think Fisher at peak is at peak.
You know, I think maybe he was a better tackle than Costanzo.
It's close. Like I said, I don't know that. I mean, I don't know.
Maybe that's not even fair, but they're, they're close.
And I don't know that Eric Fisher will ever, you know,
we're talking about, you know, he's on the other side of 30 now in his career.
So but he's a two-time pro bowler, which again,
we can talk for a long
time about whether or not Anthony Costanzo got snubbed. And, you know, I tend to think that he
did never having been a pro bowl in 10 years, but they do have a pro bowl tackle, a guy who's been
to the super bowl and helped to help the team win a super bowl. He's a guy that I think is going to
fit right in. We got a chance to kind of meet him recently. The personality seems to blend well with
kind of the no nonsense stuff that you'll hear from Ryan Kelly and from Quentin
Nelson. And so I do, I like him a lot as in terms of the player and from what you see on tape from
him, they should be able to rely on him to do a lot of the same things that Anthony Costanza did
for them, which is essentially to handle a lot of one-on-one assignments without having to have
help from running back or chipping tight end or you know sliding protection his way they should be able to rely on him uh to handle those
assignments by himself if you know again we're talking about an achilles injury now we've learned
from the colts they don't kind of necessarily feel that achilles injuries are the death sentences
that they used to be i think we've seen evidence of that in the nfl i think there are guys who have
bounced back from achilles injuries and they're doing it faster than ever. So I do think that there's reason to have hope. But again, it's all just, you know,
if he's healthy, if he comes back to the player that he was, then the Colts have, once again,
one of the best offensive lines in football and their left side, they're, you know, from the
center to the left, Ryan Kelly, Quinton Nelson, Eric Fisher is maybe the best in the NFL. It's,
it would be, again, assuming all three are playing at peak, but if he's not,
no, then you start to dip into that, into that depth, which is questionable.
Sam Tevey, Julian Davenport, Will Holden. We'll see.
And that's how they're going to have to start the season.
And as I think we all know where the schedule release came out,
the start of the season is tough.
They got some really tough matchups in Seattle against the Rams.
The first couple of weeks there there's the first five games are not easy.
So if they don't have Eric Fisher for at least a few of those, they,
you know, again, how is that going to affect them? And might that have,
you know, be a part of them getting off to a rough start.
So a lot of different ways to look at it. But again,
I think the overall picture is if Eric Fisher is himself and he's healthy,
the Colts are in good shape replacing Anthony Costanzo.
And then to your other question, I feel like that's the one we've talked about so much,
just as a, you know, covering the Colts, Colts fans, Carson Wentz to Phillip Rivers. I think
it's a great point you make. I think physically Carson Wentz has, you know, enormous upside and
compared to Phillip Rivers. In terms of mobility, in terms of the arm strength, all that stuff.
Now at the line of scrimmage and kind of being able to diagnose the defense really quickly,
I don't think Carson Wentz is bad at that by any means, but Phillip Rivers was elite, elite.
Like, I think Frank Reich once told me, or I think he put it one way,
is that he might not be Peyton Manning, but he lives on the same block.
So that's the kind of, you know, cerebral energy that Philip Rivers brought to the game.
So Carson Wentz will have to make up for some of that.
But again, he can do that with some talent.
So they got a great offensive line, which he didn't have in Philadelphia because they're all so hurt.
He's got much better weapons in a running game, which, again, he didn't really have in Philadelphia.
And so there's a lot of reasons to believe that he can be the quarterback that he was a few years ago.
Again, I think asking for 2017 Carson Wentz right away is maybe too much to ask.
I think that's maybe, you know, the MVP quarterback.
I think he needs to take a step just to get back to 2019, you know,
the end of that season where he led, you know, Philadelphia to the playoffs
when they needed four or five wins in December, and they got him.
So if he can be that guy, the Colts are in a great position so they do have the potential again there's a really long-winded
way of answering your question they definitely have the potential to have two upgrades but
question marks for both for sure let's get the two more here as far as potential upgrades go
because you look at obviously this offseason the big questions were at quarterback obviously a
little bit of a question on wide out they got got T.Y. Hilton back, so that really wasn't a question anymore. Adding another weapon,
either a tight end or wide receiver was a big part. Adding in another pass rusher was a key
one as well. Going from Justin Houston to Quiddie Payne on the edge, Jim, and then going from Trey
Burton to Kylan Granson, almost really Granson athletically is really just a hyperactive version
of Trey Burton, in my opinion. How do you feel like those two upgrades might go into place you're obviously going with the youth movement
there are those positions yeah so i mean again if you're just looking at i mean listen long term
great solutions for the colts i mean just ideal in terms of their fit and the way they play
and the types of players that they are now so the i mean if the question is over the next four or
five years the colts that you know i think I think I really like what Granson brings.
I really like what Pei brings.
But if you're talking about 2021, it's going to be interesting.
Now, I think Granson has a much better chance of kind of living up
to the guy you compared him to.
Trey Burton had 28 catches last year, 250 yards, three touchdowns.
I think Granson can be a similar part of the offense.
I think we all have to remember, and I asked Kylan Granson about this
when the Colts drafted him, tight ends take some time
to kind of find their footing in the NFL.
It's a really tough position.
He said it, and I thought it was a great part of the interview,
is what he said was, other than the quarterback,
the tight end kind of has to know the most about the offense
because they're simultaneously part of the weaponry,
the outside targets and catching passes, also kind of being part of the weaponry, you know, the, the, the outside targets and catching passes,
also kind of being part of the offensive line on occasion.
Now he's going to play F tight end.
He's going to be split out more often than not and not asked to block as much,
but he's still going to have to know those assignments. And that's a lot.
That's why it takes tight ends sometimes two,
three years to get their footings in the NFL. And again,
Branson's a really smart guy.
That was something we heard from Chris Ballard just recently when he did his
kind of film breakdown of the rookies.
They put a lot on his plate at SMU, and he was able to answer it.
They think he's going to be able to do something similar with the Colts.
Again, I don't think fans should expect it right away, week one, week five, week six.
I think it's going to take a little time.
They'll use him, certainly, but it's going to take a little time
for him to be involved in the offense.
That said, they have two good tight ends in Jack Doyle and Moelle Cox, and
they don't have to, um, they don't have to overuse Branson right away. Like, I mean,
he's going to play this specific role that F tight end, but to get to what even Burton gave them
28 catches, 250 yards, he can do that without being overtaxed and overexerted and having to
learn too much and feeling too much on his plate.
So I really do feel like he's got a chance to kind of directly replace that production.
Now, as for Quidipe, it's a funny thing.
Like, I mean, I think he's immensely talented.
The Colts obviously do too.
They love the character.
They love the motor.
I think that's the one thing that you're going to see across this Colts defensive line for the next, I don't know, four or five, six years, is that when you have guys like Dio and Quidipe and DeForest Buckner and
Grover Stewart,
like there were highlights of Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner chasing down
receivers and running backs to at the boundaries,
like just chasing guys all the way across.
That's exactly what Odengbo and what Quidipe do.
So you're going to have four defensive linemen.
They're going to have a lot more tackles than other defensive linemen because they're just relentless. They just don't stop.
So I think that's a really cool part of what they're going to do. Now, again, to compare to
Justin Houston, who's going to be playing kind of that, they're going to be coming off the edge.
Eight sacks last year is a lot to ask of a rookie. Again, I'm not saying Quiddie Paye can't do it.
It's just a lot to ask of a rookie. There aren't many rookies in first, second, third,
first, second rounds in the last however many years
that have been able to rack up that kind of production
in the rookie seasons.
That said, he's going to be able to impact the game in other ways.
They really like what he can do against the run,
just given the length and the athleticism, and he's smart.
So again, there's a lot of things he can do for the Colts.
I think he's going to make an immediate impact.
I think he's going to be the immediate starter for them.
But I do think it's going to take a little time.
Again, this is one of those things that Matt Iberflues has said over and over again.
Sometimes pass rushers, it takes a year or two for things to click.
Not saying Quidipe is raw, but he does have to learn some more pass rush moves,
have a better plan.
Again, those are things that a lot of rookies have to do.
But I think it's going to be more difficult than people think
to replace what Justin Houston gave the Colts, again, just in 2021.
I mean, Quidipe, I think, ultimately will end up being
the better long-term solution.
But in 2021, it will be tough.
Last one here, Jim, before we dive into the offensive-defense overview,
just looking ahead to the regular season here closing on September.
But looking now, I think the biggest question marks over in the offseason,
long-term, I don't think it's really a question at all, like you mentioned.
It's almost the same thing as Justin Houston and the quitty pay.
But Danico Autry going to division rival Tennessee Titans on a three-year deal.
The Colts tried to match late, ended up not getting it
because I believe he had more guaranteed money,
as you wrote before, Jim, when that first happened.
But with Danico Autry going to Tennessee,
the Colts now relying on Tyquan Lewis and a huge year four for
him it's a contract year and then later on the season Dio Odengo who obviously from from all
we've heard from Chris Ballard Jim maybe the most gushing we've heard from Chris Ballard on a
prospect since Quentin Elton it's fair to say that just with the way he's talked about him
how do you feel like Tyquan is going to handle that role in 2021 then maybe later on the year
as Dio gets some reps in November December December? Yeah, that's a great question.
And I think, well, I mean, I don't think a lot of people appreciated this.
And I know this is what Chris Ballard has been kind of harping on recently,
but they asked Taequann Lewis to take a big step last year.
They said, hey, you've been healthy.
You've had an off season to kind of prepare.
We need you to step up.
And if you don't, there wasn't like the threat of if you don't, this could be the end for you. We need you to step up. And, and if you don't, I, there wasn't like the threat
of, if you don't, this could be the end for you. We're going to cut you and you'd be out of
Indianapolis. But I think there was an understanding of it. If things don't go well in year three,
you know, year four isn't guaranteed. And so that was, that was part of Taekwon Lewis's off season.
That was part of Taekwon Lewis's training camp. I talked to him at length about this. He started reading a lot of books, just kind of like, just trying to get himself in a mental
place where he believed in himself and wouldn't let things, a little nicked injury or a misplay
or a missed assignment bother him to a point. He would just keep reinforcing himself with these
positive, a positive mindset. Like he found something that worked for him. Essentially he was right. I mean, he was, I mean, he was literally
writing down quotes on, um, on his refrigerator and just looking at them and kind of memorizing
them and just thinking about them all day, just to keep his mind in the right place. He,
he was just teaching himself tricks to kind of keep his himself mentally focused and mentally
in the right spot, not get too down because the year before when he got hurt, um, he got down, he got really down on himself and started to doubt his talent and started to doubt
his place on the team. And that was really bad because once he got back healthy,
he just didn't perform the same way. So all of this to answer your question is I think he has
found a system for himself where he like, he can respond to pressure now better than he did before.
And so when the Colts are going to ask him to start this year
and play kind of that Danico Autry role of sliding inside and out,
I think he's going to be able to respond to it.
If you actually look at his numbers last year, he didn't play a ton of snaps.
I think it ended up being close to 300, if I'm remembering correctly.
I don't have it in front of me.
But if you extrapolate his snaps over to almost what Danico Autry got,
you double them almost, they're pretty similar in terms of sacks,
in terms of tackles, in terms of quarterback hits.
He was as effective on a play-by-play basis as Danico Autry was
in many respects.
So I don't think it's something he's incapable of handling
with the Colts defense is playing that Danico Autry role.
Sliding inside, especially, to rush on third downs
while playing the edge on early downs.
So it's a great point that you bring up.
It's a lot of pressure on him to perform.
Not a lot of people are talking about this yet.
They will, I think, once training camp starts and the preseason starts.
But, yeah, I really do think he's –
obviously he has the pedigree in terms of talent at Ohio state and then the
second round draft pick, like he has the talent to do it.
I think the mental part of it was needed to come along.
I think it did.
And I think he's going to be a big part of the Colts defense this year.
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Jim, looking ahead now to the offense and defense overview,
the Colts brought back 18 of 22
starters this year. The big difference is we just went over there at pass rusher, as well as adding
in another tight end, and then also left tackle with Costanzo and quarterback with Phillip Rivers.
Those guys both retiring. Let's start with the offense real quick, and this will be the projected
starting lineup here. Depending on if Eric Fisher does come back or not, I'll just slot Sam Tevey in for now and expect him to run the pup list.
But from left to right here on the offense, Sam Tevey, Quentin Nelson,
Ryan Kelly, Mark Lewinsky, Braden Smith, the offensive line.
Then you have Carson Wentz at quarterback, Jonathan Taylor at running back,
Jack Doyle at tight end, T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr.,
and Paris Campbell as your day one starters in week one against Seattle.
How do you feel about that unit and the caveat obviously being Eric Fisher probably coming back about a month or so later. I think you have to feel pretty good. I mean, there's a lot of
chemistry, first of all, with the offensive line, which I think is hugely important. And again,
it's not something that's talked about a lot is, is the chemistry of an offensive line. Like
sometimes I think if you're, you want to have the same five guys as often as you can, but if you can have the same four guys
and plug somebody in and they can kind of make up for what they don't have.
I think we saw it last year when they had four of their five starters,
you could kind of put in a guy like Jared Veldheer or Will Holden,
and they could hold up.
They would be fine.
I don't think it would be a strength, but it wasn't – they didn't fall apart.
Once you started to lose multiple pieces, that was when things got troublesome.
So as long as they stay healthy, you know,
the other four guys that you mentioned outside of Tevi,
I think they will be in fine shape until Fisher gets there.
And then again,
I think they have the potential to be elite as long as Fisher is healthy.
And then weaponry wise, again, this is the part that I think is,
again, if you wanted to question the Colts going into the,
not question, but wonder about what might be holding them back,
is are you going to get a full healthy season from Paris Campbell because we haven't got it in the first two years?
Are you going to get, is T.Y. Hilton going to be the same guy
that he was a few years ago?
Everybody's talking about bringing back the deep ball with Carson Wentz, but the, you know, the last couple of years, D.Y. Hilton really
hasn't been the deep ball guy. And again, that could be the quarterback, could be the system,
not him, but that's not really been what he does. And even Chris Ballard has said,
you know, about T.Y. Hilton that he doesn't, you know, he might've lost a step. So again,
he's an incredibly savvy receiver. He can still get open, but I'm not sure the deep ball is going
to be where he excels. I could be wrong, but sure the deep ball is going to be where he excels.
I could be wrong,
but maybe that's not where he excels.
But again, he's going to have to prove that,
again, on the other side of 30,
he can still be that really good wide receiver.
I believe quite a bit in Michael Pittman.
I believe the Colts when they say
that he's only scratching the surface of his potential.
He had a really great finish to the season.
I think one of the most interesting things
we learned in film review from Chris Ballard was it's something he noticed which was
tre davis white the best corner on the bills and one of the best corners in the nfl frankly
was following michael pitman around during the playoff game that shows you the respect
that the bills had for pitman and know you know and what he can be i mean he was really starting
to come on at the second half of the season after he got over that injury.
I think they have big potential in him.
I think he's got legitimate upside
as a surefire, you know, solid number two receiver.
And that's like, I think that's kind of the floor,
I should say, and the ceiling being
a number one receiver for sure.
I think he's got that in him as well.
So that's really good.
And then Jonathan Taylor, again,
Jonathan Taylor is a star.
I mean, he's catch the ball, run.
I, you know, there's only, there's so many things that he can star. I mean, he's catch the ball, run.
There's so many things that he can do, very few things he can't.
He's an incredible just combination of power and speed and brains, honestly, too.
I mean, just – and work ethic.
I feel like I'm just heaping praise on him,
but he really has earned a lot of that with the way he played the second half of the season.
So I actually think the running game is going to be the strength of the
Colts yet again, under Frank Reich, not a big surprise. And then yeah,
tight end. I, I, we kind of talked about this,
so I won't go long on grants.
I think it's going to take a little,
a little longer for him to come on just because that's what happens with tight
ends. And then Doyle and Moe Alleycox are both very good pass catching tight
ends, but are very good pass catchers. But not again, not, you know,
open field guys
that are going to be mismatched tight ends and things like that.
So the weaponry around Carson Wentz is good.
Don't get me wrong.
It's not fantastic.
Unless, you know, again, I think that has potential to be
if, say, Paris Campbell stays healthy
and delivers on all that promise that he showed in week one last year.
But that's one of the places where I think,
okay, let's see what they got going on.
They have a great wide receiver for in Zach Paschal,
the guy who can fill in anywhere.
Again, not going to be a star for you, but can kind of do everything.
And some intriguing prospects behind him in Patman,
like a strong who they just drafted.
They have some prospects, but again,
I just think there's one of those things that they don't,
they don't have the best weaponry around Carson Wentz.
They have good weaponry, but things could go wrong, could go right.
It'll be interesting to see.
Let's go to the defense now.
Left around the defensive line here, Jim.
Quiddie Paye, Grover Stewart, DeForest Buckner, and Tyquan Lewis
replacing Danico Autry.
Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke, a linebacker.
And this is assuming they start in their nickel package,
which they play obviously a lot with Kenny Moore out there.
But Xavier Rhodes, Rakia Sin, Kenny Moore, and then Julian Blackman and Corey Willis at safety.
How do you feel about that unit on paper? They're starting week one against Seattle.
Yeah, I like it a lot. Starting one rookie is helpful.
Just you don't have to start. Again, this is another unit that's bringing back a lot of chemistry.
They know each other really well. The entire secondary is coming back.
The linebackers effectively are starters now.
I mean, Bobby Okereke was effectively the number one linebacker
next to Darius Leonard.
He started filling in for Anthony Walker more often
and started playing the majority of the snaps as the season went along.
So, yeah, what you're really returning is pretty much 10 out of 11 starters.
On a defense that was pretty good.
What they lacked, I think, was you could say two different things.
Down the end of the back stretch of the season,
they gave up a lot more passing yards and had trouble getting to the quarterback.
So was it the secondary?
Was it the pass rush?
I think it was more the pass rush.
I think Quiddie Paye is going to help that.
I think Tyquan Lewis can take a step forward in that regard as well.
He's not a 10-sack guy, but he can definitely be an effective pass rusher. help that. I think Taequann Lewis, it can take a step forward in that regard as well. He won't be,
you know, this is not a 10-sack guy, but he can definitely be an effective pass rusher.
You already know what DeForest Buckner is, and they have more depth behind them. I mean,
you know, Kamoko Ture could be healthy again, and they can use him on some of those sub-package rushes. You'll see what, you know, if Dio, once Dio gets back, that could be something that,
you know, he could be an interior disruptor and a force off the edge as well.
So I feel like to have more depth on the edge to go after quarterbacks, that will serve them very well as the season gets longer this year.
And then, yeah, I mean, linebackers, there's no questions.
Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke, I think they're incredible sideline to sideline linebackers.
One of the best duos in that regard in the NFL.
Could maybe be a little bit stronger in pass coverage, but they're young.
They have all the tools to be good at it, so they can keep getting better
in that way.
And then, yeah, you get to the secondary.
I don't have a lot of questions outside of Rakusen.
I'm more optimistic about Rakusen than I think a lot of the Colts fan base is.
I think you did see steps in the right direction. He did commit fewer penalties. He was, I thought he had more games
where he showed that high upside, that big talent. Now, I think teams still targeted him a fair
share, a fair amount, like more than, certainly more than Xavier Rhodes on the other side.
So he needs to prove that he's not the weak link in the secondary. But I do feel
like he showed a little more promise last year. They're definitely counting on him to start again.
And with Kenny Moore around, they should be, again, if they really have problems with Rock,
they can always move Kenny Moore outside a little more often. You can always use TJ Carey.
Marvell Tell is back after opting out last year. They have good depth there as well.
I just like this team's depth, both on the defensive line, at linebacker,
and in the secondary.
I feel like they have more this year
than they did last year.
And that's, again, that's going to really serve them well.
You know, just trying to stay healthy
through a longer season.
So I think this defense could certainly
have a chance to crack the top 10, top 8 in the NFL,
just because they're not as reliant on I think
a few key pieces as they were last year
last one here for you Jim I appreciate
the time today as always
we just went over the whole team pretty much
on paper add in obviously the depth behind them
how do you feel about the 2021 Colts
obviously it's a tough first five weeks of the season
but after that it lays
up a little bit better for them to make a run if they need
to on paper in the AFC how do you think they stack up if everything goes well for carson wentz a
quarterback yeah okay so that's the stipulation if carson wentz is good at quarterback then yeah
i think they're pretty solidly in that second tier uh in the afc maybe yeah in the mix i mean
i number one number one tier it's it's Kansas City until proven otherwise. And they're by themselves because Patrick Mahomes is ridiculous. So they spent the offseason rebuilding that offensive line. They still have great weapons around them in Kelsey and Hill and Clyde Edwards-Hilaire. So that team, to me, is the AFC favorite and no one else is, I think, in their tier yet. There are a couple teams on the rise. Obviously, we saw how good Buffalo was last year.
You could have made an argument that Buffalo was the hottest team
going into the playoffs last year, and the Colts kind of ran into that
and played them really well.
But Buffalo, obviously, still a really good team.
You want to see this.
If they do what they did again this year,
repeat what they did last year, I should say,
then you kind of maybe bump them up a tier.
But I thought Cleveland had a great offseason.
Miami had a really good offseason.
New England did some really interesting things.
So there's going to – Baltimore is – you know, Baltimore and Pittsburgh
are almost always good.
I think Baltimore did some really interesting things on their offensive
and defensive sides of the ball, particularly in the draft.
So there's that – I think there's that mix of teams in tier two.
And I think the Colts are right in there.
I really do.
I think they're in that kind of glut.
We all looked at it last year like, man,
there's a lot of 10 and 11 win teams in the AFC this year.
That's kind of weird.
I think that's going to happen again.
I think there's going to be a lot of teams that are double-digit win teams.
I'm not going to say 11 or 12 just because of the extra game,
but 10, 11, somewhere in there again, just because, again,
there's a lot of talent in the AFC.
So firmly in that tier two behind Kansas City, you know,
and if you were asking me to just dead rank them, yeah,
maybe a fourth or fifth behind Buffalo for sure,
maybe Baltimore and Cleveland, so somewhere in there.
So I don't know, anywhere from three to five, I guess,
is the way I'd put it.
But that gives you a chance. Like I said, I'd put it. But that gives you a chance.
Like I said, that maybe sounds negative, but that gives you a chance.
You know, that's week one.
You never know what the teams are going to look like by week 18.
Now, I got to get used to saying that, week 18.
Oh, I know, right?
It's going to be so weird seeing 17 regular season games this year,
obviously the week 18 caveat.
But, Jim, hey, I really appreciate coming on today's podcast,
talking through the Colts once again.
We're going to have you on again later this offseason.
But Colts fans, if you have not already,
go ahead and follow Jim on Twitter at Jim Aiello,
and go listen to his podcast, the Colts Cover 2 podcast,
with fellow Colts beat writer Joel A. Erickson,
and go read his work, as always, over at the Indy Star.
Jim, appreciate the time today.
Thank you very much, Evan. Appreciate it.