Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Examining the Indianapolis Colts' blockbuster trade for Matt Ryan

Episode Date: March 22, 2022

The Indianapolis Colts officially have their new franchise quarterback. On Monday, Indianapolis acquired Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in exchange for the No. 82 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.How will Ryan impact the Colts' offense moving forward? We dive into Ryan's fit in Indy, plus what comes next for the Colts as they push some chips into the middle of the table.If you want to find out more on Indy's new starting QB, plus the potential ceiling in 2022-23, this is a must-listen episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everyone, welcome into your latest episode of Locked On Colts. I am your host, Evan Sidery. The Indianapolis Colts officially have their new franchise quarterback. You would have never thought this about two weeks ago, folks, but Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, is now the Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback.

The Colts and the Falcons swung a deal on Monday morning. We heard rumors all really throughout the weekend about Matt Ryan potentially being the Colt, and now he officially is. The Colts sent out their original third-round pick, number 82 overall, to the Falcons for Matt Ryan. Nothing else with the deal. No players, no other picks for compensation. Now Matt Ryan joins a Colts team where he has an offensive line. He has a great running game of Jonathan Taylor. He has a top-10 defense, and he has, it seems like, a team that's trying to go for it now, acquiring 37 year old

Matt Ryan for this next two-year window in the AFC so I bet the Colts aren't done making moves here we're gonna be talking all about Matt Ryan every angle of the Matt Ryan deal why the Colts did it what's next and look ahead to what could be next for the Colts after Matt Ryan we were joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue Stephen how you doing tonight after the Colts been waiting on for months now but the Colts found out a quarterback. Hey, Evan, I'm pretty excited. I don't know how other Colts fans are feeling about it, but I'm really excited for this opportunity and for what they got for Matt Ryan. Because if anybody follows me on Twitter,

I always kind of point to, it's about the compensation more than it is about the players. You can make them fit to a point. And all the guys that were available, you knew how they could fit. But it's always about the compensation. So to get Matt Ryan for what they got him for, it's just it's really, really impressive. Yeah, third round pick, the Colts sent out 82 overall. And I said this all throughout the day on Twitterround pick, the Colts sent out 82 overall.

And I said this all throughout the day on Twitter, at LockedOnColts, Stephen, but the way Chris Bauer kind of maneuvered around the disaster that was the Carson Wentz trade, obviously a big bullet to bite losing that number 16 overall pick in this year's draft. You could have added a playmaker. You could have added a number one wide receiver or your future quarterback there.

Whatever you would have done there, it would have been a huge help to the Colts long term. And now Carson Wentz is gone. But in the meantime, the Colts offload Carson Wentz. They get a third round pick in this year's draft that they still have now because of the Carson Wentz trade. Number 73 overall from Washington. And the commanders also sent what's likely to be a 2023 second round pick if Carson Wentz plays 70% of the snaps. So you have a 2023 second roundround pick if Carson Wentz plays 70% of the snaps. So you have a 2023 second-round pick as well, Stephen.

And Matt Ryan is actually $5 million cheaper on his cap hit this season than Carson Wentz is for the commander. So all in all, Stephen, you look at this deal, you really swap out a worse quarterback for a better quarterback for free, and you save money, and you also add a future asset on top of that. Like, bravo to chris ballard because that i mean looking at it from each step of the way along the process of how the colts have gotten here it's pretty jaw-dropping to see how he's recovered from the course of

winstrad yeah it really isn't you know we all you know we don't want to forget the carson winstrad and everything but you got to respect chris Ballard and the Colts for once they realized that Chris Ballard wasn't the guy, or once they realized that Carson Wentz wasn't the guy, and they were going to go ahead and move on from him, they did it swiftly. They got maximum compensation for Carson Wentz. And then they went out and made a shrewd deal with Atlanta to get Matt Ryan.

Like you said, you basically ultimately swap out Carson Wentz and for Matt Ryan, a third-round pick, or a bump-up of five spots in the second round this year, a bump-up of nine spots in the third round this year, and then a future second round pick. Like, you got the better quarterback out of this. And Carson Wentz is younger, but he just doesn't fit the system. And the fact that, you know, Chris Ballard and Frank Reich at least understood it and moved on quickly, rather than sitting there and spin their wheels again with a guy that

probably wasn't going to be here long-term anyway you you get matt ryan you get him you know a couple years on his deal no guaranteed money uh and the other part is chris bellard has been just kind of a magician and not taking cow pits because look at the the philadelphia trade with carson wentz ph. Philadelphia ate $34 million in salary cap, dead money for trading Carson Wentz. And they can't, Carson Wentz came here. Chris Mallard moved Carson Wentz and took basically no cap hit from Carson

Wentz, like no cap hit at all from Carson Wentz. Moved him before the deadline, before that 15 million became due. And then before that Ph from Carson Wentz. Moved him before the deadline, before that $15 million became due. And then before that Philly Carson Wentz thing where they took $34 million in cap hit, dead money, that was the most in NFL history. Now the Atlanta Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Colts for just a third-round pick, and they're taking a $40 million cap hit, dead hit, for Matt Ryan to not play for them, which is now the most

cap hit, the biggest dead cap hit from any single player in NFL history. So Chris Ballard has not only been a magician in terms of getting maximum value for his players while also getting, having to give away less value in terms of getting Matt Ryan. But he's also been able to do it without having any negative impact on his salary gap, which is huge. Yeah, absolutely incredible what Chris Ballard has done, Stephen. And I think that pick next year could be a goldmine. It could be a top 35, top 40 pick. Of course, it went to tanks out his his value and eventually he plays over 70% of

the snaps like that could be a goldmine pick the Colts could use to get their future quarterback in next year's draft or whatever they decide to do in that direction next year but in the meantime though Steven Matt Ryan the quarterback for the Falcons last year the Falcons were 7 and 10 but he had an awful roster around him just completely terrible playmakers I miss Calvin Ridley for over half the season. Kyle Pitts, I think, was out of the line for a couple games as well. Obviously, Julio Jones is not there anymore either. And his offensive line in the last four years, Stephen, terrible. Absolutely terrible. One of the worst pass block win rates in the NFL since 2018.

He's been sacked over 40 times, four straight seasons. Now he joins the Colts offensive line where they're still missing a left tackle here, Stephen. But now you have to imagine they're going to probably go out and get a Dwayne Brown for like eight or 10 million for a one-year deal and solidify Matt Ryan's blindside to go alongside Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, maybe Danny Penter in there with Braden Smith. That's a legitimate offensive line to give Matt Ryan there. You need to add probably another weapon via free agency or the draft or multiple on that front. front but as far as fit goes I just want people to realize the box score might not say Matt Ryan is in the period 20 touchdowns 12 picks less than 4,000 yards last year but he was in a terrible situation over the last couple

years Stephen his last years in Atlanta yeah and that's what people need to understand there's context to everything um Carson Wentz had every available, like the best case scenario for him for most of the season outside of the left tackle situation to start the season. And he had one of the top offensive lines in terms of like Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Glowinski, and Braden Smith over there. And then you had the top running back in the NFL. You had a solid receiver in Michael Pittman. And you had a brilliant head coach that game plans offenses for him.

So you were always going to see a maximum value out of Carson Wentz here. And you saw that, 27-7. It's the number that Chris Ballard probably presented to the Washingtonhington commanders to get them to pick give up a third round pick that and then a uh a future second round pick or likely a future second round pick and when you look at matt ryan what he did last year and i i want to go in and push everybody to go to over to stampedeblue.com one of my colleagues over there chris shepherd did a fantastic breakdown article of Matt Ryan this past season where he went through every one of his games and kind of broke it down. I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised with Matt Ryan

and what he did because his offensive line was trash, like beyond trash. Once Alex Mack left the past couple of like back in 2021, I think to go to San Francisco. Once he left, the offensive line kind of went downhill real quickly. And then you haven't had a running back. You don't have a running back. Cordero Patterson is their running back and their wide receiver and their kicker Turner and might be playing quarterback this year. I'm not real sure. Although they did sign Marcus Mariotta.

That was a joke. They had Calvin Ridley for like four games, seven games of the season. Then he was done. They have Kyle Pitts. So that's a great weapon there. But you know, outside of that, it was, it was tough for him. He didn't have time to throw his constantly getting pressure in his face, which as I want to remind everybody, we've talked about this several times before, but great quarterbacks, the one thing they hate is pressure in their face. It's why Aaron Donald's a game wrecker. DeForest Buckner's a

game wrecker. And that's how you beat Tom Brady in the playoffs. I'd say you beat Pete Manning in the playoffs is to get pressure in their face. That's what Matt Ryan was getting week in and week out with the Atlanta Falcons. He's going to come into this situation, and you're going to – he's a – Marion's a very cerebral quarterback that's got a quick trigger. He's much better than what Phillip Rivers was when Phillip Rivers came to the Colts at that point. So you've got a lot of things going in Matt Ryan's favor. And when you look at this, I want to say last time Matt Ryan had like a top 10 offense and top 10 defense

that he was an MVP and now it's 2016. Now I'm not saying that he's going to come back to that level. I don't, I think putting expectations from Colts fans to be that high is just inappropriate, but he is going to be a significant upgrade from Carson Wentz in this system because it requires him to be smart. It requires him to make that quick pass, that accurate pass into space, make the smart decision, and take a lot of checkdowns. And it's going to be just a – it's like the polar opposite of Carson Wentz.

Like Matt Ryan's still mobile enough to kind of do little boots here or there, but he's never going to – he doesn't sit there and extend plays like Carson Wentz would to put himself in jeopardy of getting hurt. He's going to take the check down. He's going to get it to Neal getting hurt. He's going to take the check down. He's going to get it to Neal Hines. He's going to get it to Jonathan Taylor. So if you've got either of those guys or potential of those guys in keeper leagues, go and get them now if you can because their stats are going to blow up next year because Matt Ryan knows how to find the check down,

knows how to use the running back out of the backfield, and he's smart enough to recognize the coverage and hit those guys in stride and get them open. So I'm really excited for what Matt Ryan can bring. And I think Frank Reich is going to get the most out of Matt Ryan. He's going to have a much better year than what he had last year, that's for sure. Yeah, as far as fit within the Frank Reich offense goes, Stephen, I think Matt Ryan is excellent. I was actually listening to the athletic football show with Robert Mays earlier today, listening to their thoughts on the situation.

And they think it's a perfect marriage. I think it's a perfect marriage, too, just based off, like you mentioned, cerebral quarterback, a leader in the locker room, very accurate. You look at his completion percentage over the last couple years, he is elite in this metric, 68%, 66 a half 66 69.5 when you like these are some elite numbers for Matt Ryan over the last couple years Steven as far as completion percentage goes and he's above average as well in the category of yards per attempt which we know matters a lot to Frank Reich he had a higher yards per attempt last season Matt Ryan than

Kirsten Wentz did with I really without any weapons or offensive line. So this goes to show how much Matt Ryan was doing with nothing last year with the Falcons. And looking at this fit within the scheme of Frank Reich's offense, Stephen, if Phillip Rivers can throw for 24 touchdowns and have about 4,000 yards, I think it's safe to assume, like, Matt Ryan, he has more juice in his arm than Phillip Rivers does. He's going to be, I think, a multi-year thing instead of a one-year deal like Phillip Rivers I think next season for

Matt Ryan could go excellent where I could think like 30 touchdowns 10 interceptions 4,300 yards like that feels realistic to me you got to remember Matt Ryan even with like a terrible offense in Atlanta the 10 of the last 11 seasons he he's thrown for over 4,000 yards. He's incredibly consistent when it comes to that kind of stuff. Again, he's the opposite of Carson Wentz. Carson Wentz, you had some crazy, super high highs, but then you also had some ridiculously low lows. It was literally a roller coaster every single drive. it was exhausting so it is matt

ryan is so even keel that he's going to just consistently give you the same thing so his his ceiling might not be quite as high as like the the peak carson wentz but his floor is so much closer to carson wentz's ceiling than anywhere. Like Carson Wentz, that range for Carson Wentz was so huge. Matt Ryan's range in terms of what he's going to give you in terms of ceiling versus floor is so incredibly narrow that you're going to be really, really happy. Like Colts fans, we're all going to be really, really happy with what Chris Ballard and and what Frank Reich's put together here because it it's gonna be just an absolute marriage made in heaven um with Matt Ryan here because he's so smart he's so quick he will get the ball out and quite honestly like I don't know if this

this move does there Colts still need to make a couple more moves to like consider themselves like contenders in the AFC but I do think that this puts them right there in the running for the this move does, Colts still need to make a couple more moves to, like, consider themselves, like, contenders in the AFC, but I do think that this puts them right there in the running for the AFC South, like, more so than any of the other options available. I, you know, like I said, Jimmy G, the rumors were that San Francisco had an offer on the table for two second round picks, which we all kind of understood as them being full of it because there's zero chance that if you had a offer on the table for two second round picks for jimmy grappolo coming off a shoulder surgery with one year left on his deal and teams knowing you have to move on from him that if you had two first second or two second round picks on the

table for him you were going to take it like there should be no hesitation on that so that was just a bit of puffery on them and so it's kind of blowing up in their face you know then you had baker mayfield you know it's just it turns out the colts never even reached out to the browns about him that's how uninterested they were in him um as a leader uh and i think again cleveland's statement that they wanted an adult that that really sunk baker and you know front offices talk people talk so i'm sure this was all well known within the the scouting community but still it's it's not great and then you had marcus mariotta and and uh, James Winston. I'm fully, I fully believe that if the Colts weren't able to trade for Matt Ryan,

then Marcus Mariota was going to be the guy. So both of those guys are going to be step downs from, from Matt Ryan in terms of pure talent. My issue before with Matt Ryan was always compensation, whether it was rumored that the Atlanta was going to want a first or a second round pick for him. And to me, that's way too much. Now you get him for a third after trading Carson Wentz away for a third and for a future second, I'm totally fine with that swap right there because you didn't really give up too much more in terms of assets

than what you got more from Carson Wentz than what you gave up for Matt Ryan. That's just absolutely wild. So I'm really excited for it, and I think that it's going to be a really good fit with the Colts and Frank Rake's offense. Yeah, the odds actually on DraftKings, Stephen, before the Matt Ryan trade happened, the Colts were plus 150 to win the AFC South. They were second behind Tennessee. It was a plus 100. After the Matt Ryan trade today, the Colts and the Tennessee Titans now have even odds at plus 120 to win the AFC South.

So that Matt Ryan trade really changed things as far as, like, what people think about the AFC South now. And I think, honestly, from the Colts' perspective, Stephen, too, like adding Matt Ryan, I think he is the best quarterback in the AFC South now. I know he's 37 years old, but this is going to be like a Phillip Rivers situation and maybe even a better one than Phillip Rivers was in 2020 for the Colts, Stephen. Matt Ryan, I bring up a few moments next year where we realize, oh, Matt Ryan still has it.

He's still really good. Against the AFC West next year, you can guarantee there's going to be two or three shootouts, the Colts run again, with Matt Ryan leading the way, and that's going to be a lot of fun to watch, but I feel like, honestly, Stephen, looking at it from that perspective, the AFC South, with Matt Ryan now, compared to all the other options, the Colts, I think if they add one or two more

big pieces here, they are definitely pushing for the AFC South. They made their intentions, none of the Titans are going for it. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's true. Like I said, I didn't think that they might have put them in. It raised their odds to win the AFC, but I didn't know it brought them you see Ryan Tannehill just fold under pressure so like I said it doesn't surprise me that that's the case here um and and another thing to consider for everybody out there you know the Colts have had issues going down to Jacksonville Matt Ryan

is 4-0 against the Jaguars and he's he's won in Jacksonville every single time he's played so I feel like that's also a positive thing so if we can flip that that tide get a couple uh easy wins down there in Jacksonville it would be be really nice but you I think the interesting thing is what the Colts do from here on out because they still need to address a couple positions they need to get another wide receiving target they need to get another left they need to get a left tackle really because matt prior is a swing tackle and they paid him as a swing tackle and they probably need to get somebody to help out in the secondary now to be honest so i'm interested to see if this domino helps the other ones fall because

so far we've been waiting at each time so like for example we're waiting for aaron rogers decision so aaron rogers decision lance and then and right after that we get russell like same day we get russell wilson and then the next day we get carson wentz so you had those three dominoes fall and then we were waiting on deshaun watson sean watson happens and then all of a sudden you've got some up-in-the-air things. We were all getting frustrated when it comes to what the Colts were doing because you had some options out there at quarterback, and nobody was budging.

So then Matt Ryan falls in terms of the domino there, and the Colts quarterback situation gets resolved. And then Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston go off the board. So right now you're sitting here looking at the Browns with Baker Mayfield trying to move him and Carolina needing a quarterback. And then you've got Seattle needing a quarterback, potentially if they don't like Drew Locke. And you've got the 49ers over the Jimmy G.

So you've got a couple quarterbacks that are still on those same teams because the general managers wanted too much for them. And you've got the Colts here were able to move Carson Wentz for third and a future second. And then you got Matt Ryan for the lesser of two thirds. So it's again, I'm just I'm just really excited about about this. And I think it's a really good fit for the Colts. It's that time of year again as March Madness is finally upon us. From all the latest odds,

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casino games. Head to the website today to use mobile device to learn more about the trends and action. Bet online where the game starts. Yeah, I totally there with you, Steven. And looking at this Matt Ryan fit from all angles, I think it's magnificent all around for player and team.

And looking ahead a little bit, Steven, now it was very interesting. Zach Kiefer put out a story, his analysis on the Matt Ryan trade over in the Athletic. Check it out if you haven't already. He also had some intel in there from the Colts side. Like you mentioned, they were never interested in the Baker Mayfield.

There was very little interest in Marcus Mariota. They talked to Jameis Winston, but nothing really happened there. So it seems like, really, the Colts were kind of just in limbo, waiting for something to happen, and then Matt Ryan popped up out of nowhere. But another nugget that Kiefer dropped off in his article Stephen I spoke to a little bit about off the air before he got started here is that according to Kiefer for what he's heard within the organization the Colts are open to restructuring players contracts to open up more cap space and that to me means they have some plans to make some more moves here they have about 16 million dollars in

cap space according to over the cap if they restructure for example DeForest Buckner, Yonatan Gokwe, and Braden Smith Steven that gets you up over 40 million dollars again and you can go out and get like two more big splashes and go all in for a run of Matt Ryan the next couple years and the two names that came to mind for me are Dwayne Brown and Tyron Matthew maybe you added a weapon in there as well like a Marquez Valdez Scaling or a Will Fuller what's your thoughts on that idea that it seems like finally the Colts might be with Matt Ryan for sure, like the twilight of his career, kind of going all in, literally all chips in, around Matt Ryan for the next two years?

I think it's a great move, to be honest. It makes a lot of sense. Like you mentioned, DeForest Buckner saves you almost $10 million if you do a restructure on him yannick and gawkway it's nine million braden smith it's you know five and a half and then ryan kelly gets you another four i mean shoot you do those four guys and those and what people need to understand when you talk about restructures is that's money that's going to get paid to them anyway it's just it's going to get paid to them anyway. It's just, it's going to get paid to them sooner. And that money is going to get spread out across

the cap. If the Colts expect the cap to go and increase like they do, then you're going to see them try to make these moves to increase their cap space. Because if you look at 2023, right now, the Colts have $48 million in cap space looking at it and that's with their quarterback and everybody on the books so they've still got a ton of cap space they can open this up and still have some flexibility in the future and they still what I think is the most important thing right now is they kept all of their future picks and now have an extra pick in the next draft. So they've got an opportunity here to really kind of invest in some positions. I think you're right in terms of Dwayne Brown there at the left tackle position.

And quite honestly, they might go back and go with Eric Fisher again and see where his Achilles is and see whether he's got a full recovery. That might not be a terrible idea because, again, Ballard loves them picks. And remember, you just now have had Zach Paschal sign with the Eagles, Abdi Mohamed sign with the Bears. You had Mark Lewinsky sign over with the Giants. You had – who else? Brock got traded.

Carson got traded. Yeah, so you've got at least those three free agents that have moved you've only signed uh the uh brandon fashion based on uh from oakland so colts are currently up two comp picks in the next draft and chris bellard likes those picks even if they're like later on now i don't necessarily agree with that anymore but it is what it is. So you can, ideally, they could go and take a look at like a Jarvis Landry who's been cut, doesn't count against confidence. They could re-sign T.Y. Hilton. Quite honestly, I'd love it if they went after Jameson Crowder. I think that he would be a pretty solid option there. they've got some options for going

and getting some really good receivers for them, for Matt Ryan and Robert Tanyan, for example, as a tight end, would make a lot of sense. Cheryl Everett is a pretty decent one. They're both off the board, by the way. They just happened. Oh, they both – they just happened? Oh, man.

Over the cap, you're failing me right now. What's going on, guys? But Tyron Matthew makes a lot of sense in terms of the secondary and Destin and Shad, they've been saying that the Colts are interested in Tyron Matthew. So a couple guys that give credit where it's due, a couple guys that were right on it have been, you know, Sean McGinnis over there, he nailed the Matt Ryan stuff.

He's been on it all weekend. And they've mentioned before that the Colts are interested in Tyron Matthew and there's some mutual interest there. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens there to bring in a really veteran player on the secondary. It would just be a great addition for the Colts there. There's so many more options that they could make happen and they don't need to necessarily, they can make them two year deals with the second year,

you know, have a, basically what ultimately is a team option, give them a little bit of money up front and call it a day to keep their cap hit pretty low when you expect the salary cap to start exploding over the next couple of years. So they've got some options. I think that they're going to look into dip into free agency here now that they've got the quarterback position filled out. I know they missed out on a free agent earlier in the process that was very interested in coming to Indianapolis, but they didn't know who the quarterback was. So they didn't want to go, and it was an offensive player.

They didn't want to come to a place that didn't have a quarterback because they wanted to know who was throwing them the ball, so they went elsewhere. So it's just to have this in place and have it be Matt Ryan versus somebody that's a lot more volatile like a Jameis Winston or a Baker Mayfield or even a Marcus Mariota where you don't have a lot of faith in that. To have it be Matt Ryan, somebody that's proven it on the big stage and is a pro's pro, is calm and cool.

That's why they call him Matty Ice because he's chill under pressure. So it's just such a great move for the Colts. And I see them starting to make some moves within the next week to try to kind of pick up the pace. And I think you're going to see fans and media members start to view the way that the Colts did this, did free agency, a little bit differently. Yeah, with this Matt Ryan trade,

how do you view this Colts offense moving forward here? And how would you attack the offense? Because I know we just hit on Dwayne Brown or may bring back Eric Fisher, I think a left tackle is probably next up on the list for potential big names on the offensive side. But I think the Colts are kind of setting themselves up Steven, whether it be this year or next to go get their quarterback of the future. And one thing I've been thinking about, obviously we'll talk in a second here about adding weapons around Matt Ryan, but I'm just curious about the mentoring process.

I mean, if they fall in love with a Desmond Ritter or a Carson Strong or a Kenny Pickett, I saw today that the Colts were at Pitt's pro day for Kenny Pickett. They were at Nevada's pro day for Carson Strong. I imagine they'll be at all these pro days for all these quarterbacks. What's your opinion of them going and getting a quarterback this year at 42 instead of maybe waiting around for next year in 2023 if they do fall in love with a guy?

Because it feels like to me, whether it be this year or next, Matt Ryan is the perfect guy for a young guy to mentor under. And sometimes those mentorships fail and they don't really wait too much. But, I mean, it feels like if you put a guy behind Matt Ryan, the odds of it hitting are pretty high. Yeah, I think you're more likely to see them use it – get a quarterback next year, to be honest. I think this year they're probably going to look at the wide receiver position

because this wide receiver class is just loaded in this draft. So my guess is that you're going to see them either look at left tackle wide receiver, or maybe David Ajabo, the defensive end from Michigan that tore his Achilles, which again, Colts fans might just kind of get frustrated about that. But Ajabo is like a top tier pass rusher in this class, like would be top 10 player in this class if not for that injury um and so i could see them potentially going with with a kenny pickett or a ritter or he's quite honest i think maybe your better bet is to go somebody like carson strong they're in the third or fourth round um might be better than taking somebody there at 42, unless you just really love a guy there.

I just kind of see them looking at a different position. For example, like a, you know, a tight end or a wide receiver or a left tackle there. Cause regardless of what you do in free agency at left tackle, like if you, if you go and decide you want to go with Dwayne Brown at left tackle, he's 37. Like he's not playing for more than like a couple more years. So you got to get a young guy in there.

Taron Onstrad is a guy that I really like from the Saints that I think would be an excellent option for the Colts. He's 31. So you at least, if you brought him in, would have some more time. But this is why I mentioned earlier that the Colts kept all their future draft picks and actually gained a pick in the future. Because when you're looking at next draft flex,

the 2023 quarterback draft class has got so much more talent than this one in terms of top tier talent. Colts having their first round pick next year, having likely two second round picks is going to play heavily in their favor if they want to move up to go get a quarterback. Because a lot of these teams that are bad right now, they're going to have quarterbacks from either this past draft that they really like or this draft that they really like and are they gonna are they willing to do a Arizona situation where they got the first pick and they went with Kyler Murray when they had Josh Rosen now obviously Josh Rosen flamed out it was a good decision for them but very rarely do

you see teams take quarterbacks in the first or second round in two consecutive drafts so that's going to be the question I think the Colts are setting themselves up perfectly to if they like a guy and they fall this year, like can he pick it because of his hand size? If he falls, I could see them potentially taking him at 42 or they've saved up all their picks for next year. I could see them making a trade up, but regardless, I think Matt Ryan is a perfect mentor for any young quarterback. And I think he's going to do well in terms of bringing them along and putting them in the right position and helping them get to the level that they need to be able to succeed.

Let me talk you into this offense here, Stu, before we wrap up today's show. All things Matt Ryan here. We'll obviously dive more all throughout the week on Matt Ryan and what's next for the Colts here as far as potential moves. But looking at this offense a little more, currently their starting offense is Matt Pryor, Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Danny Pinter, and Braden Smith for the offensive line. Matt Ryan, obviously a quarterback.

Jonathan Taylor, a running back with nine pints subbing in. Wide receiver, you have Michael Pittman. You also have Paris Campbell, Ashton Doolin as well. Obviously, I think the Colts are going to be adding a wide receiver to the mix, whether it be free agency or the draft or both, Stephen. It feels like that's the one spot there, tight end. Also, Kylan Grant and Amadi Cox. But I think Chris Bowers mentioned it too many times publicly

where I think it's not a smokescreen, where I think tight end might be something we watch out for in this year's draft early on, Stephen. But how would you attack this Colts offense now adding playmakers? Because that's kind of the last step here alongside the left tackle, which we assume is probably going to be a veteran starting left tackle next year. What's your opinion of how you would go about this? Because the current top wide receivers are currently available in free agency.

Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones. It would be a fun little reunion there, but obviously Julio's lost a step. And then also Marquez Valdez scaling and Wolf Fuller. And then, like you mentioned, a very loaded wide receiver class. So how would you attack this wide out position? Because it feels like they just have, like, one or two more moves to make there. And I can see them doing both for A&C in the draft. Quite honestly, in terms of the wide receiver position,

I see them addressing this in the draft. Because you're noticing more and more that these wide receivers that are coming out of college are pro ready right from the get-go so quite honestly at 42 my guess is they're going to take somebody like Christian Watson out of North Dakota State I just think that he's kind of a perfect fit for the Colts. He's fast. He's got a RAS score of, I think it was like nine, it's an elite RAS score. So it's, I think he's a perfect fit for the Colts and what they want to do. And he's big. I want to say he's like six four as well like he's he's not a small dude um and so i think christian watson is a guy to keep your eye on there um he's six four 208 he ran an unofficial under four unofficial 428 40 so he's crazy fast and he's big and he can

catch and he can do pretty much anything you want him to do and he likes to block so like he's he reminds he's like basically my like 2022 version of michael pitman um and if anybody remembers in 2020 when that draft cast came out in january i said michael pitman on i think on this show michael pitman is the wide receiver that the Colts are going to take, period. He's the perfect fit for the Colts. That's how I feel about Christian Watson. If he's there for the Colts at 42, I think he's the guy that they go with. He's the perfect guy in Frank Reich's system.

Alex Pierce is another guy out of Cincinnati that I think is a perfect fit for the system. Quite honestly, I could see them doubling up for wide receiver at 42 and 73 and just rolling and giving Matt Ryan some weapons because the free agent wide receivers, they don't wow me at all. Like bring TY back maybe. I don't know. Like, I don't think that's really a good fit. Jarvis Landry, he's lost his step or could it be the Baker effect the fact that he was stuck with Baker Mayfield for so long that it really put him back um so it's just you've got some options there I think they do need to look at getting more of a wide receiver tight end um somebody that play the F tight end for them.

I would love to see them bring somebody in there, whether it's through the draft or through free agency. But quite honestly, I think that they're going to attack the wide receiver position pretty aggressively in the draft, and that's where I would put my money. If I were going to bank on any player, it's going to be Christian Watson. This episode is brought to you by Rock Auto. With the ever-increasing numbers of makes and models,

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so that we send you over there. A main selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Colts fans, go to rockauto.com right now and write Locked On in the How-To-Your-Boss box so that Locked On Colts. Send you over there. So let's say, hypothetically speaking, the Colts add a veteran wideout. They bring back T.Y., for example, and they draft Christian Watson at 42.

And then they draft at the 73rd overall pick from Washington. You get Trey McBride, the Mackey Award winner at tight end from Colorado State. How would you feel about that haul with Matt Ryan with other weapons? Oh, I'd love it. And that's what I think is going to happen. I think they're going to address the playmaker position early in the draft. I think that that's what Chris Ballard is going to do. Because you don't – wide receiver is one of those positions nowadays

where you – I'd rather not pay those like amari cooper salary and i know i was upset when the colts passed on amari cooper when they got him for that their six round pick but mario cooper's got like three years left on his deal at 20 million dollars pop you know what i'd rather do is get one of these wide receivers that fall to them in the second round that puts up similar numbers to amari cooper but on a rookie contract for four or five years and then do that all over again because you're getting wide receivers are the position they're like I've said this before wide receivers are like the new running backs like colleges are just pumping them out and so you don't necessarily have to spend big money to go and get a wide receiver. I would

love it if the Colts were able to get, you know, like you said, Trey McBride, and then go ahead and pair that with a Christian Watson. I think that would be just an absolute brilliant move there by the Colts. I think, I'm not sure McBride would last that long to them, but he's, you know, McBride is one of those tight ends that you're able to just kind of funnel the offense to if you really want to, and he's a willing blocker. He does his job. It just sounds like from everything that I've looked at for him, it's just,

he sounds like a perfect fit for Frank Reich's offense and would just seamlessly step in to not kind of like a similar role to Jack Doyle, but with a better receiving ability. And so I think that would be a perfect, perfect fit there to go with Christian Watson at 42 and Trey McBride at 73. I would be ecstatic if that were able to happen. Incredibly enough, Steve, we haven't hit on this yet. So I wanted to close this show talking about it because I think it's actually a

very underrated, important note of this Matt Ryan trade today. But I mean, now with Matt Ryan on board, who, if you give him a heavy box with Jonathan Taylor he's going to pick you apart and complete 70% of his passing throw for 275-350 yards and three touchdowns every single time you do that now with Matt Ryan on board and having him with his arm that's still there and his accuracy and his ability to get the ball down the field and get into the playmakers hands Jonathan Steve, we saw how special his year two was that unfortunately got wasted because of the quarterback play.

Now with Matt Ryan, Steven, and if they add more playmakers, which we expect them to via the drafting free agency, year three, Jonathan Taylor, Steven, might blow up. Like, I'm not even kidding. He might be a guy that gets 2,500 scrimmage yards. Like, he's about to go off with Matt Ryan as his quarterback. It could be nuts. Like, because they're at the end of the year.

You can tell by the play calling that even with loaded boxes, Frank Gregg was handed to Jonathan Taylor. So even when it wasn't a matter of having, like, the ultimate faith in Jonathan Taylor, you just didn't have faith in Carson at that point. And so being able to, to like have Jonathan Taylor back there and have like a legitimate threat of a quarterback that could carve you up. That's why I think it's also very important for the Colts to get another playmaker on the outside in the draft or

potentially through free agency, because you need to have not only a quarterback that you feel comfortable being able to carve carve up other other defenses but you need to have a wide receiver that you feel comfortable that can get open other than just michael pitman jr um so that's going to be the interesting thing but if the colts are able to do our little hypothetical there and get a wide receiver and a tight end or a couple wide receivers or get somebody to help Matt Ryan out on the outside, Jonathan Taylor isn't going to see those loaded boxes.

Because teams just can't afford to do that. So you're going to see some video game numbers from the Colts, especially in the AFC South you get six games against the Titans the Texans and the Jaguars that should be some like crazy video game numbers there that you're putting up so I'm excited for the Colts I think that this is great opportunity not just for Matt Ryan but also for the rest of the offense. And it kind of helps the players in terms of their morale. Because, I mean, you saw it on social media. Darius Leonard was getting frustrated. Kenny Moore was getting frustrated.

And then they made this big move, and now everybody's really pumped and excited again. Like, we were all getting frustrated with the Colts, you know, apparent lack of activity. So I'm really excited for what they can do going forward. I'm really excited for this team as a whole. And I think that other Colts fans should be, should be pumped about the direction of the franchise and what Chris

Bowder is able to do in the matter of matter of what, two weeks, you know, you flipped Carson Wentz for, for Matt Ryan and moved up a couple spots in the second and third rounds each year and then picked up a second round pick for next year in a quarterback heavy draft I think this has just been a master class by Chris Ballard from recovering from a mistake yeah absolutely incredible what Chris Ballard's done if you put it under the microscope the Carson Wentz traded the commanders, then what they did today, getting Matt Ryan from the Falcons.

It's an A-plus from Chris Ballard on GM 101 there. Getting Matt Ryan on board here. He's going to get so surgical against defenses when they stack the box against Jonathan Taylor. And then once the box gets lighter, Stephen, Jonathan Taylor is going to absolutely feast against opposing defenses. So the Colts are now officially back. They're making their push for the AFC South this year. The quarterback Domino is finally following,

be covering all that throughout this week on locked on Colts. And Steven, I imagine I'll have you back on maybe later this week, early next week to talk more about what's next for the Colts, but appreciate the time tonight, man. Yeah. Thanks Evan. Have a great one.